TFS: Tube Bending Basics 3 - Q & A

A quick video segment which answers viewer submitted questions regarding tube bending.
Click Here for Part 1:
• TFS: Tube Bending Basi...
Click Here for Part 2:
• TFS: Tube Bending Basi...
Questions List:
2:09 Diameter & Wall Thickness Decision
3:23 Bender is off from Reference
4:16 Measuring to Match Plans & Prints
4:39 Cheapest Bending Tool
6:51 Bending Without a Tube Bender
8:37 Diameter X 3 = CLR
9:18 Best Bender for a Newbie
9:50 Bender in my Country
10:13 Can I Do Exhaust Work
11:26 Learning Material
Tools & Gear We Use and Recommend
www.amazon.com...
Learn How to TIG Weld HANDS ON!
thefabricatorse...
Check out the Build Blogs for MORE info!
www.thefabricat...
Subscribe to my channel for MORE!
Check out the website: www.TheFabricat...
Like: / thefabricatorseries
Follow: IG @The.Fabricator / the.fabricator

[@capcloud]

By far, one of the most solid channel out there. Love your videos and the quality of your material. You're a wealth to the industry.

[@NMranchhand]

You have a fabulous natural talent for instruction such that your videos are well worth watching just for the entertainment value of learning whether or not one ever plains to bend tubing. Thanks very much.

[@kevinbrown4894]

All three videos are well done. We can all go back to school now and then.

[@dekebell3307]

It amazes me how humble you are (that's a good thing!). Thanks for answering questions and teaching.

[@johnfitzgerald8193]

Thanks for taking the time to make these videos, I'll be re-watching them all a few times to make sure I didn't miss anything!! Something that occurred to me while watching the Q&A is that a lot of people are looking for your level of quality while saving as much as possible....Most rental stores have a wide variety of quality tools for rent at a fraction of the purchase cost. If the viewers are only doing a few random projects, this could help them get the quality without the price tag. Also, I've heard of a VoTech making things for people...you pay for the materials and they teach the students while making your project.

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

I think everyone is always looking for the best for the least. Unfortunately for many, there isn't a way around it without sacrificing one thing or another for the result. I'm looking in to common tips for people looking to save a few dollars, but I honestly can't recommend anything I have found on popular subjects.

[@grimuk3817]

Dude, watched all 3 and subbed. Great tutorials, man. Admittedly, I'm starting small (planning on building an electric quadri-cycle) but ur tuts were invaluable, so thank u!

[@dannyoktim9628]

Excellent video concerning pipe bending mechanics. You point out details and pitfalls of fabrication so one can complete a successful fabrication. Well thought out and delivered by a person with a passion for teaching. Thank you I learned.

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

+Danny Oktim Awesome! Thanks for watching!

[@mertonsilliker3686]

As usual, this lesson alto three parts, well done and i have very few questions which i am sure could be answered by viewing the lessons again. That is quite a statement, excellent justin. You have another home run. Thanks

[@typostech]

Great "fabricator"...very detailed explanations without at the same time consuming time with useless references left and right... thank you for sharing your skills and knowledge with us

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

Thanks for watching!

[@RotorMedic7]

Brother, YOU ARE the best and most informative, easy to follow guy on YT! Thanks for doing what you do!!

[@davevingom3097]

Excellent training videos. Lots of great information even for a DIYer like myself. Answered questions I had regarding benders. Definitely look forward to more.

[@RS-jz2yu]

Very informative series. So we'll spoken. Easy to understand the points that you are trying to make. I only have three personal projects that I need to bend rude for but these videos make make want to find more. Thank you for putting these together!

[@jeffsampsel6222]

great videos ive watched alot of videos on bending yours are the most helpful and straight forward i have watched thank you for putting your time into these

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

Thanks!

[@FREE_WILL_AAHhhhhhhhhhhhh]

I appreciate the time you spend educating others.

