I need to bend some 7" to 9" pieces of 1/4" titanium rod into a
c-shape. Man that stuff is tough. Banging on it with a hefty hammer on
the horn of an anvil and then squeezing it in a vise works pretty well
but scars it up and is making my arthritis worse. I've been looking at
the benders available from northerntool, harbor freight, etc. but
question whether they are strong enough. Anyone have any suggestions
for a simple bender I can buy or make for $100 or less?

I would go to an independently owned muffler shop and ask how much they
would charge to bend the Ti rods on their hydraulic pipe bender.

Ed

I need to bend some 7" to 9" pieces of 1/4" titanium rod into a
c-shape. Man that stuff is tough. Banging on it with a hefty hammer on
the horn of an anvil and then squeezing it in a vise works pretty well
but scars it up and is making my arthritis worse. I've been looking at
the benders available from northerntool, harbor freight, etc. but
question whether they are strong enough. Anyone have any suggestions
for a simple bender I can buy or make for $100 or less?

wrote in message
ups.com...
I need to bend some 7" to 9" pieces of 1/4" titanium rod into a
c-shape. Man that stuff is tough. Banging on it with a hefty hammer on
the horn of an anvil and then squeezing it in a vise works pretty well
but scars it up and is making my arthritis worse. I've been looking at
the benders available from northerntool, harbor freight, etc. but
question whether they are strong enough. Anyone have any suggestions
for a simple bender I can buy or make for $100 or less?

Heat it to 1200 degrees and bend it to any shape you like without beating it
to death.

In article 1127538225.946902.90190
@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com, says...
I need to bend some 7" to 9" pieces of 1/4" titanium rod into a
c-shape. Man that stuff is tough. Banging on it with a hefty hammer on
the horn of an anvil and then squeezing it in a vise works pretty well
but scars it up and is making my arthritis worse. I've been looking at
the benders available from northerntool, harbor freight, etc. but
question whether they are strong enough. Anyone have any suggestions
for a simple bender I can buy or make for $100 or less?



If you have access to a press this might give you some
ideas; beats the $100 criteria by about $95...

http://www.suscom-maine.net/
~nsimmons/news/ArborPressBrake01.jpg

http://www.suscom-maine.net/
~nsimmons/news/ArborPressBrake02.jpg


I made this up when I had a bunch of repetitive bends to
make in 1/8" Inconel for a batch of heat treat baskets.
Should be easily scalable for larger stock.

The pins are 1/4" dowel pins set into pockets in the steel
block. The spacing is pretty tight because I needed to
maintain a tight radius - less force would be required if
they were farther apart. I TIG welded the dowel on the ram
into its pocket because it was convenient, but I'm sure you
could come up with a mechanical fastening as well.

The clamp collar sets the stroke of the press to the
desired bend angle.

With a little practice and care I was able to place the
bends within about .020 of the desired position. The nice
finish and hard surface on the dowels minimized marking of
the wire.

Ned Simmons

The problem with the arbor press is that the ram will get in the way of
putting the second bend in the C-shape. The problem with heating it is
that titanium is reactive and changes color when heated and I will be
wanting to control the final color after the pieces are shaped. But I
can abrade the unwanted oxidation off, so I'll give that a try. I think
I will take your idea but modify a vise with three round pins, two on
one side and one centered between them on the other, and use the screw
to press the heated rod into shape. Thanks. That and Wayne's suggestion
of heating it were what I needed to start me thinking creatively about
this. Guess I got to go out and buy a heavier vise now and give it a
try.

wrote:

I need to bend some 7" to 9" pieces of 1/4" titanium rod into a
c-shape. Man that stuff is tough. Banging on it with a hefty hammer on
the horn of an anvil and then squeezing it in a vise works pretty well
but scars it up and is making my arthritis worse. I've been looking at
the benders available from northerntool, harbor freight, etc. but
question whether they are strong enough. Anyone have any suggestions
for a simple bender I can buy or make for $100 or less?

What percentage of overbend do you have to use to get the angle you
want?

Wes

Wes wrote:
What percentage of overbend do you have to use to get the angle you
want?

Wes

cold bending it: about 15 degrees I'd guess. From what I've read, here
and elsewhere, hot forming it is the way to go, eliminates all the
spring-back, but you've only got 5-8 seconds before it hardens up again.