Bending tubes

[gsxrboy]

I'm looking for advice, I'm having problems bending tubes in my hydraulic pipe bender, it's made by Clarke so is quite cheap. The tube is 32mm OD and just over 3mm wall thickness, when I try to make a bend it is poor, quite flattened and squashed.

Am I wasting my time with this cheap bender or is there a trick to this?

I'm making a custom frame to fit an XS650 to enter in to a show later this year, it's my first go at bending tubes and is not going well.
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[lihp]

You need to use a mandrel bender if you want to keep the same diameter throughout the bend
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[Aff]

[stinkwheel]

No need for specialist tools. Just lots of heat and lots of patience.

https://youtu.be/v8mMQbEkr8w
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[gavcarter]

If you can weld, you can hydro form it using a cheap pressure washer.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=llhcATrmsBg
Weld fittings to pipe, bleed and pressurize, then bend it, should stop it creasing.

Pay attention to bleeding it though. If its full of air it can explode.

[Taught2BCauti...]

I sometimes need to get tubes bent for certain projects (not bike related) and I always go to my local custom exhaust shop, where they have a digital mandrel bender. Most custom exhaust places have them, and can also do MIG and TIG welding too.

Just search on google maps for 'Custom Exhaust' - there's sure to be one near you!
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[gavcarter]

[Taught2BCauti...]

I'm just a lazy sod - there's a custom exhaust place just round the corner from where I live, and a 4ft length of 50mm x 3mm stainless tube costs me a fiver to have 2 precision bends put in, takes less than 5 minutes, and I don't even get my hands dirty
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Honda Varadero XL125(V8)
www.TheFutureIsHere.eu

[Laurence p]

Your tube has to fit in the dies on the machine perfectly otherwise the bends will crush, on a hydraulic bender too much pressure would crush the pipe as well. You needed the correct pressure to create a perfect bend. whe're I used to work we would sometimes have people with bike exhausts come in and ask us to make them a link pipe, sometimes the pipe was too small in diameter to make even a small bend in, our dies started at 45mm in size..

[kestrel]

[gsxrboy]

Thanks for all the replys, I think I have found the answer, I have now managed a decent looking bend!

I bored a hole through a billet of aluminium and removed the excess material so the was half a hole left and mounted this on top of the standard former so the tube had no choice but to keep to the radius of the former as there was no space to go anywhere else, difficult to try to explain so I have attached images. the second image shows a piece of pipe with two bends, one with the new tool and one without, it's quite a difference.
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[cb1rocket]

Nice job!
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[lihp]

[MarJay]

I read an article about Harris performance who use copper inserts to prevent the tubes from flattening when they make frames...
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