Harbor Freght Pipe Bender - Page 2

Egon · 10-26-2006, 03:34 PM

Here is a manual pipe bender.

Greenlee Conduit Bender

Matt_Meiser · 10-26-2006, 03:49 PM

I was wondering about that too. My 1/2" EMT bender does a pretty good job on 1/2" EMT.

Is "pipe" softer than "tube" -- meaning if a bender will bend 3/4" pipe or 1" EMT, will it be strong enough to bend 1/8" wall 1-1/4" steel tube which has a slightly smaller OD and a thinner wall?

IslandTractor · 10-26-2006, 05:13 PM

I don't want to hijack the thread but have a related question: What is the best (DIY) way to bend relatively thin wall 1.5 or 2" tubing (like a curtain rod). The radius would be about 16 feet and the pieces would be about 4 ft long. To help you visualize it is literally for bending finished curtain rods to fit a curved window. ??? any thoughts. I have searched around for the type of tubing benders being discussed here but they are all for making much tighter radius bends. I don't know if this type of tool is what you'd use for the wide radius bend or not. Thanks.

patrick_g · 10-26-2006, 05:48 PM

The HF hydraulic bender with 5-6 mandrels is a bargain and does a lot if you are careful. The "pack it with sand" trick helps a lot for greater bend angles and thinner walls. Nothing wrong with the low melting point metal but sand is far cheaper and gives about the same results. In larger diameters it taks a LOT of metal and is a chore to bend.

Pat

Egon · 10-26-2006, 06:05 PM

Quote:

radius would be about 16 feet

For do it yourself you may have to make a wooden/?? form to bend the pipe too. If the pipe is water filled and pressurized it stops the kinks from forming.

patrick_g · 10-26-2006, 06:17 PM

The HF benders do not REQUIRE you to bend to any particular minimum. You can bend 0.001 degree if you wish. A series of mild bends made one after another fairly close together (regular intervals) will allow you to make a circle if you want (close approximation). You would need to have a place to mount the bender (elevated above the floor) to give clearance for the bent tube. Doing it in sections as mentioned would make it easier. I suppose you could lay the bender on its side and have the bent tube in the horizontal plane.

You could use a piece of string and some chalk to draw a circle of the right radius on the floor. Use it to gauge your progress.

Pat

IslandTractor · 10-26-2006, 06:45 PM

Patrick and Egon, Thanks very much. I was unsure if you could make less than the sharp radius turns with these pipe benders. The idea of a wood or plywood form would also be good and I had thought of that. The trouble with the form is that I presume you would need to "over bend" the metal on the form and I don't know how to calculate how much overbending would be needed. Trial and error would be a pain with a radius curve in a big sheet of plywood. I may give one of the cheap tube benders a try first.

bamatoolmaker · 10-26-2006, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IslandTractor

I don't want to hijack the thread but have a related question: What is the best (DIY) way to bend relatively thin wall 1.5 or 2" tubing (like a curtain rod). The radius would be about 16 feet and the pieces would be about 4 ft long. To help you visualize it is literally for bending finished curtain rods to fit a curved window. ??? any thoughts. I have searched around for the type of tubing benders being discussed here but they are all for making much tighter radius bends. I don't know if this type of tool is what you'd use for the wide radius bend or not. Thanks.

Most Fab Shops these days are using CNC tubing benders for accuracy and repeatibilty.I bet you can find one near you that will more than willing to help you.

Farwell · 10-26-2006, 07:01 PM

When I was in my late teens I was a pipe fitter/sheetmetal worker apprentice at the Southern Pacific Railroad repair yard in Sacramento California. One of the Journeyman pipefitters I worked with took a 1-1/4" X8' length of thin wall copper tubing. He soldered a pipe cap on one end and filled the tube with moist black sand. It took quite a while to pack the moist sand to the density that he wanted. I don't remember if he capped the other end or not. Using a brazing rod bent to the shape needed as a pattern, he used a torch to heat the tube and slowly bent the tube into the desired shape. The tube had a couple 180 degree bends in it. I was and am still very impressed.
On another occasion a friend made me a steering wheel out of 1/2 inch water pipe using a torch and a vise to make the circle.
These guys were from the steam engine days when they made everything at the Sacramento yard.
Farwell

HomeBrew2 · 10-26-2006, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patrick_g

... The "pack it with sand" trick helps a lot for greater bend angles and thinner walls. ... Pat

Great! Thanks for the experience. Did you just duct tape the ends of the EMT?

