Pipe bender

[JDskidder]

I have purchased a few things from Troy at swag offroad and I can vouch for his quality of work. Been eyeballing the Harbor Freight tubing roller mods he lists here for a while now, but I can't seem to pull the trigger. Maybe it's in your price range though Metal Fabrication Tools

There's also this page documenting a nice build similar to the got trikes version posted earlier. Tubing Bender

Everett

 

[lostcause]

a couple years ago i went to buy a 12 ton harbor freight shop press i found on craigslist for $65. the guy also ended up selling me a 12 ton pipe bender he had for $35. not that i really needed it at the time, but it seemed like too good of a deal to pass up. i finally had the chance to use it last winter - building a drop hitch bumper for a snowmobile.

apparently i'm doing something wrong when i do it... long before i got to a 90 degree bend the pipe wall started to squish flat and then bend tight. i'm sure that i'm not the only one who has had this result, so i ask: what's the trick to making a good 90 degree bend with one of these?

by the way, sorry to hijack, but if there's an answer out there, maybe it will help you too.

 

[bcp]

Do you have the manual, and have all the right pieces in the right places for your pipe size?

http://manuals.harborfreight.com/manuals/32000-32999/32888.pdf

Bruce

 

[4shorts]

a couple years ago i went to buy a 12 ton harbor freight shop press i found on craigslist for $65. the guy also ended up selling me a 12 ton pipe bender he had for $35. not that i really needed it at the time, but it seemed like too good of a deal to pass up. i finally had the chance to use it last winter - building a drop hitch bumper for a snowmobile.

apparently i'm doing something wrong when i do it... long before i got to a 90 degree bend the pipe wall started to squish flat and then bend tight. i'm sure that i'm not the only one who has had this result, so i ask: what's the trick to making a good 90 degree bend with one of these?

by the way, sorry to hijack, but if there's an answer out there, maybe it will help you too.

I think the trick is to have the rollers and their pins in the right locations. If they aren't in the right location you will end up attempting to make too sharp of a bend which results in a crushed pipe. I used the 16 ton model many times with great success. I even used it to bend the pipe for the light bar on my tractor.

 

[crazyal]

I have purchased a few things from Troy at swag offroad and I can vouch for his quality of work. Been eyeballing the Harbor Freight tubing roller mods he lists here for a while now, but I can't seem to pull the trigger. Maybe it's in your price range though Metal Fabrication Tools

There's also this page documenting a nice build similar to the got trikes version posted earlier. Tubing Bender

Everett

That second link uses the same dies as the bender I made uses, Pro-Tools. I used the "One Shot" dies and made a copy of the HB 302 Hydraulic bender. I have a tripod stand made out of pipe to support it and it bends horizontally and you don't have to kneel down. I have a few jack stands to support the length of pipe. It's been a few years since I was into racing and needed it but my step brother used it a year or so ago for a Suzuki. The bottle jacks will work on their side, you just need to put the "hand pump" at the bottom so it always has oil. My plan was to buy a 15 ton Enerpac cylinder off ebay but now I've got a shop press which has air power. I didn't bother making a bending gauge but would suggest doing so as it is a nice feature.

 

[BHD]

I would think the pipe type or steel properties may make a huge difference in how it bends, (to my under standing the exhaust tubing is a special pipe made to be used with the benders), there is plain steel pipe one can buy at the auto parts store, and it feels and looks different, but I have been told it will not bend properly where the pipe they buy for the benders make a very nice bend,

kinda like tying to bend hard copper pipe it not going to work well very often,

and I would guess that a $100 bender is not as good as a $5000 bender would be, the dies on the tubing bender cost more than the whole set from HF,

my guess is a lot is the pipe used and it steel make up, is a lot to getting a good bend, they also say do not bend tubing on the HF bender, and when you stretch pipe it most likely will flatten out some same say fill with sand,

 

[crazyal]

The dies make the difference. Pro tools sell dies for sched 40 pipe but I think they only go up to 1 1/2".

 

[4shorts]

My plan was to buy a 15 ton Enerpac cylinder off ebay but now I've got a shop press which has air power.

I picked up an Enerpac system at auction some years ago and made a press out of it. I can remove it from the press and use it for just about anything including a pipe bender. You should price the 120 volt Enerpac pump and cylinder OUCH
I got mine for two hundred bucks

 

[R W]

I would think the pipe type or steel properties may make a huge difference in how it bends,


my guess is a lot is the pipe used and it steel make up, is a lot to getting a good bend, they also say do not bend tubing on the HF bender, and when you stretch pipe it most likely will flatten out some same say fill with sand,

I feel your right on, bought some 1/2" pipe from a hardware store last week, used a bender similar to the HF. Bends flattened badly, something I have not had happen before, am sure it was caused by the lack of quality in the pipe.

 

[BIG DOOLEY]

2 inch sch 40 buildin a heavy duty push bar for my 16 year old son . On a old blazer

If in fact he has plans on pushing or there it a likelyhood of some light pushing scrap the idea about sched. 40 and use sched. 80.
The heavier and larger diameter the larger the radius of bends also.
Not sure what you want it to look like.
For the grapple bar support on my bucket I used sched. 80
you can buy weldable caps, tee's, 90's... also check ebay for maybe for lower prices
Square tube might be another option.