[@natekola1151]

Man Thank you so much i am a pretty decent fabricator and still learned some neat trciks of ways to do things id done previosly but now easier. ITs great to see you putting this stuff out there to help the fellow man or woman.. Easy to use and undestand. bravo .. Youre a good man charlie brown.

[@justincarson5140]

Thanks for putting the time in on this series. I am gonna buy a model 3 and start my bending path.

[@SMBGarageChannel]

Love you channel man. Been learning a lot before I decide to do my first fabrication project for my car.

[@efitter7]

+SMB Garage (Spencer Bailey) Same here, he does a fantastic job of explaining things. One of my favorite channels on KZbin.

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

+SMB Garage (Spencer Bailey), +efitter7 Thanks to both of you!

[@robpedrow9293]

Awesome video series! This will really help me going forward and wish I'd known some of these easy tricks before I started bending tube. Thanks so much!

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

Thanks for watching!

[@santiagoardilesgonzalez6451]

For the Q number one: the FIA got a official manual or a rule book of the basics of the roll cages, it shows you the basic structure and diferent examples of roll cages and its wall thickness. You can start designing from there.

[@rydaddy2867]

Sand: I've read packing your thin-walled exhaust tube with sand makes it bend acceptably in the JD style bender. That does seem like it would be messy for anything but a small project, though.

[@calebbroussard5899]

i saw the question about bending from prints. i run industrial stainless tubing at work and my cheap ass company bought a set of benders like this. (not dogging the benders, but they weren't intended for my work) All measurements i take are from center of tube to center of tube. so what i did was pick a random length that i wanted to make my bend at. so say i wanted 10 inches from end of tube to center of tube after the bend. obviously it came out a bit long because these measurements he takes are to the center of the bend, and not actually the center of the tube after it's bent. so i just took the difference between what i got after i bent and what i actually wanted and added it to the setback (measurement from center to reference mark) and im able to hold center to center measurements between bends. hope this helps if anyone was wondering about this.

[@bruceb6262]

great series of vids, I am just learning bending so I can do my Jeep cage great information.

[@MuffinMan7580]

Supplemental question for Q&A: Carbide tooth blade vs Abrasive for your "chop" saw? Thanks for your work and "de-mystifying" this type of work.

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

Both work very well. It's up to the user. I find carbide blades very useful for repeat cuts and more "procuction" type cutting where speed and accuracy is essential for efficiency.

[@waikanaebeach]

Great work, narration, and video. You are a natural at it...

[@MonkeyFabGarage]

thanks for your time and expense. this is a great resource!

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

Thanks for watching!

[@cdmc012599]

Awesome series on tube bending! Thanks for putting it out there.

[@msturtev78]

Great video man. I've been considering a bender as there are quite a few projects I want to do on my race car and I've been very interested in learning more about bending. I'll be looking forward to the next video, thanks for doing what you do!

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

+msturtev78 Awesome! Thanks for watching. The other vids are coming very soon.

[@taogden]

thanks for a really great series of videos. Looking to build new cattle handling equipment, for what you have shown, you have already saved me a lot, thanks

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

You're welcome. Thanks for watching!

[@dvictorious]

Thank you for helping change the world by sharing your knowledge!

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

Thanks for watching!

[@scadaics187]

Great Series. Would be interesting to have tube bender manufacturers send you their benders for a tube bender shootout. I was looking at getting the same model you have since it would be consistent with your video tutorials. I'm also interested in DIY roof rack making, so bending round and square tubing of different material. Your videos have been very informative--thanks.

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

If all the manufacturers would send me their benders, I'd definitely put a vid together comparing them.

[@gordoningram7068]

We built all 3 of our benders off the old Campbell Hausfield design. We build roughly 100 chassis a year, benders have never gone down :) But they've got their share of miles on em!

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

Right on!

[@KoHokCheung]

Very good infos on tube bending. Thx to take up the time to make these vdos. Very valuable. Cheers, Chris.

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

+scolarichris You're welcome. Thanks for watching!

