buk9tp

i wouldnt know about passing tech. but my friends roll cage was built using one of those jack operated pipe benders.. his looked ok.
you have more expierience than i do. i worked as a contruction worker over the summer.. and we used that thing called a tubing bender to bend conduits.. thats why i thought that tubing was just that conduit stuff. that u can actually bend over ur knee.. unlike piping for exhaust.. that would take alot more force to bend.. but u just showed me otherwise.

thanks

the hf pipe bender will not pull off mandrel bends. its just for the low budget person looking to get things done cheaply.. mandrel bends allow a free'er flowing exhast/charge air.. but for mandrel bends.. you need a 6 thousand dollar pneumatically operated machine.. the dude wants it just for charge pipes and exhaust.. apprarently he doesnt even want it for a roll cage.. so the harbor freight will do just fine for him. but if i was him.. and i only had one car.. and not multiple projects.. i would just head down to the local exhaust shop. get the mandrel bends. and get it over with. since its only one project.

tuname420

all the exhaust shops here dont want to ---- around with turbos and im not getting it done by a rice burner shop cuz they will make me pay up the ***. i want a pipe bender to do the exhaust from turbo back straight pipes and the people at the exhaust shops wont do it cuz its on the turbo they would do it if it was from the catylitic converter back though and they most definitly dont want to ---- around with charge pipes...and for about $15 a 90* angle id rather buy a pipe bender i can get 5' of 3" pipe for my exhaust for $20 and 2" for $17.

buk9tp

just make some templates of the bends you need. and have them make you the bends... i dont know if they would use your pipes or not.. but i think they would bend you the pipes you need. and u can just clamp/bolt your exhaust in if u dont have a welder. and use couplers for the charge pipes.

i assume you want them for your civic. for the chargepipes just buy a charge pipe kit. and for your straight back.. its only like what... 2 bends? lol

Tom-Guy

Pro-tools is really cool about just selling the shoes and dies you need to make your own bender. Less than $300 should set you up to do one size tube (1.5 pls - good for cages)

Cray91

The civic exhaust for 92-95 (most common) uses more than two bends.

You will need 2 90s for your DP, 2 more 90's to go around the gas tank, and a compound bend to go over the rear LCA. It really isn't worth getting a machine for $100+, and it still makes an inferior product. If you owned a shop, then the professional grade bender is worth it.

If I could find a "cheap" bender to do 2.5", I would, but ya really can't.

tuname420

i dont need a cage my car is never going to see better then a 13 flat.

myshtern

A mandrel bender costs a little more than $6k.
You can easily spend $6k on the tooling alone.

For roll cages, the material to use is chrome-moly tubing.
It's very hard and very expensive.

Everyone, quit bugging about emptying your pockets for mandrel bends.
There will be a solution very soon

Engloid

Good luck bending 2"+ TUBE with something like that!!!
Even a mandrel bender will stretch the tube on the outer radius.



The HF press type of bender will not give a uniform diameter throughout the bend, because it will tend to crush the tube and/or pipe...and may even crush tube, rather than give a bend at all...depending on the thickness of it.

What's the difference in tube and pipe? Pipe is measured on the inside diameter, and tube is measured on the inside diameter (with some exceptions). Typically, tube will have thinner wall thicknesses than pipe.

And I agree that you're better off to buy the bends than buy the bender...unless you're going to be doing this for a living, and even then, the protools type of bender is still a half *** way to bend tube. Most professionals would still rather buy the bends. The reason is because you need the ability to make a cut in the center of a bend, rotate the pieces to any angle, and have them match up well...ROUND, not oval and opposite. Imagine two pieces of egg-shaped tube. They will only match up if you turn them both the right way. ANy other rotation and you have to ---- with getting them to match up by the use of clamps and ----.

buk9tp

lol. i didnt say bend tube with that.. i was saying. my freind uses this one

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=32888

he fabbed me an exhaust. his roll cage. and even a roll bar for a mustang convertable.

the hf bender is strictly for the budget minded person... its an alternative.. thats all..