Harbor Freight Tubing Roller

[Shamrock1123]

Has anyone used that HF large radius tubing bender? I would be using it for light fabricaton projects on mild steel from .065 to .095 wall. Was wondering if it worked ok and how it held up to use.

[getabiggerhammer]

i've been eyeing that tube roller for a while now. i want to roll some .120 wall tube for some handle bars. i'm leaning more towards building my own heavier version for the simple fact that i have the scrap steel to do it. plus i don't know if that one will bend .120.

[BC Iron works]

do you have a pn# or pic

[nocheepgas]

I looked at it the other day myself and was considering it. Seems the dies alone would be worth the money. The tool seemed to be of only fair construction quality, like most stuff they sell. When I left the store I was wondering if China had stores full of crap made in the US?

[getabiggerhammer]

. When I left the store I was wondering if China had stores full of crap made in the US?

yep. there called chevrolet JUST KIDDING!! no hate mail please

[urch55]

Heart to Mouth

yep. there called chevrolet JUST KIDDING!! no hate mail please

What's in the heart the mouth speaks.

[urch55]

Which bend is right for you?

As a person brought up on another thread. Are you talking about a tubing or pipe bender.??
Bob

[Broccoli1]

As a person brought up on another thread. Are you talking about a tubing or pipe bender.??
Bob

Tube Roller

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=99736

[urch55]

Roller vs Bender

Other than making a circle, what benefits does a roller have over a bender.?

[Broccoli1]

Large radius "bends".

[urch55]

I can see clearly now

Large radius "bends".

Thanks Ed that makes sense. other wise you would be limited to the radius of the die.

[etonline]

I read on some board, don't remember which. That the dies wheren't really 3/4" but where more like 1 & 3/4".

They haven't had one at my local HF. But if that is where you need to be double check them at the store before you buy it.

[allessence]

The quality of these units are less then stellar. For once in a while use for less than exacting work I think that it would work on thin stuff.

The reason is the sides are pretty thin material and the top plate is thin as well.

The rollers are on ball bearings.

I have some vintage (3 of them) wagon wheel benders that can be used for solid bars. And these work great. They are all Cast iron work horses.


The tubing benders by JD and a few other company's would be a better bet for Crome moly tubing. as the dies are designed to keep the tubing much more round then simply flattening on the sides to create the bend.

[nocheepgas]

The tubing benders by JD and a few other company's would be a better bet for Crome moly tubing. as the dies are designed to keep the tubing much more round then simply flattening on the sides to create the bend.

The JD2 bender is a different type of bender than the one being discussed. it makes (relatively) small radius bends where the HF unit makes a large radius bend of varying degrees based upon how much pressure the operator exerts on the die by tightening the rollers.

[jworman]

HF Tubing bender

Has anyone used that HF large radius tubing bender? I would be using it for light fabricaton projects on mild steel from .065 to .095 wall. Was wondering if it worked ok and how it held up to use.

I bought one a couple of months ago. I can't say I've used it much, but I was impressed with the bend in steel tubing I got. There was some distortion, but nothing like the pipe bender.

They also have a set of dies for the machine for square tubing. I sprung for a set of them (@ $49.95) and I was impressed with the bend there as well. So far they only have them for 1/2" square tubing. I don't know if they will go to bigger tubing (and if not, I don't know why not).

A friend came to my shop and wanted to bend a large circle out of 1 1/2" X 1/4" strap. I didn't have the square tube dies then, so we centered it on a round tubing die. It took a little effort to keep the material centered but we prevailed and the bender made a very nice base for a stand he was wanting to build.

I expect to get good service from the machine. The sides aren't very thick, but they are in tension and it seems to be enough. The dies are pretty hefty.

Somewhere I may still have the 1' tube and the 1/2" square I bent. If so, and there is interest I can take a photo.

John