Indyguy
02-22-2009, 08:01 PM
As much as we'd all love a REAL tube bender, they are horribly expensive for someone who will only use it once or twice a year. Plenty of functional off-roady stuff has been built with sch40 pipe and the Harbor Freight pipe bender (or pipe kinker, as they're known in the realms of the PBB). There are various mods to this bender to make it perform better and not kink stuff so badly. So armed with my 20% off coupon, I proceeded to HF to pick up one of the giant orange beauties. I also decided I wanted to make a stand for raising the working height, making it easier to move the bender around the barn, and organize the dies. Here is what I came up with:
http://s177.photobucket.com/albums/w236/Indyguy_PBB/fab%20work/th_thIMG_0963.jpg
Top piece is .25" plate. I drilled 3 holes on each end of the bender and then I transferred that pattern over to the plate with a transfer punch and repeated the drilling process.
The legs are 1.0 x .100 square tubing. I actually used the 1/2" die from the pipe bender jerry-rigged in my 20ton press to bend the legs. Nuts are welded in the ends so the rubber casters can be screwed in/out for leveling, then held in place with lock nuts. The casters have brakes on them to keep things from moving around while working. I wanted a way to keep the dies organized without them protruding beyond the width of the bender. I determined how wide a platform needed to be to fit 5 of the dies (one can stay on the bender) and made a crossbrace to match that length. Once it was lined up, I put the dies on and marked the center of each and cut pieces of small diameter tube I had laying around to hold them in place.
http://s177.photobucket.com/albums/w236/Indyguy_PBB/fab%20work/th_thIMG_0962.jpg
http://s177.photobucket.com/albums/w236/Indyguy_PBB/fab%20work/th_thIMG_0964.jpg
I also decided it would be nice to have a place to house the handle for the ram:
http://s177.photobucket.com/albums/w236/Indyguy_PBB/fab%20work/th_thIMG_0968.jpg
The final picture makes it look like the handle sticks way out in front of the bender for some reason. I actually hugs in quite close. So here is the final product:
http://s177.photobucket.com/albums/w236/Indyguy_PBB/fab%20work/th_thIMG_0967.jpg
http://s177.photobucket.com/albums/w236/Indyguy_PBB/fab%20work/th_thIMG_0965.jpg
http://s177.photobucket.com/albums/w236/Indyguy_PBB/fab%20work/th_thIMG_0966.jpg
And what it can do. This is 1.00 ID sch40 pipe. Bent very easily. I didn't notice much kinking, which really surprised me given the reputation these things have earned. I did this as a series of three bends instead of trying to crank it all out of one bend; so that likely helps keep the kinking to a minimum. My 1.00 die was a snug fit. Oversized dies are one issue that leads to kinking; and many people have built up the sides with weld to make them tighter. If any of my larger dies prove to have this issue, I'll do the same. I was really happy with how the 1.00 die fit/performed, though:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w236/Indyguy_PBB/fab%20work/thIMG_0969.jpg
This will only be used for making bumpers, rock sliders, crossmembers, shock hoops, etc and not anything that people's lives depend on like a roll cage. Should be a nice addition to the shop and I'm sure I'll find more and more uses for it as time goes on.
http://s177.photobucket.com/albums/w236/Indyguy_PBB/fab%20work/th_thIMG_0963.jpg
Top piece is .25" plate. I drilled 3 holes on each end of the bender and then I transferred that pattern over to the plate with a transfer punch and repeated the drilling process.
The legs are 1.0 x .100 square tubing. I actually used the 1/2" die from the pipe bender jerry-rigged in my 20ton press to bend the legs. Nuts are welded in the ends so the rubber casters can be screwed in/out for leveling, then held in place with lock nuts. The casters have brakes on them to keep things from moving around while working. I wanted a way to keep the dies organized without them protruding beyond the width of the bender. I determined how wide a platform needed to be to fit 5 of the dies (one can stay on the bender) and made a crossbrace to match that length. Once it was lined up, I put the dies on and marked the center of each and cut pieces of small diameter tube I had laying around to hold them in place.
http://s177.photobucket.com/albums/w236/Indyguy_PBB/fab%20work/th_thIMG_0962.jpg
http://s177.photobucket.com/albums/w236/Indyguy_PBB/fab%20work/th_thIMG_0964.jpg
I also decided it would be nice to have a place to house the handle for the ram:
http://s177.photobucket.com/albums/w236/Indyguy_PBB/fab%20work/th_thIMG_0968.jpg
The final picture makes it look like the handle sticks way out in front of the bender for some reason. I actually hugs in quite close. So here is the final product:
http://s177.photobucket.com/albums/w236/Indyguy_PBB/fab%20work/th_thIMG_0967.jpg
http://s177.photobucket.com/albums/w236/Indyguy_PBB/fab%20work/th_thIMG_0965.jpg
http://s177.photobucket.com/albums/w236/Indyguy_PBB/fab%20work/th_thIMG_0966.jpg
And what it can do. This is 1.00 ID sch40 pipe. Bent very easily. I didn't notice much kinking, which really surprised me given the reputation these things have earned. I did this as a series of three bends instead of trying to crank it all out of one bend; so that likely helps keep the kinking to a minimum. My 1.00 die was a snug fit. Oversized dies are one issue that leads to kinking; and many people have built up the sides with weld to make them tighter. If any of my larger dies prove to have this issue, I'll do the same. I was really happy with how the 1.00 die fit/performed, though:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w236/Indyguy_PBB/fab%20work/thIMG_0969.jpg
This will only be used for making bumpers, rock sliders, crossmembers, shock hoops, etc and not anything that people's lives depend on like a roll cage. Should be a nice addition to the shop and I'm sure I'll find more and more uses for it as time goes on.