[@chrislollich6064]

Very good instruction ,will watch Again. Thanks from NOR-CAL.

[@anthonydelgado7162]

First person I subscribed to in 19 years!

[@shredder60]

You really knocked it out with this series

[@shredder60]

of the park

[@buddy7587]

Generator switch

[@rightsidelanechoice7702]

I don't have a question just want to thank you for sharing your knowledge! It's greatly appreciated.

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

+Billy Mehaffey You're welcome. Thanks for watching!

[@mijoguero]

Just starting the cage on my car. Your videos have been a great help

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

Awesome! Good luck on the build!

[@oscarestrada72oe]

thank you so much. keep making videos so I can keep learning

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

Plenty more to come!

[@georgecookie2107]

honest and insightful. very rare nowadays. thank you for making the video series.

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

You're welcome. Thanks for watching!

[@tripledstickers]

Prior to watching your first video I bought a pipe bender, lol. Once I seen your video and bought the JD bender I just gave that pipe bender away.

[@johnmurraycompton569]

Hey Justin, just a heads up, in the description for video 2 of this series, the link to video 3 doesn't link up. Love the videos! I just found you and most definitely subscribed and liked all. I', looking forward to puting these practices to use building some prerunner bumpers for my truck. Thank you Sir!

[@leelafarlett3535]

Other than roll cages, race car chassis etc. what else are these benders used for

[@coldrider3517]

Thank you greatly informative vid , I have tried to find where to buy aluminum alloy tube the place I found only sell k's linear feet lol I don't need that much .You know sellers who would sell small amounts , I need like 70-90 ' in a few different size ,Thank you for sharing this knowledge .Cheers & be safe =D

[@jeremyarnold629]

Very informative, thank you for all you did here with this series, helped me out tremendously. So thank you!

[@h4z4rd42]

Very informative videos, thank you for your efforts. Since I own a pipe bender only, I've done some searching after this bender and found these are not too widely used in Europe for some reasons. Hardly found a distributor at last and figured out there is no die available larger than 2" ~50mm. Is there a secret place for oversize (~70mm) dies or I have to keep my pipe bender to make the exhaust lines larger than 50mm?

[@h4z4rd42]

Should have watched it till the end... sorry

[@paulrees4232]

I have a Mod-32 bender . I want bend 95 wall X 1 in a U . With a outside finished U of 12” . I am trying understand the take up on the material . And the distance from each 90 as I bend to get finished piece of 12”

[@alainmaurice1271]

Hello, Thanks for your great video. You taught me a lot. I watched your episode regarding tube bending with the JD Squared tool. Can this tool bend 4130 steel, pipe od 3/4 '' x .058 '' thick without damaging the pipe? This winter I want to make my luggage racks for my adventure motorcycle. Thank you very much

[@mauricesteer8023]

Thanks so much. An awsome 3 part series. I learnt a lot.

[@sunnylightgg]

What type of rule book should I get if just starting fabricating

[@fastsofaracing]

love your videos. question. why not get a air over hydraulic setup so you can move the tube bender all over the place and free up shop space?

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

Thanks! Control of the bend is reduced with a hydraulic setup. I can work a bend better by hand. I also end up with some cut looking arms after a day of bending, so the workout is a plus.

[@day180205]

What would happen if you tried to bend 3/4” square tube in a 3/4” round tube die?

[@MikeHarveyPhoto]

10/10 keep up the good work, like it ,clean and straight forward

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

+Mike Harvey Thank you!

[@bossman2246]

Do you have a video on tube chassis repair

[@BotelloPerformance]

how much room would be needed to mount Bender to floor and have room to do main hoops and such with out hitting wall .

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

The center of the bender needs to be about 4 feet away from the wall for the handle to clear.

[@BotelloPerformance]

Does that leave plenty room to do main hoops, down bars n such

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

Not if you put it in a corner. This was mounted near my garage door which allowed me to create more space by opening the door.

