bender question
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Junior User
Joined: May 2004
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From: montana
bender question
hey there one more thing. where can i find a good quality tube/pipe bender for a decent price? something that can take 3 inch chromoly tupe with a .125 inch wall thickness. any help and recommendations can help alot. thanks
adam conter
sgt. u.s. army
adam conter
sgt. u.s. army
Elder User
Joined: Sep 2004
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3 inch diameter 1/8th inch wall round steel tubing is enormously strong. It's used for support columns in buildings, amoung other places.
A quick structural calculation suggests that you will need forces in excess of 50 tons to form 1 foot radius bends. I think you need to scale back the kinds of materials you are thinking of working with if you want to find a tube bender at "a decent price".
A quick structural calculation suggests that you will need forces in excess of 50 tons to form 1 foot radius bends. I think you need to scale back the kinds of materials you are thinking of working with if you want to find a tube bender at "a decent price".
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Junior User
Joined: May 2004
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From: montana
wow! the three inch would just be used for the bumpers lol. im going to run a 2 1/2 tube on the roll cage. if i ever needed that three inch i would be able to drive off the grand canyon and survive lol. ill look through the forum and try to find the past threads. thanks for the help. what size tube would be best for a roll cage anyhow?
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,463
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From: Staten Island, NY
Not really sure what you have in mind for a roll cage but here are some things to keep in mind.
As an example, the NHRA requirements are 1.75 X .083 chrome moly tubing for roll cages (I think they also permit mild steel tubing in .110 thickness). But equally important are your welding abilities, the overall cage design (it has to resist roll over forces in all three planes) and mounting locations. A roll cage bolted through sheet metal flooring and cab walls is nothing but an open air coffin. Ideally mounting plates should be attached to the frame. A good, well designed roll cage is heavy, ugly and will keep you brains where they belong when Oops happens.
As an example, the NHRA requirements are 1.75 X .083 chrome moly tubing for roll cages (I think they also permit mild steel tubing in .110 thickness). But equally important are your welding abilities, the overall cage design (it has to resist roll over forces in all three planes) and mounting locations. A roll cage bolted through sheet metal flooring and cab walls is nothing but an open air coffin. Ideally mounting plates should be attached to the frame. A good, well designed roll cage is heavy, ugly and will keep you brains where they belong when Oops happens.
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 18,488
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From: The Big, Oregon
I make roll cages from .120" DOM steel, 1.75" diameter. Very heavy, expensive, and very hard to bend. I have one of those HF benders, it will only do 40* max on this size material, less on larger sizes. There is a shoe that fits this size, it's the one for 1.25" sch40 pipe. Anything you bend in there needs to be packed with sand or it will just buckle. I have been told that you can tape up the ends of the pipe to hold the sand in, that was an expensive experiment. You need to weld caps on, make sure you leave no air space, then slowly make your bend.
IMO, too much trouble. I am looking for a good straight electric mandrel bender now, you can usually get them for $1500 or so.
IMO, too much trouble. I am looking for a good straight electric mandrel bender now, you can usually get them for $1500 or so.
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Posting Legend
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The good thing about having a lathe is I can make my own pipe and tubing bender dies. Now I just need to get it set up. 
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The stiffness of a steel tube is proportional to the third power of its diameter. So for equal wall thicknesses, it takes 5 times as much force to bend a 3 inch tube compared to a 1.75 inch tube. Mr. Ford_Six says 1.75 inch is already very hard to bend. Imagine 5 times that amount of force. That's why I cringed when 3 inch tube was first suggested.
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Post Fiend
Joined: Dec 2003
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From: "Islander"
We have benders at work that bend 2" to 4" ridgid conduit, Greenlee benders go from $11 to $17,000 depending on the amount of dies on a one shot.
A Greenlee 555 around $5,300 to $5,700, 1/2" to 2" EMT or Ridgid.
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A Greenlee 555 around $5,300 to $5,700, 1/2" to 2" EMT or Ridgid.
.....=o&o>.....
Thread Starter
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Junior User
Joined: May 2004
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From: montana
wow. um guys im vot sure what to do about all that im just looking for something kind of cheap. like maybe no more than 3-400 im just a hobby gut that likes to build crap not a pro lol. thanks for the info though you all really know your stuff. i saw one that harber freight sells anybody delt with something like that? (i.e. cheap) thanks for the help though.
Last edited by Torque1st; Sep 19, 2005 at 04:36 PM. Reason: masked profanity
Elder User
Joined: Oct 2004
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http://www.jd2.com/ This is a start. The Model 3 only does up to 2" round. The model 4 is a nice step up, but costly as well. Finding a good bender, that can do 3" is NOT going to be cheap, period.
Post Fiend
Joined: Dec 2003
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From: "Islander"
The model 4 is the way to go, Enerpac, well just say we've had failures with their pumps and replaced with a Greenlee pumps. After the purchase price shock remember accessories like different dies and shoes will add up real fast but again you'll have a lifetime quality machine that will make you money.
.....=o&o>.....
.....=o&o>.....
Posting Guru
Joined: Jan 2005
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From: Seattle
Originally Posted by Texascadillac42
......Finding a good bender, that can do 3" is NOT going to be cheap, period.
We have a Pines #4 mandrel bender (the type used to make headers and what not) that ran us $25K with some very select tooling.
conter4x4,
My sugestion would be to do what we do when an odd-ball, one-off bent tubing or pipe parts are required - buy them. Here's one source I use for off-the-shelf components and custom bent tubing and pipe parts:
http://www.sharpeproducts.com/steelelbows.htm