On Wed, 27 May 2009 03:48:31 -0700, Osprey wrote:

Time for another project ... need to put a 90 degree bend in some 1.25"
square section tube.
Not bought the section yet but guessing something like 16 gauge (0.064")
or maybe I will need 14 gauge (0.08") Obviously the bend radius will
mean
a reasonably gentle bend.

I have 2 questions if anybody has experience of such things.

# What is the minimum bend radius, I'll make sure I keep above this.

# Is this a practical bend to do at home ... or should I go to a
fabricator and buy it 'bent'

If you are interested the project is:
http://www.eharder.com/Nova%20II/Trailer/Guide-on.html

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I don't think you'll be able to do such a bend at home as it requires a
fairly specialised (and expensive) mandrel and a heavy duty bender. If a
curved bend isn't actually necessary it would be far easier to cut the
tube and weld it up. There are different ways to do this but the easiest
method would be to cut out a 90 degree triangle and bend the tube to close
the resulting gap before welding it up. This method would probably be
stronger than the bend shown in your pictures, if that is an issue.

A radiused bend can be achieved by a similar method to that described
above by making several cuts in the tube before bending and welding, but
the result can look a bit clumsy.

Cic.
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