Customised cheap tube bender for 180 degree bends!!
How to bend tube? Bending steel tube with a manual tube bender!
I needed to bend tubing up to 180 degrees but could not find an affordable tool. So, I bought a cheap tube bender and with a few simple customisations had it performing like one that's 10 times the value!
Ultimately, this is to make the frame for my homemade electric bike.
Here is a link to a bender like the one I used in the video amzn.to/3t3NrWX
Channel Info: Hi I'm Rich, I love building and creating and have just decided to start recording the projects I make. You can follow my progress on my channel.
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Who needs a workbench or a shop when you have a view like that?
Love the view from your house.
I have looked at these style of benders but not really thought they were any good for the larger tube sizes . I'm impressed with the results you have achieved thanks for sharing and talking through the thought process and methods .
Thanks Gary for the kind words, I was surprised too with the results compared to the cost of the bender!
@@richhindhaugh32 looking at the result for what you used and how it came out I'd say it was a very good result in your favour . I have the other hydraulic pipe bender and as long as you mark and rotate the pipe it seems to behave and not kink .( mark pipe in 1inch increments and bend a bit release move the pipe 1 mark bend again and so on little at a time then start again bending a bit more and away ya go ) . Good luck on future projects . And I'll have a look and see how the bike turns out .
i have the same bender and bent some 25mmx3mmwall tube with mine without handle extension, the key is to stand with your right hand on the handle and your left hand on the material you are bending, as you pull with your right arm push with your left arm , your affectively using the material as a leverage bar and it also takes half the stress off the roller ass you are already forcing the material in the right direction, as i say i did 25mmx3mm wall tube without a leverage bar and with out beefing up the roller and did it with ease
Hey "All Things Metal" thanks for the comment! Ive not tried that technique so ill be sure to give it a go. Stainless steels not the easiest of materials to work with so if it helps that will be brill!
Super informative, Can’t wait to see the e-bike!
Glad you enjoyed it! more vids of the bike build on the way!
great video!
I'm about to get this exact same bender for the exact same reason. (Great minds quote) and I was about to mount it to a large block of wood as you..Now watching your video I think I will put a concrete post in the ground and build a mount from there lol watching as writing looks like you did the same..Great tip on the weld on the roller will have to have a look at mine when I get it..Might try to sleeve it..Subbed for your ebike build..
When you mentioned the need for the extra long lever, it occured to me that the manufacturer specs for tube wall thickness and diameter were probably for mild steel, not stainless. As you've no doubt discovered, much tougher stuff to work.
Hey Tim, the description said it would work with Stainless no issues, I was sceptical too when I bought it, guess I was right thus why I had to adapt it to work.
when bending ss tube use type 316L to lessen or avoid kinks. also 304 DOM works better than welded tube.
well this is a good way to spend lockdown, the go pro shot on the tube is class. nice one 🤩 where did you get all your tools from?
Thanks Gemma! Most of my tools are bought online, Make sure you go for quality ones as they get the job done better and last ages!
Excellent mod idea. Im Impressed with what ive seen folks do with it (so far) if i buy one, Ill be modding it a bit too: ill weld “gussets” to that lever so it can take punishment of a longer lever bar…although if its crappy cast metal im not sure if i could do this successfully. Maybe ill fab a new beefier arm altogether But Im wondering whats the heaviest wall thickness 7/8” or even 1” stainless that this unit will do?
Great video!
I heard putting grease on it helps it slide and decreases the force needed to bend it.
If you change the point of contact on the die to one side or another then make the center of the die a pivot point then you won’t get a kink.
Hi Rich, Nice video, well thought out. I am looking at two similar benders on eBay because I am wanting to make a new sprayhood frame and safety rail gate supports for my small yacht using 25.4mm stainless steel tube - quotes from companies willing to do the jobs are nearly what the boat is worth!! The only thing is that the odd kink could be hidden on the sprayhood frame once the canvas has been fitted, but I can't do with any kinks on the gate supports and these will be almost a 180 degree bend. Anyway, your video has given me a few ideas, and I have decided to go for one of the benders on eBay and give it a go. Keep up the good work, I've subscribed to your channel - are you in Yorkshire? (looks like it, but probably wrong).
What size bending shoe was that and what was the outside diameter of the stainless thank you
What size tubing was that? Great video
Hey SupperMudMuppet the tubing is 25x1.65mm / 1" x 0.064" hope this helps!
@@richhindhaugh32 awesome thank you
how much could be the price of the low cost of pipe bender
Anyone know where to buy this bender in the US?
Link ?
Do you have a link for this? All my eBay searches are bringing up plumbers pipe benders. Thanks
Hi John, I have added a link in the description, the price of the bender has gone up since I purchased it but its still cheap for the results you achieve. Thanks
You don’t have to take it all apart like that, you just feed the tube into it.
If your rich why don't you buy one..
I have no skill to release the pipe after bended. Actually no need to release any screw. And also, this kind of bender no really smart.
Check you are using the right size tube for the die (using pipe goes off the inner diameter so it won’t fit correctly in the rollers) also try tapping it out with a hammer.
I applaud your effort ... however. This was a failure. That's fine, I fail trying new things all the time, but let's not pretend this was a success and talk others into doing the same, creating an expectation of success. Damaged / kinked 2mm tubing is likely only as strong as 1mm tubing that is properly bent. The tube that you bent had kinks, as you pointed out, and the bend did not stay level. The kinks are due to the design of the machine (mostly the die) and not staying level because you are overloading the bender so much, that it is pulling up on the tube, causing the tube to bend upwards. I'm assuming that it would work much better with thinner wall tubing, or if you add some support to the arm, perhaps add a lower plate instead of having it only supported at the top of the die (likely not easy to do). To get a full 180º bend, I would try extending the die slightly, an inch or two. This will likely cause the pipe to get stuck on the die when you do 180 bends, but if it stops it from kinking, it would be worth it. Sorry if my comment seems a little harsh... it just seems to me that this video has the potential misinform people or give them unrealistic expectations... perhaps costing them a lot of time and money.