which bender for diy automotive exhaust?

[AndeiH]

i need a couple of bends to make a y-pipe for one of my cars. after shipping from an online company for a couple of bends the price is not too far off from a cheap hydraulic pipe bender. i'm an electrician so i'm familiar with conduit bending and hydraulic benders.

do you guys think the harbor freight 16 ton is adequate?

2.5" exhaust tube for this particular application.

thanks

 

[Professur]

All you'll do is collapse the tube.

 

[lilredex]

Those dies need a lot of help......do a web search and you'll see these kinds of improvements. Still have not got around to verifying any of those on my pipe bender.

 

[AndeiH]

dang, guess ill order some mandrel bends.

thanks for the replies

 

[48RON54]

I'm impressed that you even contemplated it, I can't even bend fuel lines correctly.

 

[rsanter]

use mandrel bends or have a muffler shop bent the piece you need and you weld it in

I made this with mandrel bends and it was cheaper than having a proper system made at a shop

bob

View media item 39358

 

[readhead]

Those benders are sized for pipe. It will kink light tubing.

 

[kazlx]

Same as stated above, just buy the bends you need. Or buy donuts and cut them up to usable sections. Pipe benders are worthless for tubing.

 

[dogdog]

there is hope, bali mades one just for tubes. I always wanted one never able to get room or $$ for it.

https://www.elitemetaltools.com/tool-shop/products/baileigh-mb-350-mandrel-tube-bender-mb350

 

[RoosterBooster]

there is hope, bali mades one just for tubes. I always wanted one never able to get room or $$ for it.

https://www.elitemetaltools.com/tool-shop/products/baileigh-mb-350-mandrel-tube-bender-mb350

only $ 42000
you can buy a lot of pre-bend mandrel elbows for that

 

[srmofo]

About the only affordable bender for a DIYer is a JD2 or some equivalent of it.
https://www.jd2.com/c-12-tubepipe-benders.aspx

Dont forget you still need to buy die sets, and Im not 100% they make them for exhaust tube. There are ways to modify the HF bender to make decent bends on thicker pipe but none that I am aware of for thin exhaust tube

 

[ADSR]

http://www.mandrel-bends.com/catalog/mandrel-bends-34/?osCsid=073cfeeb6d3100cdcd76c6a7df11d847

 

[ADSR]

Those dies need a lot of help......do a web search and you'll see these kinds of improvements. Still have not got around to verifying any of those on my pipe bender.

You'll do a lot better if you fill the pipe with sand and tape up the ends.

 

[Stuart in MN]

I seem to recall someone posting here about a source for tubing dies to adapt that Harbor Freight pipe bender for exhaust fabrication.

 

[ADSR]

I seem to recall someone posting here about a source for tubing dies to adapt that Harbor Freight pipe bender for exhaust fabrication.

http://www.swagoffroad.com/SWAG-Ele...r-The-Harbor-Freight-Tubing-Roller-_p_74.html

 

[Beemer533]

http://www.swagoffroad.com/SWAG-Ele...r-The-Harbor-Freight-Tubing-Roller-_p_74.html

Wow, that place is cool.. I might need to pick that up..

But what you linked to is for the HF tubing roller, not bender.

 

[ADSR]

Wow, that place is cool.. I might need to pick that up..

But what you linked to is for the HF tubing roller, not bender.

Yeah, i've never seen a DIY bender that can do the job. You'll have to roll it, or cut and weld mandrels like it do.

 

[AndeiH]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

Already placed an order for the bends, I was a bit too optimistic when I saw that pipe bender . Yeah 42,000 is a tad out of budget for the other one .

Thanks again

 

[e30bradley]

I hate crush bent exhaust.. buy mandrel bends and make it.

 

[RoosterBooster]

just a headsup;
for big exhaust mandrel elbows (3" and up) i would recommend to look at the Ryder website;
http://www.ryderfleetproducts.com/stacks-and-pipes-c-8324?pageNumber=1&sort=PRICEa&itemsPerPage=20

best prices i could find

i just ordered a whole bunch of 4" + 5" stuff to build my trucks exhaust ...
had to add one extra elbow to make it to $250 (to reach the free shipping threshold)

 

[HotRodMan]

If you really want to do this yourself as cheap as possible Ron Covell offers a DVD for $40.00 that will show you how to do it. Basically you make your own jig to bend the pipe, fill the pipe with dried sand, cap the ends, heat the pipe where you want the bend, and start pulling. This if fine if you only want to bend a few pipes every now and then, not designed for high production. Also you have to be sure the sand is completely dry or the whole thing can blow up when you apply the heat. I have done it and this is good information to have. I am not affiliated with Ron Covell, just letting you know about the information available.

 

[sberry]

A lot depends on the type of job it is, if this is restoration etc then the demands are different, if this is equipment class then I use some pieces from auto parts, the occasional conduit sweep,,, ha or I am a speed demon and cut slivers out of a pipe with sawzall and weld it sectional, I can do it by eye fast and most of the time you really got to look twice to see what we did. I rarely cut all the way thru but "fold the gap" back tight and its easy. I been doing it a while and often gang cut the notches before tacking up.

You can make tight bends this way.

 

[sberry]

I have to make one this week, will snap a couple pics but with a little practice is super fast even if it sounds contrary. I stock a piece or 2 of exhaust pipe and fabricate way more repairs than I replace. Many of these modern exhaust last a long time if the hangers are intact, many of the repairs are localized and the repair last as long as the replacement.

 

[AndeiH]

this is what i need to duplicate (y- pipe only). i have the headers and catalytic converters already. i also ordered V band clamps and flanges for the y pipe.

 

[dogdog]

I get my bends from these guys or you can Google how to make your own Y pipe from 2x45 with a band saw and a welder if you are looking for a challenge. They sell Y pipes too... I just got their 409 ss builders kit when I did mine.

http://www.mandrelbendingsolutions.com/servlet/the-Y-dsh-Pipes/Categories

These guys are little expensive but seems to have lots of expertise on exhaust... used to love reading their news letters.
http://www.burnsstainless.com/Newsletters.aspx

 

[DekeT]

Try out these guys. Woodward Fab.

http://www.woodwardfab.com/