Harbor Frieght Bender ?

[tinbender]

i like a set of dies too thank you

 

[lobsterdmb]

see what i started....

 

[89Daytona]

The "trick" is to have a good die that the tubing sits down into. It should extend up past the centerline on the sides. Kinking is mostly caused by the sides splaying outwards.

The exhaust pipe that was bent by my friend with this bender had the top side crushed not the bottom, so the rollers were the problem when he bent the pipes. It was a smooth crush not kinking like the exhaust pipe bends you get at NAPA or other auto parts places.

 

[SteelblueSteve]

Old Man, time to start getting those dies made! Add me to those who'd buy a set, know others who would too. Make a lot of side cash, and "friends" also, you've probably got enough of those.

 

[DirtyMJ]

I own a similar bender to those HF units. And yeah, they bend pipe, not tube. They can actually do a good job of it depending on the exact shaping of the dies. Which is really hit or miss. Commonly the people I know that use them put a peice of 24ga sheet between the pipe and the die as it prevents any inperfections in the die from damaging the pipe.

If you want a 90* bend it works way better to make two 45* bends close together. You just can't get a tight radius out of a die like that.


Like Brett said, you can get good quality pipe that is identical in material and working characteristics as HREW. But, you get strange sizes and walls - which is alright if you're content to live with it. I've seen many an exo build from 1.5 sch40. And internal cages made from 1.75 sch20.