Kevin W Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Pictured is a home built bender I found on craigslist. I know little about hydraulics and hoped some of yall in the KNOW could help me out with this. I'm in the dark as to the capabilities of this machine. The owner / builder just used it for tube and pipe but thinks it could handle 1 1/2" solid round. -1 to 1 1/2 hp 220 v motor. (he couldn't see the label, built it 15 yrs ago - used "recently" ) -8 gal. per min vickers pump -2000 lb stainless braided hose -1 1/2" rod, 4" cyl - pin at end of rod is 2" , 2 pins on table are 1" -table top is 3/8" plate , yellow plate is 1/2" -it uses enerpac shoes All measurements were made without the tape measure ! I haven't seen it in person and got this info via telephone. Thanks, and happy new year, Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Without knowing psi and cyl diameter it's hard to say what the tonage is but it looks like it could bend 1.5'' round with the outer pins set wide.....I kinda get the feeling it wouldn't do a tight bend with the pins in close though....It takes alota umph to do that cold and the general construction of the machine doesn't look heavy enough to do that imo....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Coke Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Greetings Kevin, I am with Mac on this one... It looks like a pipe tubing bender to me ... The dies are cast and I don't think they would ever hold up to 1 1/2 round .. I have accomplished bends like that but I use my acorn table hot with hydraulics.. If the price is right the components alone are valuable.. Good luck Forge on and make beautiful things.. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 what do you want to use it for? Cold bending fence components? Hot forging of pattern welding billetts? Cracking Walnuts? ??????????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin W Posted January 2, 2014 Author Share Posted January 2, 2014 Much appreciated, Mac the rod/ram is ~1 1/2" , the body / cylinder is supposed to be 4". 2000 psi Yoinks, I forgot to ask about the distances between the pins. The table is 3 1/2' X 5' with 3" channel surround under. Jim, 1st time I've spoken to you ... I've enjoyed your posts. Definitaly built for pipe and " 1 1/2" solid round" was the mans response to my question "What's the biggest piece of solid you think it could bend?". Cast dies, check. I'm not limited to cold work. I really don't often work with anything over 1 in. Sq. anyway. Anyone wanna hazard a guess as to what it would do to 3/8" x 1 1/2" the hard way .... With fabled up dies ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin W Posted January 2, 2014 Author Share Posted January 2, 2014 Mr P. , No welding or walnuts, mostly to take up the slack of my back! I walked away from the comp while you posted. Generally I'd probably use it for shaping longer lengths post forged. Average size maby 3/4". The previous post about bending the hard way is about an upcoming railing with a compound curve, I usually job those out but I'm going to do some onsite bending this time. May tower forge That's me. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Coke Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Greetings again Kevin, Thanx for the compliment... I try hard to pass on as much as I can... Bucket is far from empty. I doubt if that bender would ever be able to do hard way bends cold.. If you research Hosfield style bender and look at the dies for hard way bends you will see how you must control and entrap the stock... The limits of that bender are large radius .. You would spend a lot of time making dies for square tube and such... As I said it depends on the price... All tools have a purpose and can be repurposed... Have fun Forge on and make beautiful things Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Mr P. , No welding or walnuts, mostly to take up the slack of my back! I walked away from the comp while you posted. Generally I'd probably use it for shaping longer lengths post forged. Average size maby 3/4". The previous post about bending the hard way is about an upcoming railing with a compound curve, I usually job those out but I'm going to do some onsite bending this time. I know what you need :) '?do=embed' frameborder='0' data-embedContent>> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianinsa Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Bruce, while bulldoze benders are the dogs er. Appendages :P I recon the onsite requirements kill it on this one . Kevin over the years we have 'collected' two of these benders(from scrapyards) one had a really good cylinder and that was stripped out and is still waiting for a new roll in life the other does an amazing job of collecting dust, if you were closer I'd give it to you as a loaner so that you could try it out....they bend thick wall pipe(think plumbing types) nicely but thin wall less so(read stuff it up). Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Bruce, I recon the onsite requirements kill it on this one . Ian No way. I originally built mine for bending forged cap/grip rail in the field. The stuff I was bending was 3/4''x 1 1/2'' on edge with the pins set wide. The twisting of the curved matieral for curved stair rails is the real booger. Shucks, it only weighs 3-400 lbs, hoist it onto a truck or trailer, plug it into 110v on site and bada bing..... B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin W Posted January 2, 2014 Author Share Posted January 2, 2014 Bruce I hadnt forgotten, sigh. I looked the build you did over again and it looked like you used 1" plate above and ?" below( the channel). 1 1/4 " pins (w1) and and 2500psi . Roughly the same cyl. The difference being the one I'm looking at has 7/8" (3/8" welded to 1/2") below, 1/2" above, 1" pins and 2000 psi. Set aside design and fab quality is this a huge difference? Ian, thanks for chiming in. If the bend shop local ever opens back up after the holidays I might be able to try something out, or at least pick their brains and waist their time a bit. How do you tell a good cyl from a bad one? Thanks again for everyone's input. I'm out of my knowledge base on this and greatly value 'yalls. K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianinsa Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Bruce, it looks heavier! :D Kevin, the bad one's get coal for Xmas. :D seriously though I pull the ram out a bit(say 4'') and fill the back hole with hydraulic oil and plug the hole, then put it in a frame(2 sash clamps will work) and apply a small bottle jack to the ram load up the ram and see if it 'gives' good one's don't ! Not foolproof but it gives you a good idea, it's a cheap and quick test, seals are usually quite cheap and easy to replace but a worn/rusted bore is a surprise :wacko: no one wants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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