tube bending or elbow pipe?

[Gold Boy]

hi guys

i'm havin trouble finding a shop that will bend some 3" tubing for me, so can any one recommend a shop at the coast that will...?

if not maybe i should use elbows for my bends, where can i get them?

it's for my little red neck winch bumper project.

thanks

 

[canucksafari]

Simon, have you tried any machine shops? They should have good pipe bending equiptment. How about:
Princeton Hydraulic Repair & Machine Shop


253 Burton
Princeton, BC
V0X 1W0
250-295-3311

If not them, ask at Mac's. They will know who will do pipe bending.

 

[Gold Boy]

Simon, have you tried any machine shops? They should have good pipe bending equiptment. How about:
Princeton Hydraulic Repair & Machine Shop


253 Burton
Princeton, BC
V0X 1W0
250-295-3311

If not them, ask at Mac's. They will know who will do pipe bending.

thanks John

haven't tried those guys yet. but i have tried the Penticton and kelowna machine shops unsuccessfully; it seems that 3" is to big for these guys.

 

[Deny]

Go the 3in pipe route, that is what I did with my Dodge bumber I built, can't even tell it isn't one piece. make sure you 45deg the end where you weld, fill in the gap, then grind smooth. you can also touch up with a little bondo to make it look pretty. Any place like princess auto or Northern Metallic has those and they are 3 to 6 bux.
Cheers,
Deny

 

[Gold Boy]

cheers Deny

i will follow up on your advice and instruction.

btw, that's a very cool looking bumper you have there, looks heavy duty.

 

[Deny]

yeah a little too heavy, 1/4 steal all around, takes 2 guys to lift it. Was my first bumper, so I will do better on my next one.
Cheers,
Deny

 

[canucksafari]

thanks John

haven't tried those guys yet. but i have tried the Penticton and kelowna machine shops unsuccessfully; it seems that 3" is to big for these guys.

You know any millrights who work at the mill? They use to have benders which would do much bigger than 3" pipe. That was many years ago. But during slow times it use to be okay for them to do their own work or small things for firends - not sure now under the present managment.

 

[Gold Boy]

You know any millrights who work at the mill? They use to have benders which would do much bigger than 3" pipe. That was many years ago. But during slow times it use to be okay for them to do their own work or small things for firends - not sure now under the present managment.

good idea, but alas, i don't know a millwright at the mill.

 

[canucksafari]

good idea, but alas, i don't know a millwright at the mill.

Martin Smythe from Dry Lake Camp on Hwy 5A is a millright there. His father was one of the old timer machinist in the Princeton area - pre- 1970s. There is a good chance he might have the equiptment to do it at home. Give him a call. His wife is Lynne and they are in the phone book. Early evening is best, as Marty is usually up at about 3:00 A.M. to go to work.

 

[Gold Boy]

Martin Smythe from Dry Lake Camp on Hwy 5A is a millright there. His father was one of the old timer machinist in the Princeton area - pre- 1970s. There is a good chance he might have the equiptment to do it at home. Give him a call. His wife is Lynne and they are in the phone book. Early evening is best, as Marty is usually up at about 3:00 A.M. to go to work.

thanks for the contact...

 

[chet]

do you have an andrew sheret plumbing supply in the area? They can get you the pipe elbows. you can get shprt or long radius. typically LR will be easier to find.

 

[Gold Boy]

do you have an andrew sheret plumbing supply in the area? They can get you the pipe elbows. you can get shprt or long radius. typically LR will be easier to find.

chet

i will give'em a try !

thanks

 

[Fantom]

There are benefits and set backs to both, welding on pre bent 90s or other angles is easier and you can position them where you want a bit easier. Unless you sleeve the inside all you have is the weld holding onto the piece which is the first place it will break. Also you have a bunch of grinding to do. If you sleeve it it will be fine but heavier. You are also stuck with being only able to make the turns that are pre-fabbed.
You can buy a hydraulic cheap bender (KMS) has a horizontal one for (from what I remember) about $200-250. Here you don't have a gauge to repeat the same angles, some of the cheaper units also end up crimping the metal or causing a untrue and flattened curve and thus resulting in a weaker radius. The one I found was decent but by no means professional. the benefit is you can create what you need where you need it.
If you can't find someone to do it for you you can get the already made ones but make sure to sleeve them on the inside, if that doesn't work then a $250 hydraulic bender should do you (get the horizontal one it's better then the vertical one).

 

[Granite Grinder]

A JD Squared Model 3 (very common tube bender) is about 350.00. Unfortunately it'll only bend up to 2". The 2" die (sold separately) is about 350.00. The hydraulic kit is about 450.00. Even the Model 4 only bends up to 2.5" and it costs about 1,200.00 before the die. You can see where I'm going with this... you need a fairly substantial bender to bend 3". This is a tubing bender not a pipe bender.
GG

 

[Gold Boy]

considering my options, thanks for your replies.

 

[Fantom]

The one I picked up, which is by no means a JD, just a cheap Chinese hydraulic bender from House of Tools (which they had on sale at the time) came with a 3" bend radius. It actually is a pipe not tube bender. If you start doing it professionally and require precision and repeat exact bends then you are going to have to spend the money on a good one. For the occasional bend and project some of the cheap knock offs do surprisingly well. Granted if you compare the bends beside each other it will be very easy to tell which is which.

 

[Granite Grinder]

I believe Mike McT. has a similar one, says it works just fine... as Mat has pointed out. I didn't do a lot of shopping around, I bought a JD when it was on sale at KMS. Got a 1.75 die to go with it. I'm saving up for the hydraulic option.
GG