Ronald Thompson wrote:
mark wrote:
On Apr 1, 10:24 am, RoyJ wrote:
Same as they work on steelpipe. That is to say they work ok, you get
distortion in the bend area, measuring the bend is a pain, and the
springback is pretty remarkable.



mark wrote:
How do the cheappipebenderswork on schedule 40 aluminumpipe?- Hide
quoted text -
- Show quoted text -

I bought a 16 ton air/hydraulic bender with dies up to 3" yesterday. I
tried it on some 3/4" sch 40 aluminum and it cracked wide open, also
3/4" sch 40 steel pipe kinked/folded . If I try to anneal the aluminum
with my oxy/acetelyne torch how do I know how hot to get it and do I
just let it cool in the air? Would annealing the steel pipe make any
difference. Thanks

Maybe you are using the wrong die. The pipe should fit fairly snug in
the die, if there is too much wiggle room side to side it will kink.
If there is too much room and you are using the closest die you have,
you may have some luck by using shims in the die. shims can be plate
steel or sometimes plywood.


Did he ever say how tight a bend he's trying, or needing, to make? All
this is so if he wants a one-shot bend. If he can settle for a long
sweeping bend he could do it in several smaller incremental bends.