10-26-2006, 03:34 PM	#11 (permalink)
Egon Super Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Nova Scotia, Canada Posts: 9,227	Re: Harbor Freght Pipe Bender Here is a manual pipe bender. Greenlee Conduit Bender __________________ Egon 50 years behind the times Livin in a Worn out skin bag filled with rattlin bones

10-26-2006, 03:49 PM	#12 (permalink)
Matt_Meiser Bronze Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 83	Re: Harbor Freght Pipe Bender I was wondering about that too. My 1/2" EMT bender does a pretty good job on 1/2" EMT. Is "pipe" softer than "tube" -- meaning if a bender will bend 3/4" pipe or 1" EMT, will it be strong enough to bend 1/8" wall 1-1/4" steel tube which has a slightly smaller OD and a thinner wall?

10-26-2006, 05:13 PM	#13 (permalink)
IslandTractor Elite Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Prudence Island, RI Posts: 3,919	Re: Harbor Freght Pipe Bender I don't want to hijack the thread but have a related question: What is the best (DIY) way to bend relatively thin wall 1.5 or 2" tubing (like a curtain rod). The radius would be about 16 feet and the pieces would be about 4 ft long. To help you visualize it is literally for bending finished curtain rods to fit a curved window. ??? any thoughts. I have searched around for the type of tubing benders being discussed here but they are all for making much tighter radius bends. I don't know if this type of tool is what you'd use for the wide radius bend or not. Thanks.

10-26-2006, 05:48 PM	#14 (permalink)
patrick_g Elite Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: South Central OK Posts: 2,690	Re: Harbor Freght Pipe Bender The HF hydraulic bender with 5-6 mandrels is a bargain and does a lot if you are careful. The "pack it with sand" trick helps a lot for greater bend angles and thinner walls. Nothing wrong with the low melting point metal but sand is far cheaper and gives about the same results. In larger diameters it taks a LOT of metal and is a chore to bend. Pat __________________ I'm voting for the "........" ticket because I believe oil companies' profits of 4% on a gallon of gas are obscene, but the government who does nothing to help produce the gas, taxing the same gallon of gas at 15% is okay.

10-26-2006, 06:17 PM	#16 (permalink)
patrick_g Elite Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: South Central OK Posts: 2,690	Re: Harbor Freght Pipe Bender The HF benders do not REQUIRE you to bend to any particular minimum. You can bend 0.001 degree if you wish. A series of mild bends made one after another fairly close together (regular intervals) will allow you to make a circle if you want (close approximation). You would need to have a place to mount the bender (elevated above the floor) to give clearance for the bent tube. Doing it in sections as mentioned would make it easier. I suppose you could lay the bender on its side and have the bent tube in the horizontal plane. You could use a piece of string and some chalk to draw a circle of the right radius on the floor. Use it to gauge your progress. Pat __________________ I'm voting for the "........" ticket because I believe oil companies' profits of 4% on a gallon of gas are obscene, but the government who does nothing to help produce the gas, taxing the same gallon of gas at 15% is okay.

10-26-2006, 06:45 PM	#17 (permalink)
IslandTractor Elite Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Prudence Island, RI Posts: 3,919	Re: Harbor Freght Pipe Bender Patrick and Egon, Thanks very much. I was unsure if you could make less than the sharp radius turns with these pipe benders. The idea of a wood or plywood form would also be good and I had thought of that. The trouble with the form is that I presume you would need to "over bend" the metal on the form and I don't know how to calculate how much overbending would be needed. Trial and error would be a pain with a radius curve in a big sheet of plywood. I may give one of the cheap tube benders a try first.

10-26-2006, 07:01 PM	#19 (permalink)
Farwell Platinum Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Farwell, Michigan Posts: 951	Re: Harbor Freght Pipe Bender When I was in my late teens I was a pipe fitter/sheetmetal worker apprentice at the Southern Pacific Railroad repair yard in Sacramento California. One of the Journeyman pipefitters I worked with took a 1-1/4" X8' length of thin wall copper tubing. He soldered a pipe cap on one end and filled the tube with moist black sand. It took quite a while to pack the moist sand to the density that he wanted. I don't remember if he capped the other end or not. Using a brazing rod bent to the shape needed as a pattern, he used a torch to heat the tube and slowly bent the tube into the desired shape. The tube had a couple 180 degree bends in it. I was and am still very impressed. On another occasion a friend made me a steering wheel out of 1/2 inch water pipe using a torch and a vise to make the circle. These guys were from the steam engine days when they made everything at the Sacramento yard. Farwell __________________ David B

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