Tube bender

[veilside180sx]

I'm curious what everyone else has for one.

I've had a JD2 Model 3 and a TubeTek air/hydro setup.

I just ordered a Baileigh RDB-125. I needed something more accurate, faster, and more consistent.

Should arrive next week.

 

[t. jones]

I have a Jig attached to one hoist column. I want to upgrade to some sort of man drill bender but have not yet devised a plan. If you can post links or pictures I would appreciate it.
Thanx Trevor

 

[Griff93]

For accuracy you might consider one of these digital read outs http://www.tubebandit.com/xcart/

 

[wakeboarder311]

I'm curious what everyone else has for one.

I've had a JD2 Model 3 and a TubeTek air/hydro setup.

I just ordered a Baileigh RDB-125. I needed something more accurate, faster, and more consistent.

Should arrive next week.

i am looking to get a bender in the future what did the rdb run you?

 

[Krawlin98ZJ]

I built mine using the plans from here http://gottrikes.com/

 

[veilside180sx]

i am looking to get a bender in the future what did the rdb run you?

Right at $5k shipped with one die. Should arrive on Wed of this week.

 

[veilside180sx]

For accuracy you might consider one of these digital read outs http://www.tubebandit.com/xcart/

Those don't work for the Bailiegh's, only the Pro Tools/JD2 units.

 

[akdiesel]

I built mine using the plans from here http://gottrikes.com/

Kraulin,
That is a nice piece of work. I have been looking for a nice bender or toying with the idea of building on and now you have inspired me to build this one.

 

[blackice]

I built mine using the plans from here http://gottrikes.com/

I am building the same one right now. anything you would have done diffrent?

 

[69charged]

i like that bender. i have been looking at buying one but i like this. i see the plans are 17.99 but those that have bought plans before get 50% off. i will paypal you the money and you can get the plans!
anyway, like was said above, is there anything you would change before i take the plunge??
clarence

 

[StumpXJ]

We (My pops and I) built two of the Go-trikes benders a few years ago. He has made some revisions to the plans, but they work great. I did change to the air over hydraulic cylinder just to make life easy. They are nice little units, and work very well.

This is the only pic I have of mine in the lower right corner.

 

[veilside180sx]

On the truck:

In the garage after some creative unloading of the 600 lbs of beast.

I won't get to use it until I get into the new space next weekend though.

It was POURING down rain and the box took a beating with driving 30 miles on the highway. (didn't think about grabbing a tarp until it was too late)

 

[Jack Olsen]

I'm cheap. So it's Harbor Freight. This is the roller bender, but I also have one of their 'compact' lever benders.

This is 2" square tubing, bent earlier today for a workbench I'm making. I don't have any square dies, but with some kerf type cuts you can make it work.

It's hard to see in this picture, but this is the face piece of what will be the undercarriage for a new butcher-block topped bench:

 

[t. jones]

Thank you to all for the pictures and links. I can't post pictures right now so I really can't add anything. Thanx Trevor

 

[grego]

Hey Jack, Nice work,, again!!! What size tubing and wall thickness is that in the picture?
The go trike bender looks sweet and it might fit under a bench for storage w.hich is a plus.
Thanks for posting pics

 

[Jack Olsen]

Hey Jack, Nice work,, again!!! What size tubing and wall thickness is that in the picture?

Thanks. There are two different thicknesses. The perpendicular pieces (legs and top) are 2"x2"x1/8" square tubing. The decorative part is 2"x2"x16ga. I wasn't able to easily bend it with the 2" round tubing dies, so I did the kerf cuts every ~1.5" and rolled it between one die and the lower two flat axels.

It's not going to be perfectly smooth, but I wanted something that looked better than just a basic everything-straight bench, since it's going to sit at the opening of my garage. We'll see how it shapes up with paint and some filler.

 

[crewchief888]

I'm cheap. So it's Harbor Frieght. This is the roller bender, but I also have one of their 'compact' lever benders


i'm cheap too,

12 ton HF pipe bender for fabbing rock sliders, bumper stingers ect.
cant use thinnner wall tubing, 0.125 or under, but works good with heavy wall sch 80 black pipe. it's slow, and my magnetic angle guage aint the most accurate, but i'm not in a big hurry anyway

 

[Jack Olsen]

The bench is closer to being finished.

 

[veilside180sx]

Looks great Jack, as does the rest of your work in there.

 

[nzm.031]

jack, you are just too handy and too creative, i like that you have an artistic flair and make things look good aswell as being completly functional and industrial looking.

 

[Fubar]

I'm curious what everyone else has for one.

I've had a JD2 Model 3 and a TubeTek air/hydro setup.

I just ordered a Baileigh RDB-125. I needed something more accurate, faster, and more consistent.

Should arrive next week.

Last year I bought a JD Square model 32.

Great bender, I love it.

 

[metalwork]

I'm cheap. So it's Harbor Freight. This is the roller bender, but I also have one of their 'compact' lever benders.