[@zhuangke28]

any plans for tour around the garage to see what tools you have for fabricating?

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

+Zhuang Ke I've had a few requests for a video like that. I'll see if I can get something together soon.

[@TheGroundBeef]

the fabricator rocks!! definitely a teacher i would like to teach me

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

Thanks! We just launched Fabrication Classes here at the shop in Las Vegas if you are interested. We announce the schedule on KZbin the month before and have the schedule posted online as well. Thanks for watching! thefabricatorseries.com/classes/

[@mrlifetime64]

excellent -interesting -well presented- your a craftsman -i can tell -not many of us around any more - i enjoy your videos - Im looking for a bender specifically for Stainless tubing for doing bimini tops-any suggestions ...Thank You (Happy Holidays)

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

Thanks! I see your other comment about using the JD2 and I would think it would do just fine on stainless as long as the die and followers are polished/clean to avoid scratching. I've done bright and 2B stainless without issues before.

[@metaling1]

Excellent series. Subscribed!

[@cesarmg4642]

Nice vids, I have just bough a tube bender and this will be very useful to use it. My bender it's very similar to yours. Which is the lower and upper limit for the thickness of wall?? And wich kind of tube you use?? Thanks for sharing your knowledge!!!

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

+Cesar Mendoza It really all depends on the die size and CLR. I can bend 0.065" to .120" regularly. It will do smaller diameter .250" wall, but anything larger would be pushing it, if you could even bend it by hand.

[@tptrsn]

I'm really looking forward to the full video! In the mean time, what is that miter style saw on the left of the screen behind you? I have a DeWalt multi-cutter and I love it, but it would be soooo much nicer if there was a way to get a bit more angle adjustment out of it.

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

+Hammerhaus Kennel The miter saw is a Dewalt DW715 12" single bevel. I use it for just about all the wood work I do as well as cutting aluminum.

[@tptrsn]

+The Fabricator Excellent, thank you! I might have to pick one of those up if I end up needing the crazy angles more for aluminum than for steel. If it ends up being more steel than Al, then I don't know...

[@ezramccon3740]

Great videos, excellent teaching skills!

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

Thank you!

[@TinnonFamilyFarm]

thanks for the response.

[@001desertrat3]

Interesting, but do the same basic principles that you've shown for Tubing also apply to working with PIPE and Pipe Benders ? Because, a roll-bar/cage for a race car is vastly different than a roll-bar/cage for a Bulldozer, both in size and strength. - The reason I ask is I want to build a roll-bar/cage for my Caterpillar D-2 Bulldozer.

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

001DesertRat I really can't offer much info on building a ROPS for equipment. I know how to replace them all day (previous profession), but I don't design them. I can say that they are not made out of pipe. The principals of pipe bending are similar, but I've never been a plumber/pipe fitter, so I can't offer much info there haha. I would try to find a heavy equipment engineer who specializes in ROPS and try to get some info on the subject.

[@hermanlapole3719]

Thank you for your video's I'v learned alot of stuff !

[@thenextstepp]

Definitely don't use a pipe bender... years of doing electrical work and now working in architecture I can tell you that bending tubing with a pipe bender will result in a weak point because of the deformation in the profile of the tubing.

[@michaelhickman8077]

You're great man. The videos are awesome and helpful. How old were you when you started fabrication? I'm a garage fab guy myself but you've probably forgot more than I know! haha. Just curious when you started Fab and if you went to to any schools to learn! Thanks!

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

I think I was 17 or 18 when I picked up a welder for the first time. I had no clue what I was doing so I decided to go to school and learn. I was also very fortunate to meet some old heads in the industry who taught me a lot. I've spent years just learning and practicing every chance I had.

[@S30Build]

hey great videos im learning alot here, one question, how do you make a continuous curved bend? would you just break up the desired angle into incriments and bend several times at incrimental distances? say a 60 degree angle bent 12 times at 5 degrees every so often?

