can erw tubing be bent with pipe bender?

[NineInches]

Can you bend 1.5" .120 wall ERW tubing with a pipe bender from Harbor Freight? Will it look good? What size die should I use?

[Rockrat]

Yes you can BUT the dies are made for pipe not tubing so it generally will mushroom the tube when you start to get near 90 deg. Some people have reworked the dies to fit the tube better, its a gamble that you take and nead to heat the tubing to get it to bend correctly but I was never able to achieve a perfect 90 deg..

[DSI]

1 5/8 tube can be used in a pipe bender i don't recall which die, but it's the only one that is useable without some adverse effects

[Shrock]

1 1/2 sch 40 pipe is 1.610" OD.

1 5/8" is 1.625"

That is within 1/64" of being the same. Should work OK...by HF pipe bender standards.

Jim

[RocKrawler]

I tried one, but the rough casting of the die put lots of dimples in the tube, no doubt weakening it at the bend, and kinked it a bit... the second try I did split the die in half. When I brought it back to HF they said to just grab another because it happens "once in a while", so I took a store credit & bought a notcher, grinder, and small misc. stuff. Then I saved a bit & got a JD2... worth the extra expense in my opinion... If its too much, find someone locally to go halfs with & cut your expenses.. or if you're in a 4WD club you can see if everyone wants to chip in & have it available for club members.. I also networked with other local guys & found they had no 1.5" die, but did have 2" and 1.75" and we can swap as needed.

[SilverZuk]

I've got a pipe crusher.
Have successfully bent ERW up to around 45-degrees before it started crushing.

I bent my uprights, and bars from the rear of frame to the stock bar. The halo isn't going to happen with a pipe crusher.

I tried to bend one piece of ERW from the floor along the windshield frame to the stock bar and screwed up the last bend.
Multiple compound bends are hard to get to hit where you want. They are extremely hard with a pipe crusher.

I've got really close to 90-degrees several times making multiple bends before it started crushing.

You will waste more time and tubing to pay for a tubing bender.
Tube benders are just too easy.

The pipe crusher is a waste of money.
I'll make you a real sweet deal on one.

I've tried all the dies on 1.5-inch ERW, the end result was the same - crushed tubing.


BTW they work great on pipe. I did my rock rails out of black pipe because it's much more rigid than ERW. It worked great.

[YJ4RoX]

Actually 1.5" Sch 40 is 1.610" ID, its 1.900" OD

the closest die for 1.5" ERW is the 1.25" pipe die

1.25" Sch 40 pipe is 1.660 OD.

it will flatten no matter what you do. Try fillin with sand or heating but it will still flatten.

experiement with different roller locations

or pony up the $$ for a tube bender

[Rockrat]

And if you want to realy know where to bend you can use Bend Tech EZ software

[Mike@Accurate]

The 3/4" pipe die is pretty close to 1". The 1" die is close to 1 3/8". The 1 1/4" to 1 5/8". 1 1/2" to 1 7/8". And the 2" die is close to 2 3/8". The tool is still a POS, but you can get some stuff done. Makes a makeshift press in a pinch. MIKE

[fledgling666]

i tried 1.5x .120 wall DOM once. it folded, badly. never try that again, that stuff costs a fortune. my main hoop is sch 40 1.5" and does measure close to 2".