Tube Bender

[BioNuke1]

I was at Harbor Freight lookin at this tube bender - http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=32888
wondering if these things work- heard they just kink tube, even when heated, i've also heard that if you use a die 1 size larger than the tube it wont kink as easily, I want to be able to bend 2" fairly thick DOM for a rollcage and not waste my money on one of these dangfangled contraptions if they arent gunna do it, anybody use one?

 

[Hickey]

I was at Harbor Freight lookin at this tube bender - http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=32888
wondering if these things work- heard they just kink tube, even when heated, i've also heard that if you use a die 1 size larger than the tube it wont kink as easily, I want to be able to bend 2" fairly thick DOM for a rollcage and not waste my money on one of these dangfangled contraptions if they arent gunna do it, anybody use one?

That is not a "Tube" bender. It is a "pipe" bender. The dies are different sizes. www.jd2.com You want the model 3.

 

[BioNuke1]

hmmm

need something cheap, the other size pipe i would be bending is 3/4" I.D. rolled iron gas pipe, im sure it would work for that, dont ya think? or do these things even work at all?

 

[redrockcrawler]

it will work great if you only have to bend a pipe!! about 30 degress other then that it is a huge wast of money

 

[SnwMnkys]

Theres a guy down here in Provo that uses one of those to build all his cages and they turn out pretty nice actually. But he had new dies built for it too. Instead of using the ones that come with it.

 

[Hickey]

need something cheap, the other size pipe i would be bending is 3/4" I.D. rolled iron gas pipe, im sure it would work for that, dont ya think? or do these things even work at all?

Some say that if you fill the pipe with sand, it will help with the kinking, but you are still limited to the design of the "Kink-o-matic". The JD2 model 3 is about 265 for the bender and another 2 bills for each die. Do a search on this site using harbor freight as key words, and you willl find more info.

 

[kruzr69]

I used one to bend my old cage, and stinger. I used 1.5" seamless tube. It didnt turn out as good as i wanted it to, but on the stinger i got about 110-120 degrees of bend. I have a Pro tools bender now though.

 

[cyberduke]

Save you money and buy a real tube bender. The other problem w/ the cheap HF PIPE BENDER is the cylinder has to remain verticle. So if you need to bend a really long piece of PIPE, you have to elevate the bender. A friend of mine had the thing 6 foot tall. Real awkward to work with.

Just my $.02.
-Earl

 

[yellowjacket]

There are so many tricks to get a decent bend out of a Harbor Freight. There are a lot of guys that have built awesome rigs and even full buggies on Wildyoats and even buddies that I know.

I have an extra HF bender I'm selling for $60 hardly used.

 

[BBowski82]

There are so many tricks to get a decent bend out of a Harbor Freight. There are a lot of guys that have built awesome rigs and even full buggies on Wildyoats and even buddies that I know.

I have an extra HF bender I'm selling for $60 hardly used.

WTF?? if you profit off that...you owe me ass. tryin to sell stuff I give away for free.... the nerve, LOL

 

[utahxjer]

lol, I took mine back about 30min after I purchased the mofo, the guys at Harbor Freight didn't even care to ask why, they know it sucks

 

[kruzr69]

Save you money and buy a real tube bender. The other problem w/ the cheap HF PIPE BENDER is the cylinder has to remain verticle. So if you need to bend a really long piece of PIPE, you have to elevate the bender. A friend of mine had the thing 6 foot tall. Real awkward to work with.

Just my $.02.
-Earl

To bend a really long piece of tube, you lay the bender on its side. Thats what the little round piece's of metal welded on the side of one of the top plates are for. I found this out after bending my entire cage with it sitting on blocks 4' in the air. But I agree, save your money and buy a good bender.

 

[cyberduke]

To bend a really long piece of tube, you lay the bender on its side. Thats what the little round piece's of metal welded on the side of one of the top plates are for. I found this out after bending my entire cage with it sitting on blocks 4' in the air. But I agree, save your money and buy a good bender.

I was under the impression that that piston didn't work on it's side. I'm fairly certain that it has to be verticle.

-Earl

 

[Shawn]

I was under the impression that that piston didn't work on it's side. I'm fairly certain that it has to be verticle.

-Earl

My POS HF bender worked on it's side,,, infact there were little tabs on the side to keep it off the ground a little.

The HF Bender is just flat out worthless. Don't waste your time or money on one.

 

[Caleb]

My POS HF bender worked on it's side,,, infact there were little tabs on the side to keep it off the ground a little.

The HF Bender is just flat out worthless. Don't waste your time or money on one.

yep, the one at my old work worked just fine on its side...and yep, they are pretty much worthless...occasionally they come in handy but should never be a replacement to a real bender...

if the bender you were trying to use Earl was low on oil it would work upright but not on its side so that could have been the case...

 

[Klif01]

It works for exhaust tube......thicker stuf kinks, For exhaust I got a bit larger size piece of metal than the die and jammed it in there to prevent the kinks (didn't completely get rid of em but it works) and now I will have a home built exhaust pipe before moab in two days............