ZUKIWORLD Online | Suzuki 4x4 Editorial and Forum
ZUKIWORLD Discussion Forum => Suzuki 4x4 Forum => Topic started by: Jeremiah on February 23, 2009, 05:31:20 PM
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I've been wanting to make myself a roll cage & other armor bits for a while now. I was originally going to go with pipe 'casue it's still pretty strong (please don't turn this into a pipe vs tube debate), the materials are cheaper than tube, and pipe bender is 1/5th the cost of a tube bender.
BUT, I just saw this tube bender on sale for $130. Can I make a cage & bits with this? Can I bend exhaust with this? If I can use this thing... then it makes tube affordable (other tube benders are $600+ :o )
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I suppose it helps if I provide the link :laugh:
http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/itemdisplay/displayItem.do?itemid=99736 (http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/itemdisplay/displayItem.do?itemid=99736)
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That bender is mainly for stuff like electrical conduit. However harbor freight does offer a bender that has a hydraulic jack there fairly cheap and with lots of practice and reshaping of the cheap dies you can get it done i no thats what i started with. My new one is made by JD SQUARED
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Ya, I don't think you want roll bars and exhaust made from
1" tubing, it looks like a nice bender, too bad it doesn't do 1-1/2 and 2" stuff
Wild
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the hydraulic jack benders are well worth the $. They are easy to use and easy to store. Allot of times they come with dies to cut the tubing too.
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I built my front bumper with the HF hydraulic bender. 1-1/4 3/16 steel tube bent like a charm.
This is the bender I used
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=32888
Here is a pic
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Damn, I read the wrong part:
Rollers diameter: 4"
Instead of this part ::) :
Includes 1/2", 3/4", and 1" tubing rollers
I thought the $100 bender only did pipe, and wasn't the right die for tube?
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It comes with several dies. all the way up to 2". I had no problems with it at all. Some people have had problems with the tube kinking on them. But I think that has alot to do with the size and quality of the pipe your bending.
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What size does everyone use for their roll cages, bumpers,bumper loops,sliders etc ? Is it larger than 2" ? How does the HF bender work when you go up to 2" ?
Thanks,
Raz
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I built my front bumper with the HF hydraulic bender. 1-1/4 3/16 steel tube bent like a charm.
This is the bender I used
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=32888
How is this one different ? It looks the same .
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=38024
Thanks,
raz
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I used 1-1/4 on my sami cage and on my kick front bumper. I think all that you would want to go up to on cage is probably 1-1/2 on the inside of the vehicle.( for clearance issues)
I was told the HB bender does not bend 2" very well, but I dont know for sure, never done 2" only 1-1/4
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I built my front bumper with the HF hydraulic bender. 1-1/4 3/16 steel tube bent like a charm.
This is the bender I used
[url]http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=32888[/url]
How is this one different ? It looks the same .
[url]http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=38024[/url]
Thanks,
raz
Dont know ???
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So, the HF bender will been 1 1/4 easily ?
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Only difference I could find was in handle length:
Handle: 17-5/8" vs 26'' steel handle
Other thing to consider, is sometimes places change up a design slightly (or supplier) and make a second model #. They'll sell out of their stock on the first one, and just use the "new" version moving forward (and as warranty replacement for old model). I'm not saying that's what's happening here - just a possibility.
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One thing to remember is the main difference between the pipe bender and the tubing bender. The pipe bender basically just bends the pipe with brute force, if you were strong enough the bend it over your knee it would be the same type of force. That is why people end up kinking their metal when bending with a pipe bender vs a tube bender. If you want smooth bends with tube use a tubing bender.
Another thing to remember is that a 2" die for pipe is different then a 2" die for tubing. Pipe is measured in a different way, so the sizes do not match up. The same goes for trying to use a tubing bender to bend pipe, the tubing bender needs exact measurements to make the smooth bends so the dies probably won't match up properly.
There are exceptions to the rules, so yes you can make a cage completely out of pipe with a harbor freight pipe bender and make it look good. You won't know if it will hold up to a couple of rolls down a hill until you do it. I would stick with 1.5" DOM and a tubing bender for my cage and leave the pipe for nerf bars and other things I don't mind if all the angle bend upon hard impacts.
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Pipe = measured by outside diameter
Tube = measured by inside diameter
That's why I thought the $100 HF pipe bender wouldn't bend tube. Then again, I'm pretty sure (trying to remember here) they were trying larger 2" tube. Maybe the smaller 1 1/4 tube will bend okay in the 1 1/4 pipe die? Anyone else have experience with tube in the pipe bender? What size?
I'm likely going to be making a pipe cage (unless enough people chime in that they did tube successfully) with that HF bender. I would LOVE to use a tube bender (for those that don't know, it sort of stretches & forms the tube over the die, instead of just "pushing" the bend into it), but it's just too much $$$.
Pipe cage:
* Cheap
* WILL have kinks, so the bends can't be considered structural. Design a properly triangulated cage (pretend all bends are held on by bubble gum, and triangulate / gusset accordingly), or you'll be sorry
* Not as strong as tube (but, with a 40,000 psi yield, it's more than enough for a light weight Suzuki IMHO.)
* Heavier (raises center of gravity) by a bit. I think .1 - .2 lbs per foot?
Tube cage:
* More $$$ (the bender alone will pay for the bender & material on the pipe setup)
* Will still need triangulation, but bends will provide some structure, and therefore require less triangulation
* Lighter (lower center of gravity)
I'm not trying to turn this into another pipe vs tube debate, but thought those things were worth mentioning.
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Inside or outside, who gives a crap as long as if it is strong and built right. Although I did not know the difference between tube/pipe/measurements/bender. Thanks.
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i had this really useless post all made up.. but it was about this tube bender i couldn't remember the name of that was featured on Trucks! but i found this one. http://www.medfordtools.com/mb3.html same thing only different.
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but i found this one. [url]http://www.medfordtools.com/mb3.html[/url] same thing only different.
Yeah that one is nice but is cost allot more
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I built my front bumper with the HF hydraulic bender. 1-1/4 3/16 steel tube bent like a charm.
This is the bender I used
[url]http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=32888[/url]
Here is a pic
Me and my buddies call that bender the harbor freight tuber krimper.
It did work fine for jobs that needed a minimal amount of bending, but places where we need tighter bends repetitively...it was not up for the job.
There's a full thread on pirate4x4 about improving there design of that model.
It looks like it did a killer job on your bumper thou! Nice work.
Amilla
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Do you happen to know off the top of your head what the threat was called on Pirate 4X4 ?
Thanks,
raz
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If I remember correctly, they either used a tube die, or... bent up another larger tube / pipe that was the correct inside diameter to convert the pipe die to a tube die.