Am I right in thinking these will kink the tube?
The ones which have a roller that pull the tube into the former won't?
like this but on a bigger scale:
for putting bends in the frame tube, would something like this work? (tubing 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 DOM).
Am I right in thinking these will kink the tube?
The ones which have a roller that pull the tube into the former won't?
like this but on a bigger scale:
Most cheaper tube benders will deform the radius and kink thicker tube. Depends what you want to do. A mate of mine has made roll cages with the top
unit - but nothing that has to be rated or pass scrutineering.
Iirc to bend with no kinks or distortion you have to use a mandrel bender which is probs more expensive for the kit. From a visual point of view i
dont like the non mandrel forms.
Not sure about the bottom one, but the top one is a pipe bender not a tube bender. There is a big difference in price and quality.
Check the following vid on youtube as to how not to kink the tube
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=GWT3N3m4bE4
It does depend on what you are willing to spend on one.
I was thinking about bending my own tubing, but the cost of purchasing a decent machine to do it, is beyond an amateur builders budget.
When i was looking i found this company (link below), which had a one that bent tubing, but it is manual, and still costs nearly £1000, but they do
offer another one, which bends tube and square tubing, but that is well over £1000 
Link
I do believe it is best to use non seemed tubes, i think you need to use CDS (Cold Drawn Steel), someone correct me if i am wrong please.
If you are just kinking it, then i would of thought it would of been ok, it is when you are looking to put 45 degree angles, that would be a cause for
concern. But even so i would use CDS anyway, this is more costly then the seemed stuff. I think they use the same steel for scaffolding etc.
HTH
^^^^ can't acceess u-tube.
basically mandrel bender had a big disc with a groove machine in it and a second piece that runs radially to the disc to pull the tube into the
groove?
quote:
Originally posted by 02GF74
^^^^ can't acceess u-tube.
basically mandrel bender had a big disc with a groove machine in it and a second piece that runs radially to the disc to pull the tube into the groove?
Mandrel can be seen below...
Have a word with "minicooper" (David) on here. he has a manual floor mounted tube bender he imported from the states at fairly reasonable cost. I've seen the work he's done to produce a roll cage and various other bits - looks to work very well.
quote:
Originally posted by 02GF74
......basically mandrel bender had a big disc with a groove machine in it and a second piece that runs radially to the disc to pull the tube into the groove?
I made my own tube bender.
LINKY
Does need a bit of machining though.
Neil
thx - I have seen similar. Unfortunately I done have any machine tools, other than drill press, to make something like that.
.... but I have got info. about making one from a fiesta brake drum! 
linky
heres my protool bender thread
why do you need a bender machine? You can bend tube with your hand , isn't it true?
quote:
Originally posted by 02GF74
.... but I have got info. about making one from a fiesta brake drum!
quote:
Originally posted by liam.mccaffrey
linky
heres my protool bender thread
quote:
Originally posted by Rudy
quote:
Originally posted by 02GF74
.... but I have got info. about making one from a fiesta brake drum!
Very interesting, can you explain please ?
thankyou Neil,
I prefer yours , but I like the idea of the drum, it could be possible to do a mix , a idraulic drum.
The drum is only a way of making a former.
You could indeed make a mix of my bender and Blackjack's.
Neil
^^^ yep - that is the site - I wasn't able to finid it.