Pipe bender

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I made up my own tubing bender to build Dune Buggy Cages out of 1 1/2" .090 ths wall steel tubing. Other guys were using the Exhaust Pipe Bending Machines but they were crushing the inside corners. I made my own jig and dies ( 1" and 1 1/2" dies), the trick was to get it to stretch the pipe on the outside of the radius without crushing the tube, took some doing to figure that out. Not sure the same approach will work with 2" thin wall exhaust tubing.

Any how successfully did this to build the dune buggies, attachment fits on the wood splitter using the hydraulic ram.

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George, you are a man after my own heart, I like the way you think! I've been putting off getting a decent hydraulic press because floor space is at such a premium in my shop, but now you've got me out there fabbing brackets and plates for my wood splitter- I can't believe I've been using these things for half my life and I never put two and two together. A BIG thank you!
 
2 pieces 3/8" flat stock cut to shape, 1 1/2" inner flat stock x 3 /16ths" bend to the shape of inner radius, weld a pass into the corners with the wirefeed, then 2 more passes with the wirefeed to give the corners the proper shape to hold the pipe without it denting. Final Grind internal welds to smooth to fit finish.

Pictures?
 
Those benders are not made for exhaust and will not do the job. Regardless of what you read on the internet.
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You're right, conduit benders are not made for exhaust pipe. You're wrong when you say they won't work. We usually bend 3/4 and 1 inch by hand but with 1 1/2 and 2 inch we use this. It's bent some exhaust pipe too.

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I’m an electrician by trade and used the above pictured “Cyclone” conduit bender for safety rails on my motorhome. I used 1.25” Rigid Aluminum Conduit for the handrails and 3/4” Rigid Aluminum Conduit for the banisters.
Electrical Benders have a wide radius which is a deterrent for tight bends...
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Pictures?

Here are some close up pictures of the 1" and 1 1/2" dies I made, to help show how the inner banding was welded in.

Then reached in with a new angle grinder disc to smooth up the welds. Finished it out with 80 grit on the DA sander as far in as I could reach then final finish by hand 80 grit.

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Got the dies in a tub of Vinegar right now to clean them back up again. Will see what they look like tomorrow when I rinse them off and polish them up with some WD-40.
 
OK here are some better pictures of the Dies after pulling them out of the Vinegar Tank today. A little final polish on the clean up helps to see how they are made.

Was like 4 passes of welding in the corners to build the radius out to shape, one root pass, 2 side passes, and a final fill pass down the center of the 2 side passes, reducing the fill on the final pass by increasing the speed of travel and smaller circles on the welding technique, this is on each half of the Die Radius. Then final grind to smooth them up.

As you will see in picture #2 there is a little bit of a flat spot built into the nose of the dies that keeps the pipe from denting there as the outer radius begins to stretch. Once it starts bending in this manner then it continues stretching the outer radius until the desired bend is completed. The extended flanges on the Dies hold the pipe round while it is bending. VS the exhaust bending machines that just crush the inside corner radius to take up the extra metal as it is bending.

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Most of the fussy shaping of the Dies are in the upper half of the circumference to fit the pipe size being bent. Sides are not quite as important, but still good to get a good fit on the pipe.
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How did you make the dies? I have a plan to make some for accessories for the 4x4, and so far I was going to use the ball turning jig on the lathe to make the concave forms, then cut the part in half to make the semi-circle. Just looking for some other ideas.

...not meaning to hijack the thread...

Righty Tighty, yes you can make up 4 x 4 accessories if you make up your own bender. Here are some Step Ups I made up with my bender to fit a '95 Ford F250 4x4, they sit pretty high, so it was nice having the steps for getting in and out of the truck.

Fit real nice on there. Was able to get some nice 90° Bends with my bender too.

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Righty Tighty, yes you can make up 4 x 4 accessories if you make up your own bender. Here are some Step Ups I made up with my bender to fit a '95 Ford F250 4x4, they sit pretty high, so it was nice having the steps for getting in and out of the truck.

Fit real nice on there. Was able to get some nice 90° Bends with my bender too.

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They look great! Gives me some more confidence when I finally get to it.
 
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