I'm checking out pipe benders for making and fixing exhaust pipes, and I'm interested in this one

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HEAVY-DUTY-16-TON-HYDRAULIC-MANUAL-PIPE-BENDER-8-DIES-TUBING-TUBE-BENDING/390547533426?rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D261%26meid%3D1334475397113610355%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D1088%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D5%26sd%3D281168804142%26
It advertises that " This portable unit will do precise bending of gas, water pipes and electrical conduit, etc." does this include steel exhaust pipe ? Will it bend stainless steel to ?

Also, are most exhaust diameters 1.75, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 ? Will I have enough options for most applications ?

I'm into 4 cyl honda engines (b-series, and eventually k).

I'm open to recommendations too.

Thanks a lot.

 

will it work? yes. i dont think itll achieve the types of smooth bends youd get from a mandrel bender though.

i think that is more suited for roll cages and stuff maybe?

 

That will not work, in order to bend exhuast pipe, due to the thiness of the wall, if you use a tubing bender on the exhuaist piupe you will wrinkjle and kink the **** out of it. In order to bend thin walled tubing, you have to have a "die" inside the pipe to allow it to press back and alleviate the wrinkles that would normall ybe there, This is called a mandrel, thats what a mandrel bender is, it runs a large ball bearing int he pipe and through the bend as the bend is beign formed and this ensures the tubing stay in form and equal, then the ball rolls out after the bend is done so to speak.

You can bend tubing for exhuast with a tube bender, such as the mb 105 i have but it will turn out lookgin like ****. Or you can get thicker walled pipe so that your bender will bend it, but then you are losing volume as the OD of the pipe is the same as any thickness, its the id that cxhanges when you go thicker wall.

So if you do use thicker wall tubing and you bend it with your tubing bender than you have an exhuast that will flow significantly less than what it should had it been correclty fabricated out of actual exhuast tubing.

If youre looking to spend money for a bender to do exhuast, tag on another 2000 bucks to what youre looking at and get an actual mandrel bender.


Also, thats a pipe bender not a tubing bender. A tubing bender bend tubes, pipe benders bend pipe, this one is a pipe bender, so that would be like gassfiting pipe, or steam pipe, as in like a pipefitters tool, not an automotive oone, although im sure one could try use it for auto stuffs.

 

You will need a tube bender which deals in OD sizes. Pipe benders deal in ID sizes, such as 3" pipe has an OD of 3.5".

 

You aren't going to get much of a mandrel bender for under $50,000. You can get a crush bend exhaust bender for around $5,000. You also cannot use a tubing bender designed for cages to bend it because they have a minimum wall thinkness required to form a bend which is thicker than what you would want to use for exhaust. If you try to use the style you posted or a tubing bender designed for thick walled metal then you might as well try and bend the tubing with a hammer or run it over with your car because it will look about the same when you are done.

 

If you want to build exhausts you buy the pre bent sections (u bends) say for example http://www.mandrel-bends.com/catalog/ and you can build any exhaust you want. That is how everyone does it, even Formula 1. See > here <

 

Thank a lot for this most excellent answer!

 

Thanks for the suggestion and the link!

This will be the way I go until I can afford my own bender (which may be never, being that I first need a garage to house it).

 

here is a place that may be cheaper and has great service

www.globaltecheng.com

 

Oh, psst, that is chump change. I'll order one this afternoon (not).

Well, I guess I'll just order pieces as suggested, but thanks for giving me some perspective!

 

Thanks, I will.

RWD Civic huh! Only time I've seen one of those was in SuperStreet!

If you would put a ball-park figure on the cost of the conversion, what would it be (I always wanted to have a rwd integra) ?

 

ballpark figure...i dont know, id have to sit down and think about it. its a full tube chassis car.

 

thinking about how much money you have in a tube chassis car huh?

 

What do you mean?

 

You really don't like any local businesses or shops at all, do you?

 

Alaskan Copper was a nice surprise as far as Schedule Stainless. Haven't been too impressed with whoever they get their mandrel bends from though.

I even used Columbia River Mandrel a few times back in Texas, was pretty happy with how even the tight bends held shape. Kinda nice to have them as a backyard option now.

Its been a long time but the last time I used Global Tech was back at Boost Logic, I think they used them for a while, Either them or Woolf Aircraft were trash bends though,

 

Global tech are the only u-bends we can cut and still are a true circle and the same diameter.

 

Hrrrm, maybe the ones I'm thinking of were Woolf too then. Seriously hate that trash.

 

Not sure I understand what you mean. Location doesn't play a part in where we choose to buy supplies.