Learning to bend tube?

[southernfriedcj]

I just bought a bender and I have a few projects that are in need of some bending. Is there a learning curve (curve, get it? )to bending tube or is it just careful measuring & careful bending? I've watched several videos on the subject and it does not appear to take any skills which I don't already have. On the other hand I don't want a pile of twisted tubing in the corner of the garage.
What say you? Can the average guy bend tube right off the bat or should I get find someone to give me some OTJT?

 

[bimmer1980]

what kind of tube are you bending and what kind of machine do you have? Can you post some pics?

Some of the tricks are knowing when to start the bend and how much overbend to put on it......

 

[southernfriedcj]

It's a Pro Tools 105 bender.

The tube will be 1.75"/.120 DOM or ERW.

 

[rsanter]

basically what you have there is a modified hossfeld bender
look it up on the internet and there are some good downloads you can do that will give some further information.
like has been said you need to learn the start points for the bends so they come out where you want.
I recommend that you get a few pieces of the material you are going to bend, mark the point on the tube that lines up with the clamp or end of the die and then make that bend.
you now keep that piece as it will be your reference to use the bending you will do

bob

 

[portcity]

its not hard, and youll learn your own techniques as you use it. Just remember, you can always bend it a little more and pull it back out a little. Play on some single bend pieces before bending something with multiple bends. Hoops were a pain at first to me. I also use soapstone and concrete a lot in bending. Protools make good products, good service. I bought my one-shot in 96, still runnning strong

 

[csp]

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

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Bender&Notcher/Bender/

 

[southernfriedcj]

Thanks for the tips guys.

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

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Bender&Notcher/Bender/

I didn't see those articles. Thanks.
I checked Billvistas articles and missed his.

 

[jarrettolson]

http://www.jd2.com/shop/custom.aspx?recid=9

i use this and have not had any problems. best part about it is the price. FREE!

 

[Griff93]

Make sure you either get or make a plane of bend bracket or you'll be pulling your hair out on multiple bend pieces. I also find it handy for getting the notch line up square. Of course you'll have to get a decent angle finder to use with it. I like the Craftsman one. I also have a Johnson one but it bounces around so much its kind of hard to use.

 

[A_Pmech]

Begin by bolting your bender to the floor.

Then buy a couple of No-Dogs:

http://www.no-dog.com/nodog/

 

[Ign]

Begin by bolting your bender to the floor.

Then buy a couple of No-Dogs:

http://www.no-dog.com/nodog/

Hmm, since it appears to be 1" wide, the slot has gotta be considerably less. Don't think this will work on most tube and pipe. Trick Tools sells some nice tube levels tho.

On the other hand I don't want a pile of twisted tubing in the corner of the garage.

Funny. Even the pros scrap quite a bit of tube. You'll wind up w a pile no matter what.

Find a way to fit a scale to your bender so you can measure *actual* travel each time. That way if you need to bend just a couple more degrees or less, you can know where you stopped last time and bump it another 1/16" on the scale. Otherwise you're left trying to guess the difference between just pre-loading the tube and bending a bit more. I'm not a fan of the degree wheels but that's personal preference.

 

[blue dog]

All good advice above, if you do not have a degree ring, purchase one, this will help you as well. Is this a manuel bender? I like to mark the tube in the bender at a givin spot before bending with a sharpie, then when making an other bend it gives you a reference point to work from. i allso draw the shape i am bending on the ground with chalk[actual size] then you can check your bends as you go with your lines. It works well.
Good luck. and as mentioned before, pirate 4x4 has a good fab section.

 

[waggie]

bending tube is easy. taught my wife to do it in 10 minutes.

the trick is know when to stop... a degree ring helps a lot.

 

[blue dog]

bending tube is easy. taught my wife to do it in 10 minutes.

the trick is know when to stop... a degree ring helps a lot.

I would not say bending tube is easy, i have been building off road race chassis for some time and still find myself learning. And when you get into notching tube to other tubes at odd angles and different degrees i would not call it easy. There is a fair amount of skill to bend and fit tube properly. Practice makes all most perfect.

 

[Kevin54]

Pro Tools has a site with video clips and instructions http://www.pro-tools.com/105.htm

 

[CarterKraft]

buy http://bend-tech.com/ software, either the simple EZ3D version or the full blown Pro, you will be kicking out works of art in no time.

I built a family cage for a early bronco with one barfed tube that I screwed up, not bend-tech.

At least check out the demos on there site.

 

[hb_hound]

buy http://bend-tech.com/ software, either the simple EZ3D version or the full blown Pro, you will be kicking out works of art in no time.

Great advise

 

[e-tek]

I would not say bending tube is easy, i have been building off road race chassis for some time and still find myself learning. And when you get into notching tube to other tubes at odd angles and different degrees i would not call it easy. There is a fair amount of skill to bend and fit tube properly. Practice makes all most perfect.

Maybe you should hire Waggies wife!!!!