How to Build a Pipe Bending Machine

Yes Rakesh it really works. I have made one like this many years ago. It's vey cost effective also.

Hello rs,

This is the same kind of bender I was using made from wood.

The larger sized pipe will need a much longer lever. This design also is the most 'portable'. Nothing is heavy and it fits together as and when you need it. Very good design.

It has been a while since the start of this thread, have you made or bought one yet? Or got some plans?

What material is tubing and what is wall thickness?

My friend these things are inexpensive... Why not simply purchase one for 200.00?

But if you really need to build one, you'll need a basic bottle jack (10-20 ton), or any sort of cylinder you have handy if you have the means to power it with a pump.

You will need to duplicate the desired radius (these vary depending on the size of pipe). This piece will be only the inside radius and roughly 50% of the sides. It will push the pipe onto rollers and effectively bend the pipe.

Certainly there are many other types much better, larger, expensive. It just depends on what you are trying to do.

Remove plastic from wallet, and insert numbered sequence in correct data field

wait for pipe bender to appear before you

I've seen great ones for under 100

my bro just got one

Could you pass the plastic please

This plastic have a big role in US financial melt down.

Hello luisdmk46:

I have used a multi sized pipe bender up to about 2" (50mm) made from hardwood.

I would search for design plans in metal and wood and see how you get on. If you have a small machine shop both metal and wooden pats can be used for the same machine.

The internal bends of up to about 1" can be cut from wood and a routing plane or router used to make the groove. The wheels which run along the outer angle can be turned in wood, probably easier than using metal. It does mean a lot of work though and, you have to decide when you stop. At which size you stop making a machine to bend pipe. Larger pipe in rarely bent by hand as the heavier steel and cast iron have ready made bends, elbows etc. I would thing the max' size you may require to bend would be 1.5".

Hope this helps, good luck.......

I have contemplated building a bender many times in the past but always stopped at the part of making the dies. A buddy of mine built dies to bend boiler tubes by stacking 1/2" plates together in a fashion to eliminate a good bit of the machining, welded them together and then machined the internal half round groove to fit the tube O.D. This made very good dies but it was very labor intensive and expensive. The post about making them from hardwood is very interesting and might even try this. If you want to build an automatic machine for 3/4" to 2-1/2" you will need a strong gear motor with a lot of torque at low RPM. On any thing smaller a manual tube type bender would work fine. Many years ago I sometimes had to bend 2" pipe as part of my job and the company I worked for had a very nice Cincinnati pipe bender that would go up to 3" schedule 80 pipe. This thing had heavy full circular type dies and several limit switches that could be set around the table to stop the bend right where you wanted it too and then return back. After you got it set up the ease of fabricating the pipes with even several bends was awesome. I always wanted one of those machines but this one was several thousand dollars and I just didn't have the quantity of work to justify it. One thing about a table type bender is that you could make dies to bend bar as well as other shapes for it very easily and this might add to the usefulness and justify the cost. let us know how you bender comes out when or if you try to build it please.

pipewelder

Hello pipewelder:

I said you could make it in hardwood. Actually, as per your friend with the layers of thin steel sheet, you could do the same with 1/8 (3mm) hardwood ply. May even get a full set of 90° bends from a sheet? When you have the layers glued, you can use different round files for the particular pipe bend size you are working on. Or a router of course. I think it would be cool, and look nice. I think I would have maybe the three smallest sizes of pipe bender in one 'block. The others I would probably have separate.

Take care............

thanks for the info from all you people. 1. ret 2. no money 3. to much time 4. this is a hobby no a job 5. to many good info ... thanks for #1 comment good job "bravo zulu" for you.

Hi luisdmk46,

For small tubes coil spring can slip over outside and or inside then apply lateral force. No die needed for thin wall tubes.

Larger and heavier wall tubes require dies. Dies can be made rather simply without precision machine tools. Buy a size heavy wall tube or pipe with and outside diameter equal or slightly larger (experiment) of the tube you're bending. Weld, braze or glue a gusset to the inner and outer bend of the pipe then use band saw and cut through longitudinal center of the pipe.

Employ as desired.

and here

Dears rakesh_semwal, metalSmiths and bwire,

Thanks, good sites and nice pictures.

Nice informative sites, you get my GA. I really like the pro tools site because they sell the dies separately. I am actually checking in on buying some and reviving my earlier attempt at building a bending machine. I have a new electric self contained hydraulic pump/tank unit that should work fine for this so here goes another new project. I am still debating wheather it would be best to use a hydrualic cylinder or a hydrualic motor for the force to bend with though. Any suggestions from you all as to what would be better set up?

pipewelder

If you are looking into making a pipe bending machine, I am sure you realize there is more to running pipe than just bending it. Knowing how to lay out the pipe where the bends will be made to make it go where you want it to IS a science and is tempered by experience. For instance, depending on the degree of the bend, you multiply the cosecent of that angle by the amount of offset you need the pipe to take. That will tell you the distance apart to make the bends (for saddles or plain offsets). Experience will tell you where to place the first mark and which way to insert the pipe into the bender and how to keep the dogleg out of it. And there are shot tables out there somewhere for making radius bends lthat arger than the bending shoe. Try Greenlee.