Tube Benders....again.....

So I mentioned to the wife it was time to get a cage built for the Cj6 project dealie. Wife askes and I tell her I can order a basic kit for around $1000.00. If I get it done, more like $2500.

She asked why I don't do it my self, isn't that why I bought a welder? And the band saw? And the radial drill press? So I explain the lack of a bender. She tells me, "Well, your birthday and Christmas will be here soon. Send me the link..."

In a quick review of the internet and thinking about what I want to do (cage, fenders, bumpers, etc.) and the room I have (I don't really want to bolt it to the floor) I like the bender and 5 die set from affordable bender. See it here.....
http://www.affordablebender.com/col...-tubing-bender-includes-bender-all-5-die-sets

I like the pro-tube bender plans but I figure I would have almost as much in material and supplies than if I purchased the bender already built. They have one similar to the affordable bender that is already built but for $999 but it comes with only one die. http://www.pro-tools.com/Product.aspx?zpid=567 to see it.

If I get a manual, I think it's the JD 32 http://www.jd2.com/p-67-model-32-bender-manual.aspx. Wonder if I can mount it vertically instead of attaching it too the floor? Now that I think about it, I'm sure I could figure out a way to do it....

Any thoughts?

 

Check out this link.........it may help. The mechanical benders do require mounting to the floor and even though you think it could be mounted Horizontal it is not very friendly when you have a long piece of tubing with two bends like a hoop would be in a Roll cage. Attached to the floor does take up more space both for the tubing and the arm that does the bending unless you do a hydraulic ram. I do allot of tube bending but over at my buddies shop........he has more room and it's free!

http://www.earlycj5.net/forums/showthread.php?105582-ECJ5-Roll-cage-kit

 

Does your wife have a sister?


Sorry.

 

If you have a compressor and welder, this is the kit I would get

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/tool...air-hydro-tubing-bender-595-1-75-die-det.html

https://www.roguefab.com/product.php?id=2

All you have to do is add a HF air/hydraulic ram and your in business.

 

have the JD2, and have had it for several years.. No issues, works great.. I will say it takes a bit of muscle though..

 

I've had my eyes on this bender for a while, doesn't come with any dies though.

http://www.mtechsupply.com/view_page.php3?getcategory=Benders&prodid=376

 

I have a Pro-tools unit, 102 maybe? I purchased it 15 or 16 years ago. Mine is old enough it came with instructions on VHS...
It works great and does a nice job. Requires muscle though. I plan on the SWAG Offroad air over hydraulic conversion in the near future so I can set it back up and start using it again. Here's a link to SWAG
http://www.swagoffroad.com/Tubing-Bender-AirHydraulic-Ram-Mount_p_53.html
A local guy was so impressed with how well my bender worked he became a Pro-Tools dealer. Their notcher is money but money well spent. Very good quality product.

 

Another vote for the JD squared model 32 bender. They updated their design and made some nice changes. I have the older model 3 unit and love it.
Get the model 32 $395 along with swagoffroad air/hydraulic mount $100, and northern tool 8 ton ram $100. Then grab a die set. With the air/hydraulic set up you don't need to
mount the bender to the floor. A nice big drum from a semi truck serves as a solid base and you can roll it around the shop.

 

This sounds like a good option. Never thought about doing this. Same price as the affordable bender but that one comes with all the dies. And if Chuck vouches for it, I know it works.....

Does anyone have any feedback on the affordable bender?

 

Remember this thread??

http://www.earlycj5.net/forums/showthread.php?35039-Just-a-small-project&highlight=small+project

He built his own tubing bender, and has documented it in the thread. Start at page 10, or 11 for the bender portion.

 

I know I don't want one I have to bolt to the floor. I want one I can put a ram on. Not worried about speed. I think I want to be able to pull >90* bends. But how often would I really do that? Or if I needed to, why could I not redesign the piece and not need them?

So I think I'm down to a few...

I like 2 of these...the Pro32 and the Pro4. Biggest difference is the Pro4 will bend a bit thicker tube and one uses Pro 105 dies and one uses JD2 dies. And they don't come with any die for the initial price so the actual cost is getting higher.
http://www.probender.com/probender/drupal/benders

I still like the price on this but it only bends to 90* and max tube diameter is 1.75. But for $699 I can get the bender and all 5 dies or for $299 get the bender and 1 die (I would get the 1.75 die)
http://www.affordablebender.com/col...-tubing-bender-includes-bender-all-5-die-sets

I like this one a lot but it seems a bit spendy but it bends up to 2x.156 DOM. And I like the way this one holds tube in the bender. It is index-able and you can take it out, test it and put it back in to bend a little more if needed. But is this needed?
https://www.roguefab.com/product.php?id=31

 

You could also buy all of your tubing prebent from jeeptubes.com and beat that $1000 budget by a minimum of $200

 

I looked into that but I actually have 2 current CJ's that need cages, plus tube fenders front and rear, seat mounts, spare tire swing down mount, etc.

 

That makes sense then. If I had more than 1 jeep to do tube work I'd probably want to invest in a bender also

 

heres some plans for making your own jd2 of course youd still need to buy the die set. but really you can build a bender any way you want you just need the dies. I bought a 7/8" die set for building minibikes and just mounted them to some pegs and it works just as nice as any store bought thing. But for bending a roll bar im sure it would need to be pretty substanial.
http://chopperhandbook.com/bender.htm

 

We just beefed up the ram mounts on our bender, so it should now handle 2.0x.188, although we haven't gone back to retest yet. Our 2 inch bender may look spendy at almost $800, but it is ready to run for only $60-80 more with the ram. It comes with the die set, base, etc.

Let us know if you have any questions about our bender. We pride ourselves on prompt and professional customer service.

 

So,.....all these benders make nice smooth bends? Not the goofy looking bends like are often found on exhaust systems? And what is it that allows the smooth bend vs. the exhaust type bends (sort of collapsed or restricted at the bend)?

Is this okay here or should I start another thread? Don't want to take the conversation off course.

 

I'm fine with the question if the Mods are. To me it is still relevant to the thread.

I might be wrong but the tube benders are built so they minimize the collapse. I believe they all have it and some more than others but it is still evident. It is my understanding the design of the die, and how the tube is held in place on the die is what minimizes the bend deformation (is that a proper description?)

Also, the exhaust system benders is a different type of bender. From what I've read, the tube benders are not for exhaust unless you are bending up a 2" tube exhaust.

Of course, I may be wrong and if I am someone will correct me. But from what I am learning, this is the reason. Also, from what I am learning is there are plans that are very good and if you have access to drop off material you can build a bender fairly economical. Dies are still $200 or better. But for me, when I called with the parts list I could only buy a 10 foot section and the cost of the material was not much less than buying a manual bender.

And I've found I can adapt a manual bender to a hydro. and still mount it vertical. The only thing I don't like about some of the benders is the dies are only available from that company. Some use the JD2 or 105 dies which are much more common.

And some benders only bend to 90* and some go to 180*. I wonder how often we would need to go past 90*?