Howdy,
On Wed, 23 Apr 2003, Paul Parkanzky wrote:
> The race car needs a new roll cage. After reading the safety requirements
> I determined that a custom made cage would best suit my needs. The rub is
> that all of the cage's tubing must be mandrel bent. Is there a way to do
> this on the cheap? My original plan was to use the uniloader to bend
> tubing around some sort of jig. Now I see that Mandrel bending is quite
> involved and requires expensive equipment. Is there a poor man's way out?
What I use is a Model 3 bender from JD Squared. http://www.jd2.com/.
This bender is a manual powered version of they type of bender that it
seems like every cage builder uses. Its _not_ a true mandrel bender
though... Neither are any of the others I've seen cage builders use.
They all use benders like this, which won't introduce crimping or wall
failure in the bends.
Check your cage specs carefully. Its unlikely that they specify mandrel
bends specifically, they probably say something like "with smooth
continuous bends and no evidence of crimping or wall failure". As long as
you stay within the bend radius limits of the material, a bender like the
Model 3 from JD Squared is what you want.
I think I paid something like $300 for the bender? I don't really
remember. You do want the degree wheel. It also probably takes a bit
more effort than the "bend 1+3/4" x .095 tubing with one hand" would lead
you to believe, but its not ridiculous. Make your handle long enough to
make it easy enough for you.
Were I a fabricator doing this a lot, I'd definatley go with a hydraulic
version, but the Model 3 does everything I want it to do just as well as
what fabricators use, just with a bit more sweat.
Mark
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