norvalwilhelm

dath those benders will not work. They are for heavy wall pipe. Forget it. I have that bender at the shop for roll cages. We have tried exhaust and it doesn't work.
You can easily buy 45's , 90's and lengths of pipe from summit or any number of places. Buy the parts and weld it up. You can adjust the angles as needed. Properly welded and it will look one piece and fit tight.

PatG

Thanks for the input on this. I was wondering if they would work or not. So what type of equipment is needed to bend thinwall pipe? I'll most likely find a source for pre-bent anyway.

MIKER

Here was my do-it-yourself exhaust idea. Didn't generate much interest here on the forum but one day I would like to give it a try.
[Idea] Mandrel Bent, Stainless Steel Exhaust System. Do It Yourself. CHEAP!? http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=386032

PRNDL

So those pipe benders don't work... or do they?

Here is what appears to be the same 16 ton model for quite a bit less...
http://www.thetoolmansshed.com/product.asp?3=437

edit....might not be cheaper after including hefty shipping costs!!!

I need 2 fairly short lengths of pipe with a sharp bend to connect my headers to the rear exhaust pipe. Currently have some flexpipe connecting them.. :(
MJ

like these things, which I would buy, except I dont think they bend enuf...




[Modified by MNJack, 11:39 PM 6/17/2003]


[Modified by MNJack, 1:06 PM 6/18/2003]

dath

Hrm... Okay, so perhaps I should just give in and buy the bent pieces and cut and weld them all up... So when cutting them, do you recommend expanding them and then welding, or do you just butt weld them? If you butt weld, how do you ensure all of the angles match up well (what do you cut the pipe with I guess is the question)?

fauxrs

Oh no no no those are perfect fits - except that they are not long enough between the bend and the collector - I used those when installing a dual exhaust to me headers and they lined up perfectly after I spaced them away from the collectors.

Shoot - Wish I had a picture of those installed - they work great

Dalannex

I used to run a factory where bending tubing is what we did. If you want to bend thinwall tubing in the larger sizes you need a bender with a retractable mandrel, and a full 5 piece die set (radius, madrel, clamp, pressure die, and wiper die). Now, that is if you really want a nice bend. We could take a piece of 4 inch .065 wall and bend it into a 180 if we wanted to. :cool: Of course that is a 125,000 dollar machine too. :crazy: I haven't seen a do it yourselfer bender that runs a mandrel. I don't see how it would set up without being a pretty spendy piece of equipment, and you would have to go with a multiple ball mandrel which ends up being pretty pricey all by itself. That said, i have been eyeballing a couple of benders like the ones in the pics in this post. I think I am going to buy one and give it a try one day. :yesnod: I'm a tool collector. :lol:

-Justin

norvalwilhelm

Hrm... Okay, so perhaps I should just give in and buy the bent pieces and cut and weld them all up... So when cutting them, do you recommend expanding them and then welding, or do you just butt weld them? If you butt weld, how do you ensure all of the angles match up well (what do you cut the pipe with I guess is the question)?


dath I cut all my cuts with a chop saw. I bute weld everything with a tig welder but with steel a mig welder would work. Stick would not do a good job.
I have an assortment of 90's and 45's on hand and cut and splice them into an exhaust. You start right out of the headers adding pieces together, tacking , checking and keep on building. It only invoves 2 good angles at the muffler plus a few joints along the pipe.
In my pipes there are 3 angels per side, everything is stainless so it doesn't rust and after a good weld looks almost one piece but fits better then one piece.

Flareside

I agree with Norval, just buy the bends and build a system without a bender. Put the $200 from the bender toward a welder. IMO, for the price that you'll pay somebody else to build and install your system, you can get the raw materials and a small home welder.

A few years ago, I bought a small Lincoln 110v wire feed welder with a mig kit (gas) and the thing works great for exhaust. I think I paid around $400 for everything. Without a doubt, it's one of the best tool investments I've ever made. Once you have a welder, you'll wonder why you went so long without one.

dath

Yeah, I have an oxy/acet setup that I store for a friend who doesn't have a garage of his own at the moment. I know I can do exhaust with it, I've done it before, but I prefer to do overlap welds as butt welds are a bit more annoying, especially since I think I've got one tip that is too large and one that is too small and am a bit lazy about going down to the store to get one that's just right :rolleyes: My dad has been thinking about getting a wire feeder, maybe I'll offer to go in on one with him and school him in the use...

I still have an the urge to try one of those benders on exhaust, but I respect Norval's opinion as he's been right in the past :D