Pipe Bending???

HAs anyone used one of those pipe benders from like Harbor Freight (uses interchangeable shoes for diff sizes of pipe) to bend up their own roll cage/stinger bars?? Any suggestions? I want to bend my own.

A bit of vocabulary first.

"pipe" is generally used to describe what you can buy in a hardware store and should never ever be entrusted with your life. It's simply not made to do that job.

"tube" is generally used to refer to structural tubing that is designed to carry loads and be bent etc. Shrommolly is the best but most expensive and you're likely not to encounter it, DOM is second down the line and is what should be used in rollcages, and HREW is the cheapest and weaker than the others, but can be used if you use it wisely.

As to the Harbor frieght benders, they will bend tube, but they will not bend it well. They are simply not designed to prevent kinks in the tube. You can probably get away with using them for bumpers, but I wouldn't even try for a rollcage.

I went to a local guy for my rollbar/tirecarrier. I did all the prepwork (and design), then he did the bending/cutting/welding, then I did all the post work (painting etc). It was very affordable. :thumbsup:

I second what Pete wrote. A roll cage is made from structural grade tubing. Harbor Freight sells a PIPE bender.

Incompatible.

Thanks for all the insight, I feel smarter :smart: (and a bit safer) already!! I was really planning on doing my own bumpers, light bar/rack stuff first.

As long as your life doesn't depend on the part you make, the harbor freight stuff could work fine. Just be aware that it isn't the greatest tool in the world and it'll likely come with limitations on what you can accomplish with it (maximum bend without kinking, etc). But it'll be fun either way so slip on those safety glasses and go at it. :thumbsup:

Something to help you remember the terminology.. Pipe is for POOP!! :rotf: :brows: :D

Also, as Pete mentioned, its FINE for bumpers, rock rails or the like. Just NEVER for roll cages!!!

Pipe is measured on the INSIDE.

Tube is measured on the OUTSIDE. Its a big reason the PIPE benders do not work for TUBE.

I have been wanting a PIPE bender, like your asking about, for some time. They are cheap enough, but HEAVY and shipping almost equals there cost, so I still do not have one... But I am up to needing one as I need to finish my front bumper and this is all that's stopping me. I want to better protect my winch.

CW

Awhile back a buddy of mine bought one of those. We were going to make bumpers for his V8 powered Ranger pickup. They should call them " pipe smashers". Did not work at all. He returned it and got a paint gun instead, worked pretty good.

I looked into this once. from what i was seeing the harbor frieght ones are nearly unusable as tubing benders,thay start crushing/kinking almost immediatly.

I have heard of people filling the tubes with sand , smashing the ends to trap it then putting them in the harbor frieght bender, slowly bending while heating the tubing with a torch and claiming to get good results but it seemed like way too much work.

Ive never actually done it though so i can't say how well it works.

Before my brother bought a bender he found a place that rented them,he said the price wasnt bad. something like that might be good to look into.

Something to help you remember the terminology.. Pipe is for POOP!! :rotf: :brows: :D

Also, as Pete mentioned, its FINE for bumpers, rock rails or the like. Just NEVER for roll cages!!!

 

Pipe is measured on the INSIDE.

 

Tube is measured on the OUTSIDE. Its a big reason the PIPE benders do not work for TUBE.

 

I have been wanting a PIPE bender, like your asking about, for some time. They are cheap enough, but HEAVY and shipping almost equals there cost, so I still do not have one... But I am up to needing one as I need to finish my front bumper and this is all that's stopping me. I want to better protect my winch.

 

CW

There's a Harbor Freight store right near you now, on the Berlin Turnpike (okay, just off the Berlin Turnpike) at Route 9. Won't they ship it there and not whack you for freight?

Something to help you remember the terminology.. Pipe is for POOP!! :rotf: :brows: :D

Also, as Pete mentioned, its FINE for bumpers, rock rails or the like. Just NEVER for roll cages!!!

 

Pipe is measured on the INSIDE.

 

Tube is measured on the OUTSIDE. Its a big reason the PIPE benders do not work for TUBE.

 

I have been wanting a PIPE bender, like your asking about, for some time. They are cheap enough, but HEAVY and shipping almost equals there cost, so I still do not have one... But I am up to needing one as I need to finish my front bumper and this is all that's stopping me. I want to better protect my winch.