This is 2" square tubing, bent earlier today for a workbench I'm making. I don't have any square dies, but with some kerf type cuts you can make it work.

I had no idea HF sold one of these. Can you explain a little more how you bent square tube in it?

 

[jmastersinc]

Love this site for everything tube;

http://www.offroadfabnet.com/forums/index.php

 

[Jack Olsen]

I had no idea HF sold one of these. Can you explain a little more how you bent square tube in it?

Well, I didn't do a very good job of it. But there's a guy on Welding Web who did. Here's a thread where he bent 1" square tubing for a canelabra. He used the HF bender and its round dies.

HF does sell dies for 1/2" square tubing. I've always thought it would be possible to widen them for larger sizes. But I don't have a lathe, and haven't figured out how I'd do it, yet.

 

[metalwork]

Well, I didn't do a very good job of it. But there's a guy on Welding Web who did. Here's a thread where he bent 1" square tubing for a canelabra. He used the HF bender and its round dies.

HF does sell dies for 1/2" square tubing. I've always thought it would be possible to widen them for larger sizes. But I don't have a lathe, and haven't figured out how I'd do it, yet.

Thanks for the link and your bench looks terrific! The 1/2" dies don't look too tough to modify and the price isn't bad for 3 pieces of tool steel ready to mount on the roller.

Re: lathes, a friend needed something modified and I suggested he contact craigslist posters that were selling lathes. It took many tries but he did find one willing to make the mods he needed for beer.

Square Roller Dies

 

[Quiksilver]

I bought the plans for the gottrikes.com bender yesterday. I guess we will see how long it takes me to actually build it. The plans seem to be really well thought out. You also get a password for the website with additional information.

 

[iamironman]

Here's mine.

Hossfeld no. 2
Got it with the dies and 2800 lb table for a steal at an estate auction.

Jack that table looks great, nice job.

That Baliegh RDB 125 looks sweet, too.
I picked up one of their BS 210M band saws last year, I'm very pleased with it.







-Brian-
www.appironworks.com

 

[nolatoolguy]

due to limited space an moeny i have a cellphone with a friend whos got one and if i need anything(wich rare i even need to have something bent) i just call him an give him the measurements and yeh

we sort of work in the way of you do a favor i do you a favor stuff like that

 

[veilside180sx]

Finally got some real pics

Better look at the hydraulics

That "-0" is the starting point for every bend. It's so much nicer, to not have to assume "it's close enough"

A 180 for an oar stand (whitewater raft frame)

Here is the Tube Tek air/hydro setup

 

[tonydanzah]

that is beautiful machine

 

[Gearhead559]

how much was the Tube Tek air/hydro setup. how big of tubing will it do?

 

[iamironman]

DUDE!

SWEET!

There's not many things that compare to busting open the crate on a new machine, is there.

(not counting all the things we like women for)

 

[veilside180sx]

how much was the Tube Tek air/hydro setup. how big of tubing will it do?

About $800 once I bought the air/hydro ram from HF.

You have to order the hydro setup vs the manual arm, and the degree wheel seperate.

It's mounted on a spare engine stand I had sitting the garage.

 

[UncleDirty]

Mine is custom built and uses Hossfeld dies.

 

[Cebby]

Here's mine (click thumb):



My Writeup

Jack: there's a guy making dies for the HF Roll Bender (I just got one). He makes other round tube sizes AND an assortment of square tube dies. If you have access to a lathe, opening up the 1/2" square ones would certainly be more cost effective, but his prices really aren't too bad.

HF Dies

 

[Jack Olsen]

Thanks, Cebby. I'd still like to find a free/cheap way to open up the $40 die, but that guy's my new backup plan.

 

[sandsquirt]

The Swag Offroad HF dies get my approval. He fills in the missing die sets and make improvements also. I check back in and see what else he has come up with often. I see he has a DIY pressbrake now. I have had the dies for several months and no problems.

I also purchased the bender plans from gottrikes.com. I have not started on the bender yet, I'm still collecting parts. The plans are very good and highly detailed. They are roughly 40 pages long. There is alot of details on this at the pirate4x4 forum under homebuilt tubing bender. The reasons that I chose to go this route are simple. I have seen it in use by a couple locals in small fabshops. It can be done for very cheap. 300-350 dollars and that includes one 200 dollar die set. It bends the tube vertically not horizontally and this takes alot less space when the tube bends up, not across the shop.
You don't need a degree wheel on the bender. A simple magnetic digital angle meter works great and is far more accurate.

Good Luck.
Eric

 

[gearbuilder]

Here is the bender that I built. I bought the dies from Pro tools. The jack is from the HF pipe bender. I have bent 1-1/4" .125 wall welded tubing so far. I am going to buy new 1-5/8" dies for my Jeep roll cage.

Jamie

 

[speed bump]

For those of you that want free plans to build a tubing bender protools offers them.

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

 

[Ign]

Here's mine (click thumb):

Ouch. The way the body of that ram is so enclosed makes it difficult if not impossible to fit a scale to it. A scale that measures actual ram travel is extremely handy