SteveH

What pipe benders/notchers/welders etc etc do you have? Post your (relevant) workshop pics up please!!!
Was looking for a pipe bender and I have 2 basic options (as i cant afford a singing dancing mandrel bender)

Something like this
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/pr...e-bender/path/

And fill the tubes with sand, as per this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWT3N...eature=related
(cant believe he just tapes the end, seems to work though)

Or something like these
http://www.jd2.com/

Which seem to be easier to use as you dont have to faff about with sand, as per here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIY9W...eature=related

Where can i get the second type from? There doesn't seem to be any uk based places - prove me wrong and i'll have my

And lastly, this looks pretty awesome, Radders sent it to me, apparently he was googling for something else and was disappointed with this video? Dont know what he could have meant...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWOqu5SG2tE


Steve

Johnny Knoxville

The first one you will really need to pack the sand in, i've done it and its just really messy and as said before you really need to get the sand in tight, i used to weld up the top and bottom of the pipe after sand. It can only be done with thick wall tubing anyway.

Go for the 2nd one but you may have to get it imported?

Got a notcher from the Uk for Ł70

As for welder only got a Clarke Red 151E Turbo but do have access to a industrial one

GARETH T

ive tried sand and always failed!
frozen water works ok BTW

if your thinking baout doing exhaust, its easyer to buy the bends and pipes!

SteveH

Its the time aspect with the sand too, don't really wanna be filling up tubes all day

Want to find a manual mandrel bender (like the 2nd vid, is that what they're called?) but still no luck

Micky The Finn

ive a proper crysler pipe bender here i maybe selling as my new place isnt 3 phase electric,i would be looking for around 5k for it.

SteveH

waay out of my budget unfortunately, would be nice to see some pics of it still if you have any?

4parajon

What exactly are you after a bending machine for??
I've got 6 machines, 5 CNC and 1 NC which are all mandrel machines.
Ive no intention of selling any of them as they are all used for my tube bending & fabrication business but I may be able to help you with what you need.

Twellsie

iTrader: (1)

definately go with the second choice, the first one in my experience is crap.

Sand is very hit and miss and very intersting when welding ends on when the sand is damp but you can get some stuff that you pour in, in a molten state, that solidifies, then you melt it out again, cant remember what its called, but i will ask about at work today

Twellsie

iTrader: (1)

its called cerabend

Luca

iTrader: (2)

I would personally just buy the mandrel bends and fabriacte from there.

Its far easier and cheaper than the outlay of a machine unless your needing to use it on a daily basis.

Twellsie

iTrader: (1)

you can also download a program called tubemiter.exe which is pretty handy

focusv8

Interesting little program

.

SteveH

For making exhausts, cages, chassis etc.
is the second video in my original post called a mandrel? manual mandrel?
Still cant find a place to get one in the uk

Will have a look at that program too twellsie, cheers

bigal1978

the first one is a pipe bender and bends pipe well not a tube bender its the dies that are the main prob and the dies for the second one are over a ton each

http://www.thefont.pwp.blueyonder.co...ube_bender.htm
make your own

stole this from some where

Trouble is, it's a pipe bender not a tube bender.

Pipe is sized on it's bore, tube on it's OD.

Pipes is for conducting things from on place to another and a bend in it is a good one as long as it doesn't reatrict the flow of stuff too much.

Tube is structural and bends in it should maintain the structural integrity as far as possible.

So, don't use it to bend tube is the best advice.

But if you must...

Use CFS 360 tube as it bends more easily.

Wrap a sheet metal "U" around a piece of tube and bend it to make a "shoe" that shims the pipe sized formers to the correct size for tube.

Use thicker wall tube.

All those should help

Chris Latham

what is your budget buddy ???

4parajon

No mate, neither are mandrel bending machines. A mandrel is basically a shaft which slides into the tube and stops the tube from collapsing during the bending process.
If your dead set on getting hold of a machine if you look hard enough you'll find them, try industrial machinery auction sites, they usually turn up there. What you need to be carefull of though with mandrel bending machines is the tooling. Its very expensive, I'm having some made now for a customer and its just over Ł2500, and thats only to bend 1" x 16swg wall. There's also not many tool makers in the UK left that have the knowledge and experience to make the tooling required so if you do see one come up at auction make sure you get the tooling as well.
Below is a link of a machine similar to what I've got, don't know how much they are but mine was a smidgen under Ł80k 4 years ago. The mandrel is shown in the vid and looks a bit like a droopy knob

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=g7YyHcbXRsQ

SteveH

Not a huge amount tbh, the 2nd link was about $300, notcher is about Ł100


4parajon: Cheers for the info, didnt realise the tooling was so expensive! Starting to understand why cages are so expensive! That plus the experience of the fabricator of course. And Ł80k!!

Was chatting to a lad today who knows his stuff, he works next door to a place that bend tubes to your spec, might just go there for the main hoop, buy a notcher and work from there with straight tubes!

4parajon

No problem, if you get stuck give me a shout as I do manufacture cages & braces.

Lo@der

iTrader: (8)

Did anyone else read the title and lol?

I am such a child.