DOM bending

[Jackrabbit41]

So i really want to build a bed cage and head rack. I want a cage mostly for tree protection, but also for roll overs (i hope to god that'll never happen). I used some schedule 40 pipe to make a friends bumper and my harbor freight bender worked amazingly on that. It did a 40 degree bend with no kinks or dents. I was going to use schedule 40 for my cage, but then i thought to my self that i wanna look back on the cage and know its built right and strong. I wanna do it right the first time. Just wondering what kinda bender y'all have/use and if anyones tried bending dom on a harbor frieght bender? I'm gonna try it but I just don't wanna waste money on DOM. Thanks and if anyone has any pics of their cages, that'd be awesome. 

[DirtyComanche]

You might get good results with that bender if you mod the dies up.

 

I have a JD2 model 3.  It works fine.  Slow.  You need something to solidly bolt it to, since it is completely manual (arm strength).  I haven't used it in years actually, but I built the cage on my old MJ with the exact same model. (Borrowed that one, bought this one afterwards and only did a few small things with it)

[mnkyboy]

Too bad your not a little closer,we have a JMR bender and 6 or more dies sitting at the shop but it's in Kalama.

 

 

Definitely don't use Schedule 40,it's heavier than DOM and very soft. just a few weeks ago i wadded up a 3' piece that i was using to hold a hydraulic cylinder while i removed the piston nut,i bent the schedule 40 by hand with a 2.5" wrench,i was surprised how easily it bent.

I know people have modded the HF bender to work with tube but i personally haven't tried it,i would get a tube bender,a basic JD2 or similar really isn't that expensive and will produce better bends.

[Jackrabbit41]

Too bad your not a little closer,we have a JMR bender and 6 or more dies sitting at the shop but it's in Kalama.

 

 

Definitely don't use Schedule 40,it's heavier than DOM and very soft. just a few weeks ago i wadded up a 3' piece that i was using to hold a hydraulic cylinder while i removed the piston nut,i bent the schedule 40 by hand with a 2.5" wrench,i was surprised how easily it bent.

I know people have modded the HF bender to work with tube but i personally haven't tried it,i would get a tube bender,a basic JD2 or similar really isn't that expensive and will produce better bends.

Thanks, I'll look into it

[Jackrabbit41]

Too bad your not a little closer,we have a JMR bender and 6 or more dies sitting at the shop but it's in Kalama.

 

 

Definitely don't use Schedule 40,it's heavier than DOM and very soft. just a few weeks ago i wadded up a 3' piece that i was using to hold a hydraulic cylinder while i removed the piston nut,i bent the schedule 40 by hand with a 2.5" wrench,i was surprised how easily it bent.

I know people have modded the HF bender to work with tube but i personally haven't tried it,i would get a tube bender,a basic JD2 or similar really isn't that expensive and will produce better bends.

Could you recommended one? So many options

[Blue XJ]

You might get good results with that bender if you mod the dies up.

 

I have a JD2 model 3. It works fine. Slow. You need something to solidly bolt it to, since it is completely manual (arm strength). I haven't used it in years actually, but I built the cage on my old MJ with the exact same model. (Borrowed that one, bought this one afterwards and only did a few small things with it)

I agree with the JD2 model 3. I used one to build my roll bar and cage, along with some rock rails. They might seem expensive at first, but I've bought 2 of them new and sold both when I was done using them. They are a very easy sell and I only lost maybe $50 on each one. The infinite 8 mounting base is nice so you can mount the bender in a corner out of the way. I got mine from someone on pirate, but I think swag sells them now.

[1stDeuce]

If you're willing to mess with it a lot, you CAN use a HF bender to bend tubing (as opposed to pipe) but you need to keep the wall excessively thick, and it's not pretty.  For really shallow bends, it works, but for 45° or more, you have to keep moving the tubing around,and the rollers make dents, and sometimes it kinks anyway.

 

FWIW, instead of using DOM, I use HREW tube.  Looks exactly like DOM on the outside, but has a seam on the inside.  The tolerances for HREW are a little looser, but nothing you'd notice for a roll cage or structural stuff.  The strength is comparable, and HREW is half (or less!) the cost of DOM. 

 

I put the seam on the neutral axis thinking it'll bend better, but I've forgotten, and it doesn't seem to matter.

 

Good Luck!!

Chris

[DirtyComanche]

HREW is comparable to pipe, something around only 50-60% of the strength of DOM.  CREW is comparable to DOM, but you almost never see it because it's redundant/obsolete.

[mnkyboy]

Steel prices fluctuate alot so you have to watch it,for a while we were getting DOM for about 30 cents per foot more than HREW was going for.

HREW will work though in a hobby cage to keep cost down if there is a significant difference when you go to buy.

 

As for the bender, any of the common brands will work,you will find that a lot of the benders will interchange dies with one another.

The die is were most of the magic happens so most benders will have similar bend quality.

[1stDeuce]

Oops, my bad...   It turns out I was talking about CDBW, not HREW.  CDBW is available in some sizes, and around here at least, is much cheaper than DOM. 

CDBW is ~50ksi yield, vs. DOM at ~70ksi, but that makes it easier to bend, and still plenty strong for most non-race applications.  

For comparison, HREW and CREW are ~40ksi, and pipe varies from 30ksi to 50ksi depending on the grade.  Pipe is also the only one that's measured nominally by the ID.   (IE 2" Sch40 pipe is 2" ID, and ~1/8 wall.  For this reason, 1.5" pipe bending die works with 1.75" tubing...)

 

Post up some pics when you get going, everyone loves to see projects!!!  :)