I sure hope so! Thanks!

Also, I just realized, I kept saying "perpendicular", what I was trying to say, was a plane that is parallel to the bend line. Anyways, it's late, and I'm going home to sleep. Hehe.

Thanks again for everyone's help!

 

Hint: Bendtech Pro. Use it and love it.

 

I cant stand working with pipes....I just dont have the patience, and I dont have anyone to teach me. Until either one of those things change Ill just leave it to the pros. Maybe next winter when Im all settled into my new garage and bored Ill start playing around a little more....maybe start with a nice simple header and work up to a manifold.

Looking good though, Im sure there is a learning curve to doing that kind of work

 

get some electrical conduit. it is cheap and you can keep it as a jig/reference once you have the right bend.

 

I just use Cheap ERW tubing from the local yard. That stuff is cheap and you just cut the bends out and use the scraps for other projects.

How many bends do you have in that A-pillar bar, two or three? It looks like you have three. You hay have some problems from SCCA over that.

 

PVC, sand, and a heat gun.

 

The cage is being made to FIA specs. It is DOM tubing, so I'm not too concerned with waste ... I will use the straight parts of the bad a-pillar bar for small connections here and there.

The PVC idea sounds like a lot of work, and doesn't account for springback and other variables.

Thanks again!

 

He meant you you should try mocking it up with ERW , same OD is pretty cheap stuff and people build cages out of it as well.

 

Just bend thick filler rod to the proper shape and use that as a pattern along the centerline of the bend when you bend it. When you bend the filler rod, use round objects (tape, beer, whatever) that have the proper circumference to match the bend dies radiuses. Once you got it right, turn it into a drawing and save it.

We have every piece of software under the sun for tube bending and we still use this technique for a lot of prototypes.

 

Just wanted to mention, I popped out second a-pillar bar in under 10 minutes from cutting the tube to it being ready on the floor. To my surprise, it is identical to the first one. I was shocked at how perfect it came out, and without even checking the angles after the bends. I just took account of bend start, spring back and all of that, and it came out perfect. Just thought I'd share that. Feels good!

 

Good job Markku. You are an inspiration to all bro.

 

Haha I love when things flow so smoothly!