Howdy,
On Thu, 24 Apr 2003, Paul Parkanzky wrote:
>
> You're absolutely right. I was under the impression that to make
> a bend like that in 1.75 x .120 DOM tubing that I would have to do it on a
> mandrel bender. The way that I've sketched it out so far I will never need
> to bend beyond 90. I'll let the main hoop 'flare out' about 3 or 4 degrees
> on each side to give it a bit more lateral strength. The halo will
> basically be a square (I'd like to do it with a single u-shaped piece
> welded into the main hoop. I'll try to use as many straight runs as
> possible so that they're as strong as they can be.
Well, the Model 3 bender will happily bend beyond 90 deg, so I wouldn't
worry about that requirement.
> Thank you all for the help that you've given me. I'm sorry to
> have given you the impression that I was trying to skimp on the
> cage. Actually, I want something a lot safer than the Autopower bolt-in
> that is in there now. I was just going to add door bars and a Petty bar
> and realized that I could start over and have a much better cage. I was
> just hoping to do the work myself (with the help of my future father-in-law
> the expert welder with equipment worth drooling over).
> So what is the verdict? Will that Harbor Freight bender make good
> bends without compromising tubing strength? That we can afford...
I'd recommend against the HF conduit bender however. It bends using dies
that are sized for electrical conduit, not tubing. It also bends by
applying force to the center of the bend, which seems to kink the tubing
pretty well.
The Model 3 bender bends by pulling the tubing around the die and has dies
that are the correct size. Good bends with this are a complete no brainer
(now, figuring out where you want the bends is sometimes a different
story... :-)
Here's another bender for the DIY racecar person...
http://www.lowbucktools.com/hydbender.html
I've never used one of these however.
Mark
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