Pipe Benders..kinda off topic

[MadMetalMax]

hi i know this is kinda off topic but i would like to get a pipe bender but i dont know much about them. i know that there is a hand crank type but i dont like those there difficult to use. there are also hydrolic powered which i am intrested in. i dont know much about them though. are there types that you can hook up to air compressors or what?

[gde]

First off, you need to understand that there is a HUGE difference between PIPE and TUBE benders. What you are referring to is a Tubing bender. I have done a write up on offroadfabnet.com about converting a manual tube bender to electric/hydro. You are not going to find ANY GOOD tubing benders for less than $600 (this includes 1 die). Cheapy PIPE bender can be had for under $100 but aren't worth the metal they are made out of. For rollcages, etc. you want a TUBING bender. Tubing benders are used to bend tubing but also have dies that will allow them to bend pipe without distorting or kinking it. To make it as simple as possible, tubing is measured by it's OD (outer diameter) and pipe is measured from it's ~ID (inner diameter) Pipe has different "schedules" 40, 80, 120... which is the thickness. This is not going to give you any usable info so I'll shut up. You want a TUBING bender, trust me!!! BTW, JD2 and ProTools are the two leading brands that are "reasonable". Hossfeld benders get very pricey and operate on the sme principal. You can do a search on here also. I have posted pics of my hydro conversion just to give you an idea. Try this link below.
http://offroadfabnet.com/index.php?n...iewtopic&t=184

[MadMetalMax]

thank you very much for your help but unfortunatly the jd2 is out of my price range so i think im out of luck there.....im still curious if theres a type of tube bender that is powered by an air comppressor?????

[Teeps]

what your looking for is going to be way out of your pricerange.

sorry, you have to pay to play!!!!

But.... as the man said, some of us take matters into our own hands, and find better ways to build better tools, sometimes with far cheaper costs, if power units and raw materials can be salvaged from older equipment this saves a ton over buying something built new. But you'll have lots of time into her before you ever bend a tube!

Maybe let us know what your chief use will be, there might be an easier way.

Good Luck!!!

[gde]

Regarding powering a bender off of a compressor, this is air/hydro. Same as a electro/hydro only you are using air to power the air hydraulic cylinder. Louder and not as good IMO. It will work though. You still have to have the initial tube bender (which is either JD2 or ProTools) as a starting platform. People just convert these manual benders into either air or electric over hydraulic but still have the bender as a starting point. You CANNOT GET AWAY FROM THE INITIAL BENDER PURCHASE!! Save your money and try to locate a used hydraulic log splitter set up and the plans I geve on that link will walk you through the rest. It is VERY simple!! I should know of all people, cuz when it comes to electricity or hydraulics, I AM A TARD...Seriously!! Just save your $$$ and do it right from the start. Buy the bender and one die and then visit the forum again and take it from there. DO BUY ONE THOUGH..YOU WON'T REGRET IT!!!

[Armadillo]

Ok, please don't flame on the new guy too bad here but I wanted to get started bending and purchased this from Harbor freight.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=35336

I have used it to bend 2 and 3/8 inch oil field pipe for legs on a deer blind and used it to do quite a bit of bending of 2 inch thick wall tubing. Here is a picture of steps that I recently made for my Jeep with the bender.

I know you get what you pay for but this has allowed me to get started. Just my .02 cents.

Armadillo

[gde]

I won't flame you but look at your bends. The tubing has flattened out and is structurally unsound if used this on a rollcage or something else. Further, it cannot be used for tubing. It is a BAD idea to give the idea that a PIPE bender is ok to use in place of a TUBING bender. These low-buck "benders" will work for bending legs on a shop chair but that's about it!

[Armadillo]

I will agree that the picture makes it look flat but they are not. This is Schedule 40 tubing that is real heavy stuff. These steps are far more structurally stronger than the stock roll bar on the 77 CJ. I would trust this for a roll bar/cage setup much more than what is on the rig now. Again my .02 cents.

I want a tubing bender at some point but this has enabled me to learn a little.

