Wessie Posted October 17, 2007 Report Posted October 17, 2007 oo er ! i know a couple of people on here use these at work or have used one in the past, has any body got any advice on decent makes/models ? im looking at buying one to start fabricating roll cages/spaceframes/exhausts, i dont mind spending decent money aslong as its a good tool so tell me all you know about pipe benders . . . .
ZetecVan 2.0 Posted October 17, 2007 Report Posted October 17, 2007 Have a word with 4ParaJon... He's a professional bender... By that I mean he owns a pipe bending company, so may have some advice for you.
Wessie Posted October 17, 2007 Author Report Posted October 17, 2007 cheers mike, jon's a top bender (he helped make me a manifold. . . honest !) i was just wondeirng if anyone esle has any experince of them as i guess the ones jon use's arent cheap and keep on with the bender jokes
wakster Posted October 17, 2007 Report Posted October 17, 2007 you're right to seek the help of a professional as i have heard of some terrible accidents involving benders and solid rods
pelvins Posted October 17, 2007 Report Posted October 17, 2007 we used cheap hydraulic benders to make my roll cage . they did the job but leave small joggle dents in the pipe . i wasnt worried bout these though cause i saved myself bout £600 and the pipe i used was heavier gauge than normal (comerical ) from buildings and it was free
Wessie Posted October 17, 2007 Author Report Posted October 17, 2007 we used cheap hydraulic benders to make my roll cage . they did the job but leave small joggle dents in the pipe . i wasnt worried bout these though cause i saved myself bout £600 and the pipe i used was heavier gauge than normal (comerical ) from buildings and it was free the problem is i kno my cars gonna be involved in a shunt so i wanna minimize the bengind dnets/marks etc but the free pipe sounds good
tonymk2wagon Posted October 17, 2007 Report Posted October 17, 2007 ive got a 16 ton clark one. . not bad ,only tried it out on some heavy stuff but formed the bend well but did get the roller dimples as stated which is a pain in the butt.
Retromotorsport Posted October 18, 2007 Report Posted October 18, 2007 A Pipe bender bends pipe ... not tube .. on tube it will flatten and crinkle the tube . A Tube former is needed .. and the best and cheapest is from William Lowbuck Tools .. around $2000, with each set of Formers costing $250 .. Exhaust tubing can be done the old fashioned way ... Get some really dry sand (kiln sand is the best) cap one end of the tube off, fill with sand ramming it down .. and then cap the other end off, apply heat to the full length of the radius and use a former .. an old rim, your Gas bottle, other peices of pipe etc .. and form the bend , I used to do this but its cheaper for the customer to send it to a exhaust specialist .. I buy in cages ready formed .. its cheaper for the customer, the cost of the tube to me is almost the same as what the cage costs , but i do have a 20tonne pipe bender that i tweek the tubes with .. it wont form a neat radius like you need in a cage , but will tweek a tube a few degrees and thats all i need. I was watching a Mandrell Bender on Fleabay... it went for £750 in the end, but had no tooling with it ... it was 3m's long and 1.5 m's wide .. and i would only be tweeking bought in cages with it ... so left it
4parajon Posted October 18, 2007 Report Posted October 18, 2007 The bending machines Ive got are by no means cheap. The largest one I have which will mandrel bend up to 3" St St was just short of £250k.....and Ive got 3 machines. The hydraulic machines that have been quoted already are good machines for what they were designed for and if someone has one of these machines already then it would be cheap as chips to start bending on them. The reason why you are getting "dimples" or "ridges" at the start/end of the bends is because you are bending them empty. To stop this happening you need to fill them with sand, and I dont mean the sand off the beach, use good quality dry sand and fill the tube up with it, tamp it down and keep topping it up till there's no air left in the tube, cap the end with a rag or piece of wood and what you have is a solid bar, if you have filled it correctly you wont get any more of those horrible marks in the tube. If anyone wants any further info, pm me with your number and I'll help as much as poss Wessie - IMO dont buy one, unless you are going to start doing lots of them, and if you are going to start doing lots of them you will need to buy the correct quality of tube, scaffolding or anything else that is given away free wont be up to the job for motorsport use......especially if like you say you know you will end up having a shunt. If you know the sizes and lengths of the tube you require I will be more than happy to do them for you providing you pay for the tube, carriage and a donation to OSF Hope Ive been of help
4parajon Posted October 18, 2007 Report Posted October 18, 2007 Oh and keep the bender jokes coming.......honestly I have'nt heard any before.....no seriously
Grovesy Posted October 18, 2007 Report Posted October 18, 2007 Do you/ Can you make alot of money being a bender ?
Rick Posted October 18, 2007 Report Posted October 18, 2007 i might try that sand method its that kind of DIY approcach that makes it fun. awesome
4parajon Posted October 18, 2007 Report Posted October 18, 2007 Do you/ Can you make alot of money being a bender ? I would say so youve only got to look at Graham Norton, Michael Barrymore and the fat sidekick of David Walliams.......and I have my suspicions about Walliams as well
Stu_B Posted October 18, 2007 Report Posted October 18, 2007 yeah walliams is a poo pusher it seems to get him some tasty women though
Burns Posted October 18, 2007 Report Posted October 18, 2007 yeah walliams is a poo pusher it seems to get him some tasty women though i reckon he swings both ways, you should hear some of the things he comes out with that never make it to tv
Copey Posted October 18, 2007 Report Posted October 18, 2007 hey para, how much would it cost to have a 2" twin exit stainless steel system built up for a pinto capper??
4parajon Posted October 18, 2007 Report Posted October 18, 2007 hey para, how much would it cost to have a 2" twin exit stainless steel system built up for a pinto capper?? A lot........because Ive never made one before and there would be a lot of development work with it, and your the only muppet who would want one Only kidding mate Why would you want a twin exit system on a pinto.....the whole point of an exhaust system is to remove the gases as quickly as possible, by adding another box and more tube will only slow it down and therefore make your car slower. I seem to recall that CCI were having them made, but I'm not sure they still do. I would try them first
duttnut Posted October 18, 2007 Report Posted October 18, 2007 ive got a 16 ton clark one. . not bad ,only tried it out on some heavy stuff but formed the bend well but did get the roller dimples as stated which is a pain in the butt. Ive also got one of these and have had a lot of succsess with it, usually making roll bars/braces for kit cars out of thick seamless tube, It does a neat job. I intend to use it to produce a roll bar and braces for a fiesta before long and I'm sure it'll do a good job.
Wessie Posted October 18, 2007 Author Report Posted October 18, 2007 cheers for the info everyone, i was looking at spending up to about £700, but looks like i'll try using a cheaper one and sand, i was looking at building 3/4 spaceframes plus a couple of cages over the winter season and i thought it would probably work out cheaper to buy a tube former and tube, but some of the prices for the machines that have been mentioned i think i'll just modify existing cages that i've got and jon, cheers for the offer
Copey Posted October 19, 2007 Report Posted October 19, 2007 hey para, how much would it cost to have a 2" twin exit stainless steel system built up for a pinto capper?? A lot........because Ive never made one before and there would be a lot of development work with it, and your the only muppet who would want one Only kidding mate Why would you want a twin exit system on a pinto.....the whole point of an exhaust system is to remove the gases as quickly as possible, by adding another box and more tube will only slow it down and therefore make your car slower. I seem to recall that CCI were having them made, but I'm not sure they still do. I would try them first i want it coz it looks cool, i am now contemplatin side exits
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now