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

Continuous bends are essentially bends with a much larger radius. Tube rollers are the tools used to achieve a very large radius. If you make small bends on a small radius, you end up with a tube that is merely bent how ever many times you bent it. The radius will not be continuous because the die leaves an impression in the tube every time you make a bend.

[@focuspeedperformance880]

I would like to ask you a technical question about the bender. I'm from Brazil and we don't have access to this kind of bender over here, so I'm building my own bender. The machine is based on JD2 dies. I was reading the JD2 datasheet and the specify the following radius x tube diameter: 0.750"⌀ x 4.5"CLR 0.875"⌀ x 4.5"CLR 1.000"⌀ x 4.5"CLR 1.125"⌀ x 4.5"CLR 1.250"⌀ x 4.5"CLR 1.375"⌀ x 4.5"CLR 1.500"⌀ x 4.5"CLR So for all this tube sizes I would fabricate a die with the same centerline? Another thing is that they don't mention the CLR for the 2" die, would be the same? Thanks in advance, Best regards.

[@mrt7300]

Love your work mate 👌👌

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

+Mr T Thanks!

[@strangersound]

This was an excellent series! I recently started going through Abom79's videos and this was in my recommended today. I watched all 3 parts and definitely learned from them. I've one some conduit doing electrical, but your explanation of the differences between pipe and tubing and the applicable tools was very informative. Subbed, liked, and looking forward to seeing more of your work. You have an very good presentation style and ability to convey the material. Thanks for the class. (y)

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

+strangersound Awesome! Thanks for watching!

[@mccustomize]

Do you ever use Bend Tech?

[@tezsullivan6048]

Thanks 👍👍👍

[@thommygun225]

Hi Justin. Is it possible to bend a 1 57/64 in tube with a 1 31/32 in die?

[@Impactatdawn]

what brand and model tube bender are you using ? really enjoyed your tutorial

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYGVlWyLl9aBjNU

[@DONW999]

Thank you Mister, it is very educational. I have a question, could you bend a piece of tube at a larger radius than the die with type of bender you have, e.g. (I use metric) use a 20cm diametre die to create a 40 radius bend or larger. Much appreciate it!

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

+DONW999 Yes and no. Yes, you can do little tiny individual bends while shifting the tube to create a larger bend. The only problem with that is the bend will not be uniform and obtaining the exact CLR would be extremely difficult. It is best to use the correct die for the correct CLR you require.

[@DONW999]

Thank you Sir, for the quick answer. Basically, I am making some back support of a backpack, and the curvature on the 6-8mm DIA aluminium tubes needs to be over 150r Would it be still good to use manual bender or am I better off with those automatic bending machine? From that point, there is problem of finding the right die. Again, thank you for your help!

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

DONW999 If you are planning on goinginto production, you will likely want to invest in a machine with high efficiency and repeat ability. For prototype work, you might just want to get a couple dies machined to your specification.

[@DONW999]

I see, that seems to be a viable option. Will give it some thought. Thanks man!

[@michaeldiapoulis3600]

Hello again just wanted to thank you and ask about taking the slake. or free play out of the JD Squared hydraulic JD Squared bender to zero it out. I do use the same reference point, but i when i make a bend and try to replicate it . It's off a few degrees. When i hold them up to each other you can see the difference. I hope you can help me. Thank you very much.

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

If you add some sort of release pin, or an open hole (like a hook) to the drive link, you can reset or adjust the slack manually before hooking up the cylinder and continuing a bend.

[@michaeldiapoulis3600]

Thank you i am going to try that and thanks for all the info you put out i think its great.

[@skaterdudd]

make a video for fabricating pie cut exhaust/headers etc.

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

That has been requested quite a few times. I'll get to it as soon as I can.

[@skaterdudd]

+The Fabricator awesome looking forward to it, great videos by the way.

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

+skaterdudd Thank you!

[@23fm]

Thanks for making these videos.

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

tim march My pleasure. Thanks for watching!

[@bobmcgee7805]

well explained ..very pro .....keep em coming..Thanks.

