Tube Bender's

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Awl_TEQ said:
Very true. But, running out to the tubing vendor to get 100' for a project, I have no control over the metalurgy of the material I buy (other than consumer demand). They sell what they have. They have "steel" ERW or "steel" DOM or pipe. Pipe doesn't fit my dies. DOM is twice the price. I'll make my cage from DOM and bumpers from ERW.

In other words - unless I buy mill run quantities I can't dictate the % C, Si, Mn, P, Cr, Ni, Cu, etc. in my structural material.
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Your local steel shop may not have the exact stuff you want, but it certianly will know the material they are selling you.
1018, 1020, 1026 or even 4130 amongst a ton of other options.

Steel is a garbage can term for a HELL Of a lot of different materials. Chromo is Steel, ERW is steel.. Without knowing what type of steel you are using, the comparisons of strength is meaningless...
 
BAILEIGH INC said:
I have seen wear issues like this from guys that are using WD-40 as a lubricant. It has solvents and does not work well and causes wear.
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Another thing to add, Some of the lesser quality ERW mild steel's out there will mar a bit easier than a dom will because of the work hardening.

IMHO, the follower die shoudl always be a softer metal than the item being bent..
 
Mace said:
Your local steel shop may not have the exact stuff you want, but it certianly will know the material they are selling you.
1018, 1020, 1026 or even 4130 amongst a ton of other options.

Steel is a garbage can term for a HELL Of a lot of different materials. Chromo is Steel, ERW is steel.. Without knowing what type of steel you are using, the comparisons of strength is meaningless...
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Mace,

I concede your point fully.

I'm curious though - given a half decent home garage budget, what material and what grade would you use for a roll cage?

Kevin
 
Awl_TEQ said:
Mace,

I concede your point fully.

I'm curious though - given a half decent home garage budget, what material and what grade would you use for a roll cage?

Kevin
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IMHO, a good design outweigs the material selection. Some time spent designing the cage, can do wonders for how it will hold up in a roll.

My cage in my 40 is HREW.
My cage in the Class 11 car is Dom (mild steel) but, that is only because the SNORE rulebook requires it. I would do a HREW cage in the race car in a sec..

If I was building a play buggy. I still would not mind HREW.

If I had more money, I would do Mild Steel DOM. (mostly because of the issues I have had with HREW Calling the bending dies)

If I was looking to compete, and weight was an issue, I would build the entire chassis out of thinner/smaller 4130 and then have it retreated.


And, if the only dies I had were for pipe, I would find some pipe that had strength numbers in the balpark and use that.


:meh:
 
So did you guys all buy your benders online and have them shipped to you, or can you find these at local distributors? Seems like shipping would be a beast.

Second question... anyone in the Dallas area know a good place to shop for equipment like this? I'd love to find a Model 3 or 105 and dies this weekend.

Edit: Yep, best I can find for a bender, stand, and couple of dies is a $90 shipping charge.
 
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moiremusic said:
So did you guys all buy your benders online and have them shipped to you, or can you find these at local distributors? Seems like shipping would be a beast.

Second question... anyone in the Dallas area know a good place to shop for equipment like this? I'd love to find a Model 3 or 105 and dies this weekend.

Edit: Yep, best I can find for a bender, stand, and couple of dies is a $90 shipping charge.
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Shipping for a tube bender is not that bad. Our RDB-050 tube bender ships in 3 UPS boxes.
 
I use the JD2 as well mainly due to a club member has one w/ multiple dies & we just borrow each others'. I've bent a few pins & have broken the welds off one of the dies, but it wasn't a big deal. I use plenty of WD40 on all moving parts always. Make sure your tube is very smooth or you'll gall up the "softened steel" inserts on the die follower. You'll learn about the kickback when bending 180 deg. :meh:
 
So then the question is still not answered. What if a home DIY wants to build some sliders and maybe even a front or rear bumper. Would the bender from Harbor Freight or the one from Northern Industries due. I do not have a budget for a bender like you guys are talking about with the Pro Tools or JD2. If this is just for every so often products and your are not a shop why would they not work. I understand that they are not tube benders but I have read several people be successful with bending tube.
 
alteredvision said:
So then the question is still not answered. What if a home DIY wants to build some sliders and maybe even a front or rear bumper. Would the bender from Harbor Freight or the one from Northern Industries due. I do not have a budget for a bender like you guys are talking about with the Pro Tools or JD2. If this is just for every so often products and your are not a shop why would they not work. I understand that they are not tube benders but I have read several people be successful with bending tube.
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If you are making your sliders and bumpers out of schedule 40 pipe, the HF bender will bend up to around a 90 degrees before it will start frustrting you. If you stick tubing in the bender, you will quickly find out why the HF bender has such a bad reputation.

There is a reason why people call it the "tube kinker"

Do you want your bumper to look like this?

GetAttachment3.jpg
 
I have heard a lot of mixed opinion's on it but I guess we will never know. I do not have the $700 to buy a bender and die's so that I could even bend some simple sliders, but I can get a $100 HF bender. I can not see how if you take your time and read how other people have modified theirs to work that this will not work. Maybe it will not work like those more expensive ones and I would hope not. I am not a shop, I am just a guy who likes to drive over rocks on the weekend and will probably never own a truck I have to trailer so from what I have read it is all opion and not much real data.

If I had the money then I would absolutely buy one of the pro built benders but it would be a waste because after I built the sliders and bumper with this tool that I know own for $1000 plus what do I do with it?
 
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I bought an HF kinker with the same hopes and aspirations you have right now. I thought I could make it work...Dont waste your money on a HF kinker. Your money would be better spent outsourcing it too a fab shop or buying a set from Marlin Crawler, Trail gear, etc and modifying them to work for your application.

Too bad you arent in Oregon... I'd tell to get the damn HF kinker out of my garage for free!!!!
 
brokenparts said:
I bought an HF kinker with the same hopes and aspirations you have right now. I thought I could make it work...Dont waste your money on a HF kinker. Your money would be better spent outsourcing it too a fab shop or buying a set from Marlin Crawler, Trail gear, etc and modifying them to work for your application.

Too bad you arent in Oregon... I'd tell to get the damn HF kinker out of my garage for free!!!!
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:cheers: Great response!
 
I will pay for shipping!

It is to bad that it does not work I would love to be able to build my own stuff and have the knowledge just not the tools. Why are benders so expensive? Is it that is just what the industry says is acceptable?

Why doesn't anyone put out a bender for the home garage, that seems like a market that is so open right now. I looked at a few build yourself jobs but they are just the same price as one built. Man this is such a frustrating thing.
 
they do... they're just a bit spendy for the average hobbiest. I have a protools bender now with an air/hydraulic conversion so that I could mount it on a stand with wheels to move it around the garage/driveway to bend tube. Works great! There are some plans out there to build your own and then use a protools or jd2 die to bend the material. That could save you a couple bucks.


Bending tube is fun:

IMG_4857.jpg


IMG_4858.jpg
 
brokenparts said:
they do... they're just a bit spendy for the average hobbiest. I have a protools bender now with an air/hydraulic conversion so that I could mount it on a stand with wheels to move it around the garage/driveway to bend tube. Works great! There are some plans out there to build your own and then use a protools or jd2 die to bend the material. That could save you a couple bucks.


Bending tube is fun:

IMG_4857.jpg


IMG_4858.jpg
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Yes it is. :popcorn:
 
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