New Shop built tubing bender

[Bonehead]

update.... blew up the ram, replaced it with a bigger one. arh..arh..arh

 

[Bonehead]

first project with it.....

 

[Bonehead]

 

[Bonehead]

 

[bob w]

Nice work BH. How long did it take to bend and weld all that tubing? Looks like a pretty big project. Wish you lived down the street from me because I'm thinking about building one of those throwback dragsters that are popular on the H--B site.
A guy I went to high school has a mechanical pipe bender that came from an old pipe fab shop. They made coils and bends for steam pipe. The thing has so much inertia that you have to shut it off 20 degrees before the bend is complete and let it coast to a stop to get the bend you want. The guy is a savant when it comes to using this piece of mechanical history. But he is certifiably crazy and I hate to use him. Don't even know if he is still operating. If he is, and I have him bend my stuff, I'll get pics of the machine. You might enjoy seeing it.

 

[Bonehead]

I would love to see the machine. I have been working on this cage for about a week now, a couple of hours an evening. It is not a paying job, it is a friends jeep. The tubing is 1.75 HREW and is a mix of .134 and .210 wall thickness.

 

[FlatBroke]

I don't know Bone,
That thing looks a little flimsey to me...

 

[Bonehead]

ta da!

thanks for letting me post one of my other kinds of projects here guys!

 

[46chevytruck]

tube bender

I own several different tubing benders, but I have not owned a mandrel type until now. It is not so much that I could not justify, or afford a factory bender. I just wanted to build one. As it turned out, pretty cheap, and works well, I think I accomplished my goals. The bulk of the frame material are frame rail sections from a John Deere tractor. It took me a couple of trys to hit the sweet spot for leverage, but I added metal until I got it right. I have been bending 1 3/4 ths inch tubing with a .120 wall to a 90 degree bend in one shot with a HF air over hydro ram. So far so good. Not bad for around 200 bucks. I know it doesn't look like much, but it works well.

Are you interested in making another tube bender to sell, I need one of those.

 

[46chevytruck]

tube bender

Are you interested in making another tube bender to sell, I need one of those.

 

[Rev Tex Devlle]

cool beans man,, been think bout the same stuff,, i see it now all we need is a instructional **** tube video,,!! rock on!! TEX

 

[Bonehead]

Are you interested in making another tube bender to sell, I need one of those.

Sorry, no. I made that one with junk I had laying around. By the time I bought new materials, the cost would be just like everyone elses bender.
There are a ton of companys out there with benders on the market now.

A person with good fab skills could make their own, and that is the point of this thread. check Pro Tools, JD squared, ( jd2) , tube shark, and several companys sell the dies seperately. If you need a bigger list, I can make one.

 

[Unkl Ian]

More tube bending info:

http://favoriteprojects.com/how_to_build_a_tube_bender.htm

http://www.blindchickenracing.com/tools/Tube%20Bender/Tubingbender.htm

http://pirate4x4.com/tech/bendin_tube/index.html

http://www.chopperweb.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=22378

And there are more plans on Chopperhandbook.com

 

[Unkl Ian]

http://www.pro-tools.com/200k-1.htm

http://www.gottrikes.com/Tube_Bender.htm

 

[Bonehead]

The gottrikes is a good one for the do it yourselfer.

 

[LordMaximo]

I would like to have a tube shark for my personal shop, but cant seem to caugh up the kind of jack they are demanding for one.
That is one very heavy duty bender BH, I am really getting excited to see all the new gadjets you are dropping at our feet. I have been spoiled too much from my job, I have access to all sorts of equipment and never really gave it a thought to build stuff for my own personal shop. Need to build an addition to the shop first. Thanks for the other leads on the DIY bender.

Maximo