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How did you bent your aluminium tube (craddle)

Posted: April 1st, 2010, 2:04 pm
by blackz34
There's no place around here that will bend my tube. A place I tried was saying they would need to put a chrome insert in the tube to prevent deformation that would cost over 1000$ to do because they didn't have it.

So those who have done the full craddle replacement, how did you bent your tube?

Thank you!

Posted: April 1st, 2010, 5:52 pm
by cmotodad
I just bent my cradles. Sand, wood plugs and a piece of 2in. sq. steel tube with a 90 in it, vice and a propane torch. Not sure of the daimeter of the 90 bend. It was laying around my garage. Took my son and I @ 20.min to do 2.

Posted: April 1st, 2010, 7:28 pm
by nmdesertrider
Check out this gorilla
Lots of other vids on youtube


Posted: April 1st, 2010, 7:38 pm
by AlisoBob
cmotodad wrote:I just bent my cradles. Sand, wood plugs and a piece of 2in. sq. steel tube with a 90 in it, vice and a propane torch. Not sure of the daimeter of the 90 bend. It was laying around my garage. Took my son and I @ 20.min to do 2.
Thats a Hoon talking, right there.....

:wink:

Posted: April 1st, 2010, 8:30 pm
by cmotodad
Are you making Fun? I do work for a forging-heat treat facility. The project managers gave me some info on 6061. They said " That is soft material, you can bend it this way no problem. They even said you could put it in the bathtub with hot water only. Make your bends. Maybe your wife would say no. I did not tell mine on a trial run. Instead, I just brushed it a propane torch. I could still touch it with bare hands.

Posted: April 6th, 2010, 5:04 pm
by seanmx57
AlisoBob wrote:
cmotodad wrote:I just bent my cradles. Sand, wood plugs and a piece of 2in. sq. steel tube with a 90 in it, vice and a propane torch. Not sure of the daimeter of the 90 bend. It was laying around my garage. Took my son and I @ 20.min to do 2.
Thats a Hoon talking, right there.....

:wink:
Compliment.........

Posted: April 6th, 2010, 5:29 pm
by blackz34
cmotodad wrote:I just bent my cradles. Sand, wood plugs and a piece of 2in. sq. steel tube with a 90 in it, vice and a propane torch. Not sure of the daimeter of the 90 bend. It was laying around my garage. Took my son and I @ 20.min to do 2.
Do you have some pics ? I might try something myself this week...

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 6:20 am
by asteroid500
sand has been used i pipe bending for over a 100 years...i do it

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 10:02 am
by mxdogger
my tubing was bent using a 4 1/2" sq. die in what i think is a rototary bender, was bent about 70* degrees.

material used was 6061 t6 1" x 1" x .125" sq. round corner id/od tubing.

no heat, annealing was applied. bends are flat and smooth, no collapsing of the radius and no cracking or sign of metal fatigue.
Image

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 11:37 am
by cmotodad
That looks to be the 100% right way to do it. I do not have access to a bender and very little patience to find one in my area. The bends on my tube look no different than yours. As long as the strength is there, how it is bent, makes no difference in the project.

Posted: April 8th, 2010, 3:39 am
by gregrobo
asteroid500 wrote:sand has been used i pipe bending for over a 100 years...i do it
thats the simple explination of mandrel bending

Posted: April 8th, 2010, 6:48 pm
by blackz34
I just bent mine myself today! Turns out great :D I will post some pics soon of how I did it.