I noticed that the radius on the inside portion of a brake rotor is the same radius I need for tube bending so I thought I'd see if I could make a die from an old rotor. Am I just wasting my time ? The old rotor was free and I don't have any bending dies for my 16 ton bender so what the heck, why not try. I cleaned up the rotor and cut it and then bolted both halves together. Now I just need to figure out how to support the underside of the tube on the sides. But so far, so good. If I can find and old 9" long pipe and cut it in half length wise, I could then slice it part way through in 1" sections and bend it to fit, that might work. Or even half inch slices. I'll put a flat plate on the underside to attach to the large nut that slides on over the top of the jack. I got the jack brand new for $5 so it's worth a try. Or maybe I can find some old dies on FB marketplace ? Who knows ? Probably right after I make one.
If none of this works out, I'll just use the two halves as bases for a couple more trophies for car shows. But I hope it works. It's fun to make.
I'd make better progress if I didn't have so much property maintenance. Just took out another big stump. I dig them out, then cut them up. I use a 12" Diablo blade in my saws all. I don't like chain saws. Takes longer but it works. 33" across on this mid size one. The willow was a lot bigger. It will be nice to get back in the garage.
-- Edited by Cuddles on Tuesday 6th of August 2024 06:51:30 PM
Your die has a square bottom. This means that if you took a piece of 1.75" exhaust tubing and bent it in this jig which appears to be about 2" wide, you would end up with a rectangular piece of bent tubing 2" x .75". The base of the die and the bending lever both need to be convex in order to keep the tubing round. Also the width of the die must match the tubing diameter.
Warren
Thank you Warren. But I'm not finished yet. I am still in the early stages. I figure the rotor will add strength to the sides without any welding and the radius is the same as what I need. I still have to "support the underside of the tube on the sides" "If I can find an old 9" long pipe and cut it in half length wise, I could then slice it part way through in 1" sections and bend it to fit, that might work. Or even half inch slices." (as mentioned initially) So yes, I still have to avoid exactly what you describe. But so far, so good. It might work. I know I have to avoid 'squaring' the tube. I will update as I progress. Especially if it fails. A work in progress. Nice to know you're watching as I bungle through.
For once I have to question your judgement because I DON'T have that much confidence about my ability but getting support and wisdom from you ALWAYS means so much to me.
Today I worked away on some solid steel square stock for an hour or two and got the finished shape I wanted but realized this may not work (A long triangular piece to slip in under the tube) BUT I sure had fun cutting and grinding. Beats digging out a stump. I might try some thin strips and some welding next but I know what you meant about the tube needing support on all sides to conform. I'll try a bit more improvising just because it's fun trying. Thank you Warren.
Well I think the rotor idea could work but it would be the hard way of going about it. I cut some square stock into a triangle shape intending to give it a slight internal curve or concave shape and then bend it to the curve of the rotor but it would be so much simpler to just use the right radius pipe or tube and cut it in half like the video. But it was fun experimenting with the idea.
Ha and I thought I was the only fool to dig out a stump by hand. Good job Cuddles. Here's a picture of the large one I dug out took me 3 long days.
As for your pipe bending die project interesting idea using a rotor as a base. One question if your mostly just bending one size of pipe did you check with Princess Auto as you might be able to purchase just one die and keep the price reasonable.
Hello Rockhauler: I have been watching the Princess site for their weekly sale and checking for a die but no luck there HOWEVER I connected with a gentleman not far away who had all kinds of auto tools and he lent me the one size I need so I'm anxious to get started bending.
As for stumps, I had 3 over the past 2 years to deal with. My willow was about the size you show but I took the tree down with a rope saw by hand from the top down (I don't own a chain saw) so it took a while. I take all my trees down with a rope saw from the top first and work my way down. Then I axe or 'saws all' the roots and dig out the stump. But congrats with your stump. It's a grand feeling of accomplishment. The other 2 stumps I had were smaller but substantial. I had to lever them out of their holes but too big too roll once out. What fun ! Nice to get back to the garage, eh? The small roots and rocks were always the worst part.
Hey Pugsy that picture is a little bit deceiving , guess I should of elaborated. I cut the tops off about 20 feet up from the ground. Thought that would help with leverage for braking the stump free instead stubborn small roots held fast and I snapped my 3/8" winch cable. Left side of the tree leaned towards my neighbors house so was nerve wracking forcing it to fall sideways. There was one 3" diameter root that went straight down from the middle of the stump that wouldn't break had to dig down and cut it to get the stump out of the hole.
Cuddles just wow for using a rope saw, I used a 14" electric chain saw but had to put a 16" bar on it.
So nice to know that I am not alone in my madness. I don't think that small chainsaw is far removed from my rope saw. Did you climb up first to trim the limbs ?
If this helps for next time (I've done this a lot) attach a string to an arrow (best to drill a small hole through the shaft near the dull end) & shoot it over the tallest branch so the arrow can be reached when it comes down. Weight the arrow a bit too. Once down, release the arrow and tie a rope to the string and pull the rope back over the branch. A long procedure but it works. Then just add the chain saw blade to the rope. I do the whole tree like that and then cut the main limbs too, top down. Feet never have to leave the ground. Depending on the type of tree, just getting the rope up there for leverage and then axe the base can help it fall in the direction you want.
I gave up on the tube bending yesterday. Bought $90 tube and kinked the hell out of it first try, Second try a bit better after watching some youtube vids but realized this won't work without some serious additional hardware. The top of the tube flattens out. A guy lent me his die but it isn't enough. A perfect fit though. But it was fun to try and to learn. Not sure how to continue. Wasting a lot of money. All of the pipe I got from Speedway was the wrong radius so only the straight pipe will be useful and the electrical conduit kinks. A pipe bender isn't built for bending tube but now I know. I guess I'll go back to my wiring for a spell and let this idea rest in the back of my mind until something comes up. Nice work on the tree.
Sorry Cuddles for hy-jacking your tube bending thread into a tree cutting thread.
Well my tree cutting method was a lot more sketchy than your system. I started out with a 20 foot extension ladder to trim the lower large limbs. Then tied a 10 foot