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Tube bending dies - center line radius?

K

KRS62

Well-known member
Hello all. I've searched and done quite a bit of reading here on those building their own rigging. I am considering a JD2 bender in the next few days and wanted to check with those that have benders. I know that there are many different factors that go into die choice, but wanted to check with yall to see if you can share what center line radius dies you selected for your bender (for rigging and cage work besides hoops.) I would think that smaller would typically be better, but maybe not. Say for a 1" die, I would get a 3 or 4" CLR. Any recommendations on what CLR dies to get?

thanks!

KRS
 
KRS62 I 'm thinking that most cages might be made with plywood patterns. Although CNC bending and weld fixtures would be handy for hi volume. More or less a shade tree mechanic and a 6 pack job.
 
A lot of us simply use conduit benders.... 1/2”.....3/4”...... and 1”. This works for simple bends quite well

Harbor Freight has a wheel bender that would work for hoops or make a plywood form. Simple & cheap just like me!

If you search hoops there is a topic on hoops it has pictures

Good luck

AirHog
 
I have a JD2 model 4 and as far as the CLR for 1" dies.. It really depends on the look your going for.. In some places I like to use my 3" CLR die and in some places I'll use my 6.5" CLR die but I probably use my 3" CLR die the most..

As far as 3/4" I only have 1 die and it has a 3" CLR but I found that you can bend 5/8" in the same die and it works perfect so I bend them both with the one die. I haven't came across a application where I've needed a larger CLR. The 3" CLR seams to do it all for me on 5/8" and 3/4" tube.

When you get into the larger diameter tube that's where you got to watch it.. To bend stainless without wrinkling it you either have to use a larger CLR die or a thicker wall tube. Water lines for instance.. I like to use 1.5" tube with a .065 wall. For this application I use a 7" CLR because I found that in a 1.5" die that has LESS then a 7" CLR will put small wrinkles on the inside of every bend. Now if you stepped up to a .125 wall tube you could use any CLR you want and it won't wrinkle but i hate the added weight of doubling the wall thickness. Usually when I run into a application that requires a tighter bend using a smaller CLR die I will switch it up and use a .125 wall aluminum tube instead..

Hope this helps!!
 
Thanks Smuggler. That was very helpful. As expected, sounds like like I will end up eventually with a nice die collection, lol. I will start out with a 3" die and mess around with that a bit. I will report back after I get some experience using it.

KRS
 
Thanks! It is a nice bender and does a great job. I lucked out and found it on craigslist. It only came with a couple big dies but now I have quite the die collection including some square ones :) .

You are correct.. It's amazing how easy you can talk yourself into buying different radius dies :lol: Let us know how you make out..
 
You can bend any radius using this formula radius X 1.57 =developed length divided that buy the number of bends to make 90 degrees, don't make spacing to far apart this will give you the stop sign look, general rule don't go over 3 inch spacing. Hope this will help you bending pipe.
 
We have bought dies from swagoffroad.com in the past, they have tubing rollers also. For those people that are using a harbor freight tube roller their rollers fit right on. We've bent t-bars, loops, etc. very easily.
 
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