In fact, making a pipe bender with your own hands is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. Many believe that such a device is suitable only for those who often engage in plumbing work. However, various fittings and bends are most often used here - these are parts that initially had a certain angle of rotation. But it also happens that the given parameter is not enough or it is inconvenient. In such cases, a self-assembled pipe bender helps.
Product Varieties
Today, this equipment can be divided into several classes according to the following parameters:
- degree of equipment mobility;
- type of drive used;
- method of exposure.
It is necessary to consider in more detail the ways of influencing the pipe in order to understand which one it is necessary to make a pipe bender with your own hands.
Types of material exposure
The first method is called run-in. The essence of the method is that one end of the pipe will be clamped with a vice or any other device, and in order to give it the desired look, a suitable template is used. In order to perform a rolling operation around the template, pinch rollers are used.
The second method of influencing the pipe is winding. In this case, the material will be pressed against the movable template or roller. It will be pulled on the same element. To carry out a stretch, it is necessary that the pipe passes between another rotating roller and a special stop. This emphasis is placed at the starting point of the pipe bend.
You can make a pipe bender with your own hands with a crossbow method of influencing the workpiece. In this case, the pipe is attached to two fixed-type rollers. The bending of raw materials will be carried out due to the impact of the template, which is installed on a movable rod. The template will press on the middle of the pipe section that is used as the workpiece. Thus, the desired bend is achieved.
Another method is called rolling or rolling. In this case, it is important to make drawings of the pipe bender with your own hands before proceeding with assembly, since further work is highly dependent on this process. A three-roll device is used here. The basis of such a device is one central and two auxiliary rollers. The central roller will create pressure, it will also be responsible for the bending angle of the workpiece. Here it is worth adding that this device is considered the most universal, since here it is possible to adjust the angle of inclination yourself, but in others it is determined by the template.
Production of machines according to the method of exposure
How to make a manual pipe bender? If you pose the question this way, it’s worth mentioning right away that, for example, the winding principle is quite complicated, and therefore such a device is not manufactured on its own. If we talk about the crossbow method, then there is also a drawback. Pressure from the rod to the pipe, transmitted through a specific part, will cause significant stretching of the pipe. In some cases, this even causes the workpiece to rupture. Not recommended for thin-walled pipes.
If we talk about rolling, rolling, then this method is practically devoid of all the shortcomings that are mentioned above, and therefore it is quite common to use a three-roll device during the manufacture of bends in factories. Choosing the type of design for home-made devices is necessary, based on what bending radius of the steel pipe is needed as a result.
The simplest pipe bender design
How to make a manual pipe bender? You can even assemble the simplest rolling model even from wood. Immediately it is worth adding that in this design it is not necessary to provide for the pressure roller, if it will be used to bend thin-walled pipes. Another important nuance is the wood template, which will be used during operation, should have a greater thickness than the diameter of the pipe.
Work with a pipe bender
In order to create more convenience while working with this type of homemade pipe bender for a round pipe, it is recommended to take care of profiling the template from the side of its end. This will help to avoid such a nuisance as a pipe jumping off during operation. To do this, you can connect together two boards, thereby creating a gutter. The materials used must first be cut down on one face. It is best to pre-create a drawing of a pipe bender with your own hands, so as not to make a mistake in assembling such small parts.
If this type of home-made device will be used, then the template for work should be fixed on a very reliable basis. In addition, the emphasis should be secured to the left of the template. There is one caveat here, such an assembly will be convenient for right-handed people, respectively, for left-handed people, you need to do the opposite. The workpiece to be bent must be drawn between the template and the stop. During operation, it is very important to ensure that the pipe does not fly off.
Pipe bender with roller
What to make a pipe bender? Here you can use a variety of options for materials, it all depends on the goals. For example, if in the first case it was possible to get by with wood, then it is already recommended to use metal for the manufacture of a manual construction with a pressure roller. Although, of course, no one forbids taking wood as a basis again.
In addition, the choice of material depends on which pipes you have to work with. If the workpieces are thin-walled, it is best to use a pinch roller made of wood, since it will not cause metal deformation. For the manufacture of this element, you can use ready-made drawings, or you can make your own. As the feedstock, you can use either multilayer plywood or thick boards.
Device design
The assembled pipe bender from improvised materials of such a design should have a movable, also clamping, roller, as well as a fixed roller, due to which it will be possible to bend pipes of even large diameters.
Based on the device, it is necessary to securely fasten the central roller. Relative to its axis, the holder must be rotatable. On the reverse side of the central roller, a handle will be attached to the holder. This lever will be used to rotate the element, and therefore the length of the lever directly affects the generated force. This creates the opportunity to work even with thick pipes. Another important fact. Regardless of the material of which the case is made of wood or metal, the holder must have a U-shape and be made of metal.
Homemade jack bender
It’s worth mentioning right away that the assembly has a rather high level of complexity, but the power capabilities of the final unit are quite impressive. In order to successfully create a frame, you will have to use electric welding. In addition, it is possible to make two devices in one - a hydraulic press and a pipe bender.
The jack can initially be almost anything, the main thing is that its load capacity is in the range from 5 to 12 tons. It is also best if it is a separate tool so that there is no need to constantly disassemble the structure and put it in the car. This is justified by the fact that the hydraulic part must be firmly fixed and its constant assembly / disassembly is a long and tedious process.
It is necessary to make such a part as a punch. To do this, you can use either a pre-bent pipe segment or an old pulley. If you need to have multifunctional equipment on hand, then the punches can be several with different diameters to work with different pipe diameters. The blank itself must be supported by rollers, which are mounted on an axis along the edges of the frame. The jack will create pressure on the workpiece using a punch. The main pressure will be on the center of the pipe, which will allow smooth bending.