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

Thanks for watching.

[@EystadRacing]

Justin, I'm trying to layout my using my 90 degree cheater. However, the band needing to make is greater than 90. Do I need to make another cheater at, let's say 120 degrees or what is my next step?

[@bigsnowcone]

I would really like to purchase a bender and ship to New Zealand. Any chance of pointing me in the correct direction

[@parabellum1130]

Does that bender have square dies also??

[@revolutionmotorsport]

have you had any trouble bending thing wall small dia tubing and is there any tricks? Talking 1 or 1/14" 0.65

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

+Viper Strikes I bend a lot of 1" x 0.065" tubing with no issues. I use a 3" CLR die.

[@leronadams9667]

How do you make your template

[@lngnthik]

Oh yes no doubts

[@mrgreenswelding2853]

awesome info, no bullshit straight to the point. thats what i like!!,

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

+Mr. green Than you!

[@williamgarcia9751]

Is this guy still active on KZbin? I have a question on tube bending

[@aquilifergroup]

Thank you.

[@alextrezvy6889]

What do you mean saying "rulebook"? What kind of book it is and how it can be found? Google returns a lot of unrelated links for the word "rulebook".

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

Every roll cage made for a sanction of will have a rule book that states requirements for wall thickness, diameter, tube location and general design requurements. If you need to know what to use for a roll cage, look in the rule book.

[@alextrezvy6889]

The Fabrication Series So you mean a roll cage rule book? But how to design it for an arbitrary car body?

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

Let's try to simplify this - what is it that you want to build? Tube chassis? Roll cage? Bumpers?

[@alextrezvy6889]

The Fabrication Series I just have become acknowleged about rollcages. Wiki says: "A roll cage is a specially engineered and constructed frame built in (or sometimes around, in which case it is known as an exo cage) the passenger compartment of a vehicle to protect its occupants from being injured in an accident, particularly in the event of a roll-over." So I thinked it will be reasonable to build such a thing for my car. I own this one which is pretty good but doesn't look safe: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleko

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

Almost every sanction lists requirements for a roll cage design that they require for use. You first need to figure out what type of cage design you want to build, then find the rule book which explains the requirements for that design. There really isn't a universal or "fit's all requirements" type of cage. One wrong tube or design could kill you.

[@mikejustice1196]

Hi, I’m new to all this. Where can I purchase this (rule book) you refer too. Thanks, Mike

[@bsracer85]

at the organization you want to race in

[@drawdetrebor8853]

Awesome!

[@motoputz3201]

thanks

[@hoatland2b]

awesome video

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

Thank you!

[@fastsofaracing]

awesome. subscribed.

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

Thanks for the sub!

[@deathrabbit82]

You don't you use millimeters ?

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

It's not my native unit, but sometimes I use MM when machining.

[@zepp113]

I use a JD Squared model 32 which is very similar to the one used here but has the anti springback system added that helps to keep bends even smoother. I'm in UK and you can get them from www.stakesys.co.uk The fella there is most helpful being a fabricator himself.

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

Right on. Thanks for sharing.

[@brianb5779]

I see there is always at least one piece of shit on any given youtube video that no matter how great,amazing, informative or whatever else a good video has that there is always 1dickhead or just someone w no skills (or friends probably) that will give a thumbs down. Guess we know out of the bunch of whos voting for Hillary..lol Absolutely Excellent job on all these videos and so damn informative that if i was an instructor id have my students watch these to learn.

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

+Brian B There's always going to be someone haha. Thanks for watching!

[@workwillfreeyou]

I'm looking for a JD2 model 32 bender with dies. Anyone have a used one they may want to sell! Jim.

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

+workwillfreeyou Good luck on a used one. You can often find them on local classified pages. Some viewers have written in saying they found them used for a good deal.

[@DJInclined]

First?

[@TheFabricatorSeries]

+DJ Inclined First comment?

[@jeffstwart105]

Lol them damn hackers!