A pipe bender is a handy piece of equipment if you find the need to bend pipe for either functional or aesthetic reasons. You need to choose a pipe bender according to the size of the pipe you want to bend and the radius of the bends that you want. It's important to use a pipe bender as opposed to a tube bender when you're ready to bend pipe because these two things are measured differently and what works for one will be inappropriate for a similar size in the other.

Tubing is measured on the outside while pipe is measured on the inside. Using tubing on a pipe bender will almost ensure that you kink it, while using pipe on the tubing bender will result in an imperfect bend because it won't be sized properly. The bend radius refers to the tightness of the bend. A 90° bend radius would be pipe that is bent at a right angle. A pipe that requires a smaller bend radius will be bent in a longer, slower curve.

You can typically purchase two different types of pipe benders such as one that stands alone on its own legs and is called a vertical-type bender. A horizontal-type bender is portable and can be placed on the ground or a table. These can be powered by a hand pump or electric motor. A pipe bender designed for different sizes of pipe will come with different shoes or dies that allow for different sizes of pipe to be properly bent. Most pipe benders fitted with the correct sized shoes and dies can easily handle pipes from 2 to 6 inches in diameter. You may need a larger machine to handle anything much larger than that.

If you need pipe that maintains a consistent diameter on the inside, you'll want to use the bending process known as either mandrel or draw bending. These help maintain the diameter of the pipe more than other methods of bending. Mandrel bending involves inserting a mandrel inside of the pipe to maintain the integrity as its bends, and draw bending is done with dies that help keep the inner and outer parts of the pipe stable to create a perfect bend.

For less precise work, press bending is the easiest and fastest method. This type of pipe bender holds the pipe secure at two points and presses between them to bend the pipe. It results in an imperfect diameter on the inside and can crush and deform the pipe a little bit where it's pressed. It's excellent for things like exhaust pipes or anything that's hidden from view and does not have to be absolutely perfect.

For pipes that need a very gentle bend or very slight bend radius, rolled bending or ring rolled bending is a good option. Most of the inexpensive, hand-operated pipe bender machines use either rolled bending or press bending, so if you need a different type of bending you'll want to make sure the machine you're looking at offers it.

Photo Credits: evershedm

Originally posted 2010-04-09 03:31:51. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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aesthetic reasons, diameter, horizontal type, mandrel, pipe bender, pipe benders, pipes, radius, tubing bender, vertical type