bending 5/16 parts store steel line

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Rapid Robert

Rapid Robert

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for my 904, needing a 90 deg bend(s) for cooler lines. I do have a cheapie tubing bender. what do you guys suggest? thank you for your time. RR
 
You can do simple bends with the cheapie tubing bender (the kind with a round spool and a handle). If you need to make complicated curves the pliers-style benders work better and give you more control. A 90º bend should be no problem.
 
Rapid Robert said:
for my 904, needing a 90 deg bend(s) for cooler lines. I do have a cheapie tubing bender. what do you guys suggest? thank you for your time. RR
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For tight bends without kinking, use a bender that pulls the line over a curved anvil. ANy other type will put a kink in the line. I sold a butt load of these and they work well for tight bends. https://www.robinair.com/products/four-one-tube-bender


tubing bender.jpg
 
Yeah, that's the good kind. But you can make a serviceable bend with the cheapie one, just not terribly precise.
 
Just don't go crazy and get stainless. Are you going to need to flare the tubing as well?
 
That Robin air bender is what I have.
Another thing to make it easier to work. Is to buy the 25' roll of ni-copp line. That's the easiest line I have ever had to bend and flare.
 
volaredon said:
That Robin air bender is what I have.
Another thing to make it easier to work. Is to buy the 25' roll of ni-copp line. That's the easiest line I have ever had to bend and flare.
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That line is the schnitz. I keep a 25 foot roll of 3/16, 1/4, 5/16, 3/8, on hand.
 
Heywodja said:
Just don't go crazy and get stainless. Are you going to need to flare the tubing as well?
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I have purchased these lines. the bender I have is similar to the one toolmanmike shared.yes I will single flare the trans ends to fit the brass fitting(s) in the trans case. I'm assuming (hoping) these are 45 degree??
 
OK I will double flare it as the kit does have the black buttons to accomplish that. EDIT & these are 45 degrees?
 
There are some pre made tubes available, I changed to -a fittings and braided line, made it easy to route to the cooler.
Summit has them for about 50.00
IMG_1565.png
 
Really depends on what bend radius you want. I've bent lots of 1/4" OD steel tubing by hand using a piece of 2" PVC pipe as a mandrel.
 
Yup...use a piece of 2" or 3" pipe for gentle bends, it's
not difficult and short pre flared tubing is economical.
 
If you want to bend the sharpest, most kink free radius curves with any hand bender made buy yourself a Swagelok tubing bender.

I have them in 1/8", 3/16", 1/4", 5/16", 3/8", and 1/2" Be aware they are expensive even used on eBay, but once you use one you'll be impressed with the results.

Tom
 
volaredon said:
That Robin air bender is what I have.
Another thing to make it easier to work. Is to buy the 25' roll of ni-copp line. That's the easiest line I have ever had to bend and flare.
Click to expand...
And Amazon stocks it cheaper than the chain auto parts stores and it’s the same stuff
 
One thing I've found with the simple bender (post 4, but mine is cheaper aluminum Chinese), is to bend a bit, unload, and apply again. That keeps the forcing anvil from dragging, so easier and seems less chance of kinking the tubing. Might do similar if you lube parts for easier sliding.
 
If you go with Stainless- Just buy the pre bent, it's not worth the time/hassle of bending your own with cheap tools.
Go with the Nickel Copper line if you want to save money and bend it yourself.
Flaring the Nickel Copper line is the issue with it, if you're going to screw up/split a few end flares before you get it right. Bends are no problem.
1.Center the flair tool on the tube,
2. don't overtighten
3. don't overtighten
4. don't overtighten. You're better off to go too little then have to go more than too tight and split the tube, cut the end off and reflare.
ask me how I know... Fuel lines,brake lines (manual 4 wheel Disc, not power assisted due to pressure limits for the nickel copper line that I bought online in 2018), and trans lines all Nickel copper on all my vehicles.
 
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Deltatech said:
ask me how I know... Fuel lines,brake lines (manual 4 wheel Disc, not power assisted due to pressure limits for nickel copper line), and trans lines all Nickel copper on all my vehicles.
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Copper nickel brake tubing meets all ASE specs for automotive brake line. I have no qualms about using it in any auto brake application.
I would use ni-cop before using stainless. Stainless (in my opinion) is too hard. Hard to flair, hard to bend. But it does look nice, and will not rust, but neither will Ni-Cop.
PS: Whenever I make new brake lines, I almost always install the "armor" over the tubing. Amazon product ASIN B015YGRG4C
 
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Charrlie_S said:
Copper nickel brake tubing meets all ASE specs for automotive brake line.
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Just be aware that Not all Copper nickel lines are ASE certified for brake line use. You could end up causing someone to wreck their ride.
You have to notice Copper Nickel BRAKE tubing is not the same as Copper Nickel tubing.
You still have to pay attention to the wall thickness of the product. There are still some that are too thin walled to pass ASE that are still available online.
I won't take the chance of putting others on the road at risk because of a flare failure using Copper Nickel on a vehicle with ABS since Stainless pre bent is cheap enough to just replace.
 
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PROSTOCKTOM said:
If you want to bend the sharpest, most kink free radius curves with any hand bender made buy yourself a Swagelok tubing bender.

I have them in 1/8", 3/16", 1/4", 5/16", 3/8", and 1/2" Be aware they are expensive even used on eBay, but once you use one you'll be impressed with the results.

Tom
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I was a tuber at a compressor manufacturer for a couple of years before going to school.for instrumentation. That was a while ago now. Used Eastwood benders that are similar to the Robinare benders. They work fine for thinner wall tubing. We got into some 0.065" and 0.095" wall 304 and 316 SS on some units. The Swageloc really helped on those. We ended up breaking some of the Eastwood benders handles off due to the tough pull required. A bit of antiseize under the shoe did help, but I just bought the Swageloc.
For automotive use you are likely using mild steel and usually under 3/8" tubing, so fairly easy to bend. 1/2" mild steel with the 0.043" wall is fairly easy to bend.
The Swageloc are wonderful.benders but as stated, expensive. If a person will be bending daily, get them. With Swageloc as most others you need a different bender for each diameter of tube.
Shop had to purchase metric benders for some units for a Norwegian company. Tubing and fittings were special order. If we needed one fitting they had to order a box of 20 at about $50 each.
Our boss wanted the tubing level or vertical. When the units got to the port or ship yard off Singapore, the Norwegians took one look and tore most of it off. They wanted no low or high spots to trap gas or liquid to throw measurement off. They came off a sensing point and wrapped around the vessel and into the transmitter. Most of the electrical cabling got ripped out also and redone.
 
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