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Maybe buying a pipe bender

2K views 28 replies 12 participants last post by  Si 
#1 ·
This is not an advertisement just a general enquiry to see if it would be worth me buying one, basically i've seen a pipe bender for around £200 that can cope with upto 3" piping, how much interest would there be in people being able to obtain upto 3" aluminium & steel prebent tubing from a friendly SC based source?

(Mods if i get a good responce i'll then look at advertising properly, this is just to see how long it would take me to cover the cost/if there's enough interest to warrant buying one........;) ).
 
#2 ·
If you mean one of those hydraulic units like on ebay, I got one much cheaper. I am not sure how well it really will work with 3" diameter tubing. The problem ist that the tubing is too thin and diameter too big so that the tube gets squashed. Maybe it will work when you fill it with sand or something but I have not tried this yet.
 
#3 ·
My mate just bought one on ebay for around £100. Mind you, that included a rather hefty shipping fee from some place up round you. It seems a sturdy unit and can take a thick walled 3 inch pipe. The chap sells a load of them so if you buy one and pick it up I'm sure you could get one cheap. Search for 16 ton pipe bender or similar.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Pipe bender

It's this one, 16 tonne

http://www.northerntooluk.com/product/default.asp?id=493

On ebay (Northern tool one looks a little nicer)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BRAND-NEW-16-TON-TUBE-PIPE-BENDER-METAL-FABRICATION_W0QQitemZ7540593545QQcategoryZ633QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


Alan, i've got a price for alumin aswell, £30 for 5 meter 3" diameter, that can't be bad.

I'd start off just doing prebent sections, then once my weldings better, custom downpipes & cooler pipes, then when my welding is sh** hot i'd look at equal length headers for T8/T16 an maybe a custom header for fitting TD04's on, but that would be a bit further down the line.
 
#6 ·
Yes, it is this kind of machine.
Believe me, it's not that easy that you just throw in a piece of straight tubing, pump your machine and pop out a 90° bend. If you take large diameter thin wall tubing and try to bend it without filling it with sand or similar, all you will get is a squashed tube!
 
#7 ·
pipe bender

I kind of assumed that you'd strap the pipe in and bend it 10-15 deg, then shift it along a bit and do another bend and so on rather than just whacking a pipe in and bending it ...hey presto kinda thing.

The cheap ebay one is tempting, given the cost of straight sections of steel it would pay for it'self after making 1 exhaust.
 
#9 ·
Dunno Mate.. I'v built more than a Few Header systems in my time.. It's V tough to use a single tube in a Primary .. darned near impossible actually :)
Usual method is to purchase a box of Mandrel bent tubes and cut 'n fit them as required. . reasonably priced too :)
It does take some skill/practice to make perfect/invisible TIG welds but well worth learning.
A DIY purchasable Pipe bender, IMHO will basically allow you waste significant quantities of Tubing.
 
#10 ·
header

I won't try and make each pipe from a single section, just make the bends then cut and weld, only got a mig at the mo, but i'm getting pretty solid welds using stst wire & argon. It's at the end of a long line of other stuff anyway.
I'm going to make up caps for the pipes which can be clamped on, i'll clamp one on then fill with sand, clapm the cap onto the other end then bend, that way the sand wont be able to pour out either end and should support the inside of the pipe and stop it distorting to much.

That way all i'll need is 2 caps for each size of pipe.
 
#11 ·
Si your doing really good, i hope the pipe bender works for you, even if you cant get the exhaust right and who can say you cant do it, you could make IC pipes easy.

There is a formula to figure out how much you can bend a pipe before it gets squashed, you have to input the pipe thickness and material thickness and its pretty accurate, any good luck.
 
#12 ·
Si, just spoke to the guy next door who has a sheet metal business, he said sand would work, but to use tapered hardwood bungs in the end of the pipes rather than caps. But he said even then, you can push the bungs out. Also suggested heating the pipe as you bend it with a blow torch, but not too hot or the pipe will kink. Best sand to use would be kiln dried sand, as this will compact well.
 
#14 · (Edited)
pipe bender

If if does'nt do what it's supposed to it will be sent back. I don't mind spending a bit of time and doing it slowly so will see what the results are like, alumin is softer aswell so i may end up getting better results putting inlet piping together....will post pics of the results later next week as i've got a few spare straight sections which i can experiment with.

If it works OK and i go ahead with a full 3" zorst it will pay for itself so IF it works i think it's prob worth it.

I've got a little blow torch aswell so i'll try heating the side thats going to be stretched the most.
 
#15 ·
Here is one that I made earlier. It is for my 99T so the mounting flange will be different at the wastegate end to the 900T. I thought that I would get away with one straight through silencer as the turbo damps quite alot of noise. Wrong. It sounds horrid so I will have to splice in another silencer at least.
 

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#18 ·
my 3" exhaust system is made up from pre made stainless steel sections 90/45 deg elbows etc & the straight sections were cut from 4 metre lenghts

the elbows were cut'n'welded to suit the curves needed to fit the car, this gives a stronger exhaust system & looks nice too :cheesy:











HTH Paul

______________________________________________
Sleeper baby, no show & all GO................................
 
#19 ·
Ooh Alex99T - Got any more pictures of that 99T exhaust?

I like the way that you have avoided using that horrible original silencer at the back by using the 2 45degree angles and the straight. Is there plenty of space under the floor of the car to do this?

And how did it sound 'horrid'. Was it just too loud?, or something else?
 
#20 ·
Tomarse said:
Ooh Alex99T - Got any more pictures of that 99T exhaust?

Yup. I was quite pleased with that bit at the back with the 2, 45 deg bends, it took me ages to line it up. The annoying thing is, I think that bit will have to be modded to get the second silencer in. Trouble is there is not a lot of room left in that area. If you look through Nutcases 99T thread you will see that he has a silencer in that area so it can be done. I have built this fron 2.5 inch sections (from jetex and milner off road) so space is a bit tight but not as bad as I thought, glad I did not go for 3 inch as originally intended. The over axle bend (from jetex) had to be cut in the middle and the forward section rotated to the off side to clear suspension gubbins. As for the noise, tickover is bearable but revving makes it sound like a large dog vomiting through a loudhaler (probably) so remedial action is called for. I will sort some more pictures out when it is finished and sounding better.
 

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#22 ·
Ta Alex. Give us some more pictures when you are done!. How finished is the car now in total? (you could start a thread in the 99 forum and keep Nutcase's and my neverending 99T threads company!)

Isn't the floor on the 3 door different to the 2 door? - so you have more space under yours Nutcase?

I'm surprised it sounds so bad with only the one silencer. My 900 only has a single rear silencer (and a straight one not a 90degree bent one) in and that sounds lovely!
 
#23 ·
Tomarse said:
Ta Alex. Give us some more pictures when you are done!. How finished is the car now in total? (you could start a thread in the 99 forum and keep Nutcase's and my neverending 99T threads company!)

Yes keep meaning to. Must stop hijacking threads (sorry Si). Most of the welding is done, I will sort out a list of what I have done and start my own thread. Painting is approx 2 months away.

Isn't the floor on the 3 door different to the 2 door? - so you have more space under yours Nutcase?

I have no idea on that one, if it is true i would only expect it to be different from the rear axle back.

I'm surprised it sounds so bad with only the one silencer. My 900 only has a single rear silencer (and a straight one not a 90degree bent one) in and that sounds lovely!
So was I but I have sort of planned how to sort it now. Fingers crossed.
 
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