Good enough tubing bender?

I want to try making some sliders and other armor, but I can only do it if a decent yet affordable tubing bender is available. This is only for a hobby - I don’t need it to stand up to day in day out use.

What are the differences in bending techniques etc? Mandrel vs?

Any recommendations on a bender?

 

harbor freight has one I dont know if would work for your project.

 

What do you consider affordable? You can pick up a JD2 Model 3 for $310 or the JD2 Model 32 is $395. I watched a video on YouTube about the

$354 Woodward Fab Tube and Pipe Bender, Model# WFB2

Woodward Fab bender that looks nearly identical to the JD2 benders. They're sub $300 on Amazon. The issue is that the dies will run you as much as or more than the bender for a 180 degree die depending on size and CLR.

 

It’s tge bottle jack style one, right?

I’ve been doing a little more research and it seems that people think those aren’t as good. Any idea why?

What’s CLR?

So I could be bending up to 180* for around $600?

 

I just need a die for each diameter, right? So if I just want to bend up some sliders and bumpers out of 1.75 DOM I’d only need one die?

 

Correct.

 

Sorry....also...

How do these work? I only have a small pancake compressor. Is air needed? Are these hydraulic, mechanical, or??

 

Got it.

 

The bottle jack ones are pipe benders and not what you want for tubing. They will kink the tubing instead of giving a smooth curve.

 

Manual as bought. You can convert them to air over hydraulic later if you want.

 

They work on like a ratchet type setup as bought. You can find a video on YouTube showing how they work on a JD2 or I’m sure the other one.

 

And I’ll probably want a notcher as well. Do these work pretty fast or would and angle grinder be sufficient? Don’t mind the expense if it’s a good tool.

 

They do if you buy a good one. Can accomplish the end result either way. Notcher is faster I’m sure. If anything more precise.

 

The Harbor Freight bender is for bending pipe, not tubing. It will kink tubing as I found out when making a roll cage.
I ended up getting this one:
https://www.speedwaymotors.com/3rd-Gen-Hydraulic-Round-Tubing-Bender-and-1-Die-Set,6614.html It worked well and did 90 degree bends on 1.50" tubing with a just a slight wrinkle on the inside.

Eastwood has a similar one that comes with multiple dies for $100 more.
https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-s-pro-former-tubing-bender.html

I did use the HF notcher.

 

I’d really prefer 180 deg bends though.

How’d that notcher work? Is it the drill press attachment model that uses a hole saw? I can see that one getting expensive over the long term, replacing the saws all the time...

 

Good to know

 

Cut off saw and angle grinder will work just fine for notching. Google cutoff saw or chop saw notching. I know of pro shops that use it since it can be so much faster than notchers.

 

https://www.princessauto.com/en/det...sionid=xEi07ipfc9n3uAkYFpkI1rux.pal-prod-com1

I have this which was $99 when I bought it ten years ago or so. Yes it will deform the tube if you are a newb. There are ways to reduce this like filling the tube with sand and capping or filling with oil and capping. I would not use this unit for roll cages or safety devices. I used mine for making a stinger bumper and it worked great.

If I needed zero kinking or deformation (usually it just ovalizes the tube not actual kinking) I wouldn’t try this style. If some was acceptable like for a slider I would absolutely use it. That said I am a millwright and might have a bit more fabrication experience than the average garage fabricator.

 

CLR is center line radius. Basically it's how tight the bend is. Typically around 2-3x tube diameter is the minimum CLR, and the larger the CLR the more gradual/sweeping the bend will be.

If you're buying dies, you're better off buying 180 degree dies because you can bend anything of 0-180 degrees. With a 90 degree die, it's going to be a pain in the ass if you need to bend over 90 degrees. Chances are pretty good that you're not going to do much bending over 90 degrees, but I'm of the mindset that it's better to have the capability and not use it than to need it and not have it.

 

Got it thanks. And I fully agree. It won’t be often I’m sure but I’d want the option.