Roll bar (main hoop) - Tubing Bender from ebay

[proxlamus©]

I found this bender on eBay and I gotta ask everyone for their opinion!!

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1-3-4-Tubing-Tube-Bender-SandRail-Rock-Crawler-Baja_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem2555e46bebQQitemZ160354823147QQptZMotorsQ5fAutomotiveQ5fTools

 

I mean $260.. its a TUBE bender and not a pipe bender..

 

Im planning on 1.75" 0.120" DOM tubing.. and according to this diagram a 7" radius bend is all I need!!

 

 

(thanks 74_5.0L_Z)

 

Beats the $300 JD2 bender.. plus the $300 for a flippin die!!

[johnc]

A bigger radius bend requires more room and tubing length to complete. The gap between the bend and the corner of the roof will be a bit larger then with a tighter bend. Conversely, a larger radius bend will be a bit stronger then a tighter radius bend.

 

If you're going to make more then just one roll bar or cage and can only afford one die, you'll probably want a tighter radius then 7". I use a 5.5" radius bend with 1.5" tubing and a 6" bend with 1.75" tubing.

 

FYI... Most race sanctioning bodies don't allow bends any tighter then 3 times the tube OD. So the tightest approved bend on 1.75" tubing is 5.25".

[JMortensen]

That looks like the same die that came with my Speedway bender. I had a roll bar fabricator bend up the main hoop based on Dan's .gif you have there and it worked out perfectly, and then I did all the other bends with a basically similar bender:

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/3rd-Generation-Hydraulic-Round-Tubing-Bender-Assemby,6614.html

[JIM73240Z]

oh snap. I wish I had found that when I was building my cage. My car might be done by now if I had one. Good find. A tighter bend would be good though.

 

Jimbo

[dr_hunt]

I have one somewhat similar to that one your looking at. Mine bends to 135 degrees though. I think you'll find it more than enough for your needs.

[MONGO510]

I checked some measurements on my 260 and the Roll Bar pictured above will not fit.

I have been looking at previous posts for weeks and have not been able to find a set of drawings or dimensions for a SCCA legal Roll Bar/ Cage. Does anyone know where I can find a set of drawings or plans?

 

John(Mongo)

[JMortensen]

I checked some measurements on my 260 and the Roll Bar pictured above will not fit.

I have been looking at previous posts for weeks and have not been able to find a set of drawings or dimensions for a SCCA legal Roll Bar/ Cage. Does anyone know where I can find a set of drawings or plans?

Dan, aka 74_5.0L_Z, is the guy who made the drawing. As you can tell by his screen name, it should fit a 260.

 

Maybe this will help to show where he installed it:

[MONGO510]

Ah! That changes everything! How is the bar supported on the bottom? Has he built a box like structure to mount it to?

 

John

[JMortensen]

Yes. Just a little triangular box that sits on the floor. Mine came out a bit tighter and I attached it to the rockers and did a similar triangular box underneath the tubes as a result of people on another forum telling me it wouldn't pass tech with the bottom of the tubes left open:

 

 

[MONGO510]

Thanks Jon! That answers many questions I had!

Thanks!!

 

John (Mongo)

[proxlamus©]

Im seriously all over the place right now..

 

I can't decide if i should spend the ~$450 for a Kirky cage.. or spend nearly $350 for a tubing bender.. and then $9.99 per linear foot for DOM tubing and make my own.

 

Especially if I dont really see myself using the bender for anything else. arrggg

[johnc]

If you're paying $10 bucks a foot for DOM then you better shave your butt because someone wants to bend you over. Right now 1.75 x .095 wall DOM is around $4.50 a foot if you buy it by the stick.

 

BTW... you don't need .120 wall 1.75 tubing, go with .095 wall.

Edited August 14, 2009 by johnc

[280ztracked]

I have one of these benders and have 1.75 die and the 1.50 die. The build of this product is great. It works very well, a very tiny amount of grease on the die works well. This is a very simple and very easy to use product. When bending the main hoop you may find that a tubing indexer is a great tool to have. It allows you to have the bend in a perfect plane to each other. I found the indexer on a rock crawling web site.

[proxlamus©]

Hey John..

 

That was the first price I found online =).. lack of searching on my end.

 

.095 wall it is

[TheBandit]

The style of bender you linked will work okay, but I've never been a fan of bending vertically due to the practical overhead space available for clearancing cage hoops etc. If you like that style though I would look at the One Shot from Pro Tools (www.pro-tools.com) which is setup horizontally. Like many tools, you get what you pay for and they have a nice product. If I were to recommend a bender for entry level cage building, I'd be looking at the PT 105.

 

Also, I highly recommend Bend Tech software. Either EZ3D or preferably Pro is great for doing cage work and really takes the guess work out, especially for a first timer. Take a look at www.2020ssi.com. You wouldn't believe how much faster and easier it is to build a cage - even I can do it and I'm no wizard.

 

As for bend radius (CLR or centerline radius), a 7 inch CLR is bigger than you need for a 1-3/4"x0.120 tube cage. Unless you are planning on doing thinwall bending with the same dies, you will be happier with a tighter radius (maybe 5.5-6in) for that size tube. The diameter will shrink a little in the bend area, but not much and with that thickness there shouldn't be any problem with wrinkling.

[proxlamus©]

I found a local place who will bend roll cage tubing for $25 per bend..

 

so 4 bends on the main hoop.. 2 bends on the rear harness bar.. plus materials for the diagonal.. etc

 

I can easily do the main hoop, harness bars and diagonal for ~$240-ish!

 

 

not too bad.

 

PS - Bandit.. thanks for the great info!!

[stony]

crap 25 per bend whatever happened to by the hour??? someone that knows what there doing should be able to bend a blueprint in less then a hour!!!!

 

Now building one from scratch with a shell is a different story but geez, your supplying all the info just kinda figured it would be cheaper

[kiwi303]

a very tiny amount of grease on the die works well.

 

I was talking with an engineer who does pipe bends for cattle sheds, he says a light coat of reloading case and bullet lube lasts longer and works just as well.

[jkgts1]

That looks like the same die that came with my Speedway bender. I had a roll bar fabricator bend up the main hoop based on Dan's .gif you have there and it worked out perfectly, and then I did all the other bends with a basically similar bender:

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/3rd-Generation-Hydraulic-Round-Tubing-Bender-Assemby,6614.html

 

Jon, you bent your halo with this bender, correct? Did you use .120 wall tube? I just noticed that the bender cannot bend .120 wall DOM or 4130, well that is what the description says. I am trying to bend .120 wall 1.5" DOM without spending an arm and a leg on a bender, but if I can get a complete bender for $399 I'll get it.

 

Thanks

[JMortensen]

Jon, you bent your halo with this bender, correct? Did you use .120 wall tube? I just noticed that the bender cannot bend .120 wall DOM or 4130, well that is what the description says. I am trying to bend .120 wall 1.5" DOM without spending an arm and a leg on a bender, but if I can get a complete bender for $399 I'll get it.

Seemed to work just fine for me. It was a little tough to start bends at the end of a tube, but really worked fine. I would imagine 1.75x.120 is a lot tougher to bend than 1.5 x .120.

 

If you're building to SCCA specs I think you can go 1.5 x .095 now. I found a couple different specs in the rulebook and erred on the side of caution, and then they reduced the requirements. Bad timing on my part...