I'm curious (Gunner, please don't make the cat pun here
how the dies are made for the tubing benders like these:

http://www.vansantent.com/model_4_bender.htm#Mod4Dies
http://www.medfordtools.com/mb3.html Good price.

Are the dies usually milled, cut on a lathe, or what?
What makes them worth $200-500 a set?

--
"Not always right, but never uncertain." --Heinlein
-=-=-
http://www.diversify.com Wondrous Website Design

Decent dies should be steel, good dies shold be hardened. Material costs
and heat treating a 20 pound die are substantial.

You can do them on a manual lathe and cut off the part you don't need.
To get the perfectly round cross section you need requires the special
swivel tool holder. You can to it on a CNC lathe and skip the special
tool holder.

You can do them on a manual mill and a roatary table: use the table
vertically with a long roughing mill, vertically with a ball mill, or
horizontally with a suitable half round cutter. CNC mill can be done
horzontally or vertically with a 4th axis.

If I were running low to medium volume production I'd run them
horizontally in a CNC mill using a 1/2 round cutter with a cutting edge
radius much smaller than the desired cut, then off to heat treat.

I've seen the the one off's in larger sizes (3" and 4" tube diameters
done on a 20" tool room lathe. 1" tube in 4" radius goes fine in a
vertical mill with a rotary table.

Larry Jaques wrote:
I'm curious (Gunner, please don't make the cat pun here
how the dies are made for the tubing benders like these:

http://www.vansantent.com/model_4_bender.htm#Mod4Dies
http://www.medfordtools.com/mb3.html Good price.

Are the dies usually milled, cut on a lathe, or what?
What makes them worth $200-500 a set?

--
"Not always right, but never uncertain." --Heinlein
-=-=-
http://www.diversify.com Wondrous Website Design

Hm. I have seen all kinds of sections rolled into steel at mills. I
wonder if you could heat just the rim of a die to soften it, and *roll*
this half-round section into the die? I have seen forged dies, and this
would be rotary forging.

Then you'd just quench the already hot part, and it would be hard
surface, mild core, just what is needed for a rolling die.

This would be a mass-production process requiring considerable tooling,
not much of a method for a one-off.

For a nice set of dies, one might take a forged set and finish by
grinding to precise radius. Many tubes are shiny finished, and this
finish could be preserved by ground dies.

Doug

Here is a guy who make shis own:

http://www.dandewebs.com/nottacushma...ovedbender.htm

and his older one

http://www.dandewebs.com/nottacushma...pipebender.htm

I found some radius tools he

http://www.shoprutlandtool.com/webap...=1&cat=Rutland

But you would have to buy left and right.

Jim Newell wrote:

Here is a guy who make shis own:

http://www.dandewebs.com/nottacushma...ovedbender.htm
....

Did you see the size of the forming tool in the lathe? Do not try this
on your 10" Logan variety lathe!!

Bob

On Sun, 08 Jan 2006 16:36:57 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, "Jim
Newell" quickly quoth:

Here is a guy who make shis own:

http://www.dandewebs.com/nottacushma...ovedbender.htm

I like it! I wonder what he gets for those little scooters...


Guys, what's this tool for? What frame?
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=45131

--
"Not always right, but never uncertain." --Heinlein
-=-=-
http://www.diversify.com Wondrous Website Design

On Sun, 08 Jan 2006 12:10:24 -0500, with neither quill nor qualm, Bob
Engelhardt quickly quoth:

Jim Newell wrote:

Here is a guy who make shis own:

http://www.dandewebs.com/nottacushma...ovedbender.htm
....

Did you see the size of the forming tool in the lathe? Do not try this
on your 10" Logan variety lathe!!

Why, aren't they strong or sturdy enough? The Griz G4003 is a $2.1k
12x36" gear head.

I wonder if he rough-cut with a smaller tool, then finished shaping
with the large radius tool.

--
"Not always right, but never uncertain." --Heinlein
-=-=-
http://www.diversify.com Wondrous Website Design

Larry Jaques wrote:

On Sun, 08 Jan 2006 16:36:57 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, "Jim
Newell" quickly quoth:

Here is a guy who make shis own:

http://www.dandewebs.com/nottacushma...ovedbender.htm

I like it! I wonder what he gets for those little scooters...

Guys, what's this tool for? What frame?
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=45131

--
"Not always right, but never uncertain." --Heinlein
-=-=-
http://www.diversify.com Wondrous Website Design

I think the HF tool you reference is intended to go on the 10T pull-back
ram that is an accessory for the hydraulic autobody utility kits. The
pull-back ram has threaded ends and comes with chain type hooks. Looks
like this accessory lets you pull from bolts.

Pete C.

I have written to him a few times. He seems nice enough. I don't think he
minds sharing.


"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 08 Jan 2006 12:10:24 -0500, with neither quill nor qualm, Bob
Engelhardt quickly quoth:

Jim Newell wrote:

Here is a guy who make shis own:

http://www.dandewebs.com/nottacushma...ovedbender.htm
....

Did you see the size of the forming tool in the lathe? Do not try this
on your 10" Logan variety lathe!!

Why, aren't they strong or sturdy enough? The Griz G4003 is a $2.1k
12x36" gear head.

I wonder if he rough-cut with a smaller tool, then finished shaping
with the large radius tool.

--
"Not always right, but never uncertain." --Heinlein
-=-=-
http://www.diversify.com Wondrous Website Design

On Mon, 09 Jan 2006 02:13:26 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, "Pete
C." quickly quoth:

Larry Jaques wrote:
Guys, what's this tool for? What frame?
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=45131

I think the HF tool you reference is intended to go on the 10T pull-back
ram that is an accessory for the hydraulic autobody utility kits. The
pull-back ram has threaded ends and comes with chain type hooks. Looks
like this accessory lets you pull from bolts.

Hmmm, I don't think I'd want to be around those while they were in
use, Pete, and I worked in a body shop for 5 years (wrenching.)

--
"Not always right, but never uncertain." --Heinlein
-=-=-
http://www.diversify.com Wondrous Website Design

Bob Engelhardt wrote:
Did you see the size of the forming tool in the lathe? Do not try this
on your 10" Logan variety lathe!!
--Plan B would be to make them on a mill with a rotary table
and an endmill or boring head with that diameter.

--
"Steamboat Ed" Haas : Whatever happened
Hacking the Trailing Edge! : to Tom Nelson?
http://www.nmpproducts.com/intro.htm
---Decks a-wash in a sea of words---

Larry Jaques wrote:

On Mon, 09 Jan 2006 02:13:26 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, "Pete
C." quickly quoth:

Larry Jaques wrote:
Guys, what's this tool for? What frame?
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=45131

I think the HF tool you reference is intended to go on the 10T pull-back
ram that is an accessory for the hydraulic autobody utility kits. The
pull-back ram has threaded ends and comes with chain type hooks. Looks
like this accessory lets you pull from bolts.

Hmmm, I don't think I'd want to be around those while they were in
use, Pete, and I worked in a body shop for 5 years (wrenching.)

--
"Not always right, but never uncertain." --Heinlein
-=-=-
http://www.diversify.com Wondrous Website Design

That's the beauty of hydraulics, you can set it up and then pump the
handle from behind your favorite blast shield.

Pete C.