 

CW

There's a Harbor Freight store right near you now, on the Berlin Turnpike (okay, just off the Berlin Turnpike) at Route 9. Won't they ship it there and not whack you for freight?

I TOTALLY FORGOT THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had meant to stop in when I first saw the signs, last year. (My heart attack put the kibosh on most everything at the time.) I will have to go "visit" soon!!

Thanks for reminding me man!!! :cheers: :cheers: ;)

CW

hey Comanche Addict,

Are'nt you the guy that fab'd up a really cool tailgate tire carrier?Or is this a mental moment I'm having!!?? :dunno:

Heart Attack??!!! :huh???:

Damn man,

You don't look old enough to be even close to a heart attack!!! Drink more beer, works for me!!

Heart Attack??!!! :huh???:

Damn man,

You don't look old enough to be even close to a heart attack!!! Drink more beer, works for me!!

Yup, January 13th I had a heart attack. 42 years old IS TOO YOUNG!!! But they rebiult me better, stronger, faster...

I built a gate, swing out tire holder on my MJ.

CW

DANG!! Well man I'm glad you are back on your feet and they put Humpty Dumpty back together (better) this go round!! That is one bad a$$ tail gate/tire carrier!! You are the TUBE GURU :bowdown: !! How much to build me one?? :yes:

To farther elaborate on the tube/pipe thing:

There is structural grade 'pipe'. It isn't really pipe, per se. It is basically low grade HREW tubing that is sized as pipe, and therefor can be used as pipe. It is relatively common, and inexpensive in comparison with DOM/CREW and often even HREW. However, the low strength limits its usage (the same goes for HREW). The best application for it is sliders or fenders that will see repetitive impacts and abrasions as you can buy it in a thick wall (sch 80) for a much lower price than comparable tubing. The thin wall stuff works well to build accessories (tire carriers, roof racks) and such on a budget.

Chromemoley, chromoly, chromo, or 4130 tubing is expensive at the best of times, and while it is meant to be easily welded it REALLY needs post-welding stress relief and heat treatment to make it worthwhile. All of which is expensive.

Also, the HF pipe kinker can be modded to work a LOT better. It is a huge PITA to do. The dies need to be machined out (a die grinder with a carbide burr and a steady hand can do it) so that the pipe fits in it snugly and evenly seats in it. The dies also need to be smoothed out and polished to prevent them from marking the pipe. Then the followers (rollers) need to be machined to fit the pipe correctly or replaced with non-roller followers (aluminum is a good idea) that fit the pipe snugly and will distribute the load well. Beyond that, grease it up a bit before bending, put the seam on the pipe inwards, and make sure the pipe is clean... It can work fine.

Personally, I bought a JD2 tube bender and a couple dies (1.5 and 1.75). A few of my friends have the same bender, and thus I can borrow/trade to get most of the other dies (1" and perhaps a 1.5" pipe die would be nice to have). It is expensive, but a good quality product.

I got the 12 ton (not the 16 that i thought) hobo freight bender a number of years ago and yes it has its limitations just like anything but if u can learn from your mistakes and make adjustments accordingly then u should be fine .

Some things iv learned along the way are:

1) work slowly , this thing is not a speed demon and if u rush it it WILL smash pipe . i have found that jacking 10-20 times and then releasing pressure a bit helps a ton .

2) 9 times out of 10 heat dosnt help at all , it typicaly creats a flat spot in the middle of the bend on the outside.

3) the placement of the rollers is very important and varries dependent on what size pipe you are bending and they often need to be moved atleast once during the bending process in order to keep from kinking the pipe.

4) the factory supplied rollers SUCK and should be used only when bending 3/4" and smaller if that , reason being is they are suposed to be universal and like most universal things they suck at anything specific which is what were trying to do , bend specific size pipe. the main problem with the rollers is the point of contact is verry small creating a dent in the pipe , this dent does two things , first it dosnt let the pipe roll with in the bender which aids in the pipe geting kinked and secondly it just looks ugly .

What i did to fix the problem :

its comprised of a piece of 2" id square tubing , some 2x2 angle and some , i think 1 3/4" or 2" pipe pressed to fit over the od of the 1 1/2 pipe .

here is a pic of them installed , note the use of the 5/8 bolts used at either end to pull the sides together so as not to bend the factory roller pins as the rollers are about 3" wide and my roller replacements are 2" wide. also note that my bender has the return springs , make sure u purchas a bender with these as these are a huge time saver and definetly worth the few extra bucks.

5) I have herd of and seen many people use sand in keeping the pipe from kinking and from what iv seen it works quite well . what you do is fill the pipe with wet sand (wet sand packs tighter) and simply duck tape the ends shut and bend away . seems simple enuf though iv not yet tried it as i havent realy had the need to.

a pic of the directions on my bender , even talks about using sand . iv never even read this untill now :shake:

6) Practice , practice , practice . it will take some time to "Master" (for lack of a better word) the art of this machine and be prepared to messup some pipe at first but if u take your time the loss should be minimal.

thats it so far .

here is a bumper i made one afternoon for a budys truck using 1 1/2" pipe and my bender.

keep in mind its not done yet so there some sections of it that are missing

Heart Attack??!!! :huh???:

Damn man,

You don't look old enough to be even close to a heart attack!!! Drink more beer, works for me!!

 

 

Yup, January 13th I had a heart attack. 42 years old IS TOO YOUNG!!! But they rebiult me better, stronger, faster...

 

I built a gate, swing out tire holder on my MJ.

 

 

CW

so what's too young? i had 2 in '02 (feb and march) when i was 32. i've been heart attack free for 7 years now. yipee!! :banana:

Heart Attack??!!! :huh???:

Damn man,

You don't look old enough to be even close to a heart attack!!! Drink more beer, works for me!!

 

 

Yup, January 13th I had a heart attack. 42 years old IS TOO YOUNG!!! But they rebiult me better, stronger, faster...

 

CW

 

 

 

so what's too young? i had 2 in '02 (feb and march) when i was 32. i've been heart attack free for 7 years now. yipee!! :banana:

Appologies to the OP, for the sidetrack......

but count me in too :cheers:

May 2nd last year (@39 years old),

I skipped right by the heart attack, went into Cardiac Arrest, and died. :(

GF noticed, started CPR, till the Parametics got there,

6 hits with the paddles, and I was back in buisness. :cheers:

V-fib,flatline & more V-fib for anyone that can read these things:

Must be a Comanche thing. ;)

Hope both you guys are doing much better now.

what did you replace the rollers with? fubar :dunno:

what did you replace the rollers with? fubar :dunno:

sorry to keep ya waiting , my original post has been updated

86FUBAR,thats some of the better Kinker work that I've seen.Good fab on the sliders,could you have made the angle part 3" instead of 2"?I have considered the HF poop bender for a while and read many threads on the art of it's use.IIRC the HF kinker is about 150 new and the JD2 Model 3 is 295.As the JD squared is actually a tubing bender and engineered far superior,I think I am going to go that route.Also,a couple,3,or 4 guys could go in on one together and save big.

86FUBAR,thats some of the better Kinker work that I've seen.Good fab on the sliders,could you have made the angle part 3" instead of 2"?I have considered the HF poop bender for a while and read many threads on the art of it's use.IIRC the HF kinker is about 150 new and the JD2 Model 3 is 295.As the JD squared is actually a tubing bender and engineered far superior,I think I am going to go that route.Also,a couple,3,or 4 guys could go in on one together and save big.

Price out the dies on the JD2 and you'll see how it gets expensive. If you only ever intend to bend 1.75" tube, then it isn't too bad. I've got way more in dies than I do in the bender, and that's only with a 1.5" and a 1.75". I need/use a 1" and a 1.5" pipe from time to time. The only upside is that most people in my area have JD2s, so we can trade/borrow dies as needed.

 

 

Price out the dies on the JD2 and you'll see how it gets expensive. If you only ever intend to bend 1.75" tube, then it isn't too bad. I've got way more in dies than I do in the bender, and that's only with a 1.5" and a 1.75". I need/use a 1" and a 1.5" pipe from time to time. The only upside is that most people in my area have JD2s, so we can trade/borrow dies as needed.

Very true,add the the floor stand to that total to.I still think it's a worthwhile investment,having the right tool for the job can inspire you to take on more projects and make your life easier. :thumbsup: