Pipe bending

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Pipe bending

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  • #122373
    Mike Gibbs
    Participant
      @mikegibbs79177

      I'm getting close to finisdhing my Polly Engineering O&K "Suzanne", and need to bend the annealed copper pipes for the water and oil feeds. The pipe is ~5mm diameter, and I can only find benders down to 1/4". Any suggestions?

      Thanks.

      Mike

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      #6754
      Mike Gibbs
      Participant
        @mikegibbs79177
        #122374
        Sub Mandrel
        Participant
          @submandrel

          Bending springs, i think Chronos do them. They fit OUTSIDE the tube -at least that's how I use them.

          Neil

          #122376
          Thor 🇳🇴
          Participant
            @thor

            Hi Mike,

            If you want to buy one may be this will be OK? You can of course build your own tube bender. You may have to fill the tubes with salt or something before bending. This will reduce the chance of the pipe collapsing when bending. Place the tube in water after bending to dissolve the salt.

            Thor

            #122377
            roy entwistle
            Participant
              @royentwistle24699

              Can one still get Woods Metal or Cerrobend ?

              Roy

              #122379
              JasonB
              Moderator
                @jasonb

                Alex Tiranti do Woods Metal

                J

                #122386
                1
                Participant
                  @1

                  Chronos do a tube bender the same as the HF item in Thor's link.

                  I have one and find it works well providing I fill the tube before bending to avoid it collapsing. I use fine dry sand and have found that crimping a couple of mm at the ends of the tube retains it OK.

                  Jim

                  #122389
                  Brian in OZ
                  Participant
                    @brianinoz24148

                    Hello Thor,

                    The link to Harbor Freight is great only problem is postage to this part of the world is humongous.

                    I can't find the plans for the small pipe bender listed in the the link you gave, guess the picture says it all, but wondering if you by chance had a copy of the plans.

                    Regards

                    Brian

                    #122392
                    AndyP
                    Participant
                      @andyp13730

                      Brian,

                      Original plan on web is here , neat little bender!

                      Andy

                      #122393
                      Brian in OZ
                      Participant
                        @brianinoz24148

                        Thanks Andy,

                        That is a great collection of little bits and pieces.

                        Brian

                        #122395
                        Thor 🇳🇴
                        Participant
                          @thor

                          Hi Brian,

                          sorry I forgot to link to the plan, glad Andy solved that. Here's another plan for another tube bender. Roy, if you can get Woods metal that works well for filling the tubes before bending.

                          Thor

                          #122397
                          Speedy Builder5
                          Participant
                            @speedybuilder5

                            Look on E-bay for CERROBEND – I have seen it there sometimes

                            **LINK**

                            12 quid a kilo – seems cheap!

                            BobH

                            #122400
                            Paul Lousick
                            Participant
                              @paullousick59116

                              Fill tube with fine dry sand and plug both ends and heat tube where bend is required.

                              You could also machine a groove to suit the tube and bend radius in a piece of round bar and use this as a former for bending the heated tube. Heat the former as well as the tube so heat is not sucked out while bending.

                              #122420
                              Robin King
                              Participant
                                @robinking15611

                                So as you are aware there is a problem with Colin Binnie's bender design in that you can't pull back both arms parallel to allow feeding in a straight length of tube first – I'd built it before the penny dropped! It needs redesigning with the pivot offset from the centre line of one arm/aligned with the centre line of the other so the arms fold back flat against each other. This might not be important to you depending on what form your pipework takes; otherwise there's a lot going for the simple construction.

                                Robin

                                #122432
                                Sub Mandrel
                                Participant
                                  @submandrel

                                  Cerro are still in business, I've driven past them: **LINK**

                                  **LINK**

                                  But Cerrobend is now made by CS Alloys and imaginatively called "CS Alloys Bend" LOL!

                                  http://www.csalloys.com/products-cerrobend-alloy.html

                                  Neil

                                  Edited By Stub Mandrel on 16/06/2013 17:05:44

                                  #122438
                                  Speedy Builder5
                                  Participant
                                    @speedybuilder5

                                    When I was an apprentice, we used to bend 2" and 3" thin walled stainless tube filled with ROSIN which I believe is a product of Pine Tar. Once the tubes were bent on a hydraulic tube bender, a steel ball was 'hammered' down the tube by placing a slightly smaller ball or two behind it and shaking them down. Rosin can be found in musical instrument shops for treating violin bow strings. Once heated, it melts and flows like syrup, going hard when cold.

                                    For smaller tubes, we used CERROBEND. A bit of a laugh to saw a teaspoon in half and join the two halves with a bit of cerrobend, and slip them into the mug on the tea trolley. Sit back and wait for the rude remarks !! Life were fun then.

                                    #122919
                                    The Merry Miller
                                    Participant
                                      @themerrymiller

                                      Mike,

                                      I came away from the "Hobbies" shop in Norfolk yesterday with a 2013 catalogue.

                                      In it were a set of pipe/tube bending springs (external type).

                                      They are in sets of five and will bend from 3/16" O.D. down to 1/16" O.D.

                                      Price for the set is £3.85

                                      Their website is: http://www.alwayshobbies.com.

                                      As most of us oldies know, Hobbies have been going for many, many years and the Hobbies annual used to be a longed for birthday or Christmas present.

                                      Len.

                                      #122998
                                      Mike Gibbs
                                      Participant
                                        @mikegibbs79177

                                        Many thanks everyone. I have purchased the Chronos bending toll, and a set of pipe bending sprinmgs from the same source. Practice on some brass tube has generated perfectly bent pipe. Today it will be the copper pipes!

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