Armadillo

[rustedjeep]

I agree that stock CJ bars are not trustable. Better than nothing, but barely. If you are talking roll cages, make sure you do it absolutely right, and don't take short cuts. We are talking your life. Below is a video of roll over that was not really that hard, the cage is professionally constructed as an aftermarket bolt on cage. I would concider this a cage failure, and this guy is lucky to not get hurt. The leg comming out of the side is a whole different topic. Don't fool youself into thinking that this cage is safe because it is better than stock. Make sure it is done right

Video Here

[Armadillo]

RustedJeep,
Great video, really an eye opener. I agree on everything you said. I was just explaining that the Schedule 40 tubing is a much stronger material that what my current roll bar is made of. I have actually jacked the jeep up by the step bars that I built. They are tough steps.

I am going to show the Video to my 14 year old son, it is scary and maybe it will cause him to be a little safer. As far as my jeeping, I just use it to crawl around on the Farm. No rock/hill climbing for me.

Happy Holidays,
Armadillo

[Timinmb]

I agree that stock CJ bars are not trustable. Better than nothing, but barely. If you are talking roll cages, make sure you do it absolutely right, and don't take short cuts. We are talking your life. Below is a video of roll over that was not really that hard, the cage is professionally constructed as an aftermarket bolt on cage. I would concider this a cage failure, and this guy is lucky to not get hurt. The leg comming out of the side is a whole different topic. Don't fool youself into thinking that this cage is safe because it is better than stock. Make sure it is done right

Video Here

I am a jeeper. I have an 84 CJ7 with a stock hoop, added front hoop (Kentrol brand) that is connected to outriggers on the frame, three bars connecting the front hoop to the stock hoop (above head), a shoulder level bar running across the stock hoop for my 5 point harnesses, and an H type frame that connects the bottoms of the front and rear hoops and supports the seats and belt attachments. I've never rolled my jeep, but have done my share of climbing and mishaps.

That video is scary. I've seen way worse rollovers on tape and with much less damge. What went wrong with that guy's front hoop? Was it one of those hoops that don't go down to the floor and instead bolt to the front dash? I can't believe the way it collapsed after a single flop on the roof. I'm thinking the design was bad, and that it has nothing to do with weld failure. Were you there? Did the tube or pipe collapse or split?

I watched the video again and paused it at the closeup of the front hoop near the dash. Something's not right there. That hoop appears to sit on top of his dash.

[rustedjeep]

The guy who this happened to have been very open with it all. You can read more about his account here (with more pictures). In short the cage is a bolt in kit from ORF, it can be found at this link http://www.orfab.com/Sportcage.htm .
The cage bolts to the dash, and they have cut their name/logo into the leg support. That is where the failure happened, then the rest of the cage was not strong enough once that support was broken. The guy is very lucky to say the least. I have personally seen roll overs that were MUCH harder than that with a lot more impact and no damage was shown. I can easily foresee a recreational wheeler taking a roll like that, I have had myself in situations that were probably worse than that and not rolled. I guess that is why they call these things "accidents".
With all of that said, I am still one of those people that have a stock CJ roll bar and nothing else. I agree that any cage will give me more protection than what I and many others are using now. But just because you have a cage built that looks strong, don't let it become a false sense of security that it will keep you safe. That is what this guy had to say in the aftermath. He felt that this kit he was using was safe, but even this recreational accident was too much for it now.

[Zrexxer]

What scared me was when he started to roll, he stuck his leg out the door like you'd do if you were about to fall off a bicycle

[myplace46]

Hey Gde,
I took your advice and got the Pro-105 and 4 dies plus the bend tech ez 3d software program. Can’t say enough positive stuff about it, I love it! Now if I can just get my wife to not go through with the divorce…
Well anyway, my question for you is, does the hydraulic ram do away with the ratchet bar, and will it do a complete 180 bend with a 240 die? Tia.
John

[gde]

Yes it does away with the ratchet bar completely and NO, it will not do a full 180*bend on a 240* die.You might have to "re-pin" 2 times, but with a full hydro conversion, you are talking about less than 1 full minute to complete a full 180* bend!!!I haven't quite figured out why they make a 240* die, because "IF" you were to bend past 180* the tubing would be permanently wrapped around the die and would not come off Anyways, I'm glad to hear you got the bender and are happy with it. That software is UNBELIEVABLE!! You can always refer to that offroadfabnet.com site for any bender question or fab question as well as this site of course BTW, I sure wish I had the coin to drop on (4) dies