how do i bend steel tubing at home?

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joewlms3

New Member
May 20, 2009
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south carolina
have some tubing i need to bend for my frame build 1 1/8"
somebody tell me hot to get like a 30-45deg bend pretty small raius without kinking
plz help
 

DOC BOLM

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Aug 21, 2008
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Mississippi
Build a jig from a old car wheel or brake drum,lock it in a vice,heat your tubing cherry red .you can weld one end to the jig.Start bending.Easy as pie.HD P.S.Fill your tube with sand it wont flatten out.
 
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joewlms3

New Member
May 20, 2009
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south carolina
dont own a torch but that would sure be a nice addition to my tool kit
would you be talkin about a little propane job? or a oxy/acetylene rig?

any other thoughts
 

2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
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Littleton, Colorado
And pack the sand very, very tight. Have you thought of trying an electrical conduit bender. They're cheap and available at most hardware, home improvement and electrical supply outlets. 1 1/8" O.D. is close enough to 1" conduit.
Tom
 
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dillon_b12

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Jul 14, 2009
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Louisville, KY
Make sure the sand is super dry before you pack the tubes and don't seal the tube completely. You need to leave a slight leak so that when you heat the tube, the air inside can escape as pressure inside the tube rises from the heat. Wet sand will steam and cause the same problem if you don't allow the tube to breathe.
 

TerrontheSnake

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Jun 1, 2009
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Aha, I was wondering why mine always kinked... I don't have a lot of Exp with tubing yet. LoL I love this place, I was just looking through random threads and learned something new!
 

BrettMavriK

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Oct 3, 2008
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Just be careful here to what looks like a "Tubing Bender" at those places.
There is a difference between a Tubing Bender and a Pipe Bender.
Tubing is measured in Outside Diameter, while Pipe is measured in Inside diameter.This means 2" Pipe may have a 2-1/4" OD or better. so, as you can see the dies will not work for Tubing. You can try, but all you'll do is mar and deform the tubing as you try to bend it.
Another thing to consider is the radius of the dies of a true tubing bender. too large of a radius, and you won't get the bend as tight as you expected.

More than meets the eye.... =-]'
 
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joewlms3

New Member
May 20, 2009
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south carolina
so far the i like the sound of the conduit bender. mostly because i have used a tool like that before at where i used to work work but my job wont let me get to home depot until after aug 18th i hope i dont have to wait that long
ive sand bent some copper before to make a 2meter j-pole anteanna which didnt work well at all
if you guys really think it will work well with the heating and sand just let me know. if i go that route i will have to buy some more materials for a jig or if i wanna use the conduit bender i will have to buy that
 

joewlms3

New Member
May 20, 2009
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south carolina
oh yeah absolutely i was a pipe fitter before i started the job im at now


dont forget guys

pipe is measured by nominal ID
tubing is measured by actual OD
emt conduit is measured by actual ID
and that big heavy condiut is measured like pipe
 

Junster

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Jun 2, 2009
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Washington St.
I don't know if your looking Birddog but to bend tubing at home without the equipment. Try filling the tube with sand. Fill it all the way and use those plumbing test plugs in the ends. then you can use heat and a form made from plywood and if you take your time you can be successful. Don't start a fire.
 

Birddog1148

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Apr 9, 2010
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Sandusky, ohio
I don't know if your looking Birddog but to bend tubing at home without the equipment. Try filling the tube with sand. Fill it all the way and use those plumbing test plugs in the ends. then you can use heat and a form made from plywood and if you take your time you can be successful. Don't start a fire.
I tried to post a link from a VW forum I frequent on the HF Bender AKA "Kinker" but being new it wouldnt let me. It involved some mods to make the HF unit more tubing friendly as oposed to just pipe, but thanks. drn2 Great smileys by the way!
 

silverbear

The Boy Who Never Grew Up
Jul 9, 2009
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northeastern Minnesota
I guess this is as good a place to ask as any since it involves bending tubular metal. I'm trying to make a pocket bike expansion chamber fit on my 39 Elgin and had thought to use a section of bicycle handlebar as pipe going from the exhaust manifold to the expansion pipe. The handlebar fits snugly inside the expansion pipe and like the pipe is chromed. Yesterday I tried bending the handlebar by heating it up with a propane torch, but it does not produce enough heat. I know that map gas is hotter and know enough that a whole kit is involved and some money, too. What I want to know is if the map gas cylinder can be used with a regular bernzomatic propane torch? Will it produce more heat than a propane cylinder... is it a safe thing to do... and would the heat be adequate for bending handlebar pipe? Also, would I need to use sand inside to keep it from crimping? Many thanks. I think the question is closely enough related to the theme of the thread to not be a high jack.
SB
 

Alajoyn

New Member
Sep 28, 2009
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Portage, MI
Maybe this is out of place, but as I recall, I've in the past asked muffler shops as to bending tubing and they always quoted me $1 (one dollar) per bend. Since then my son's millwright shop has their own.

Wouldn't this be worth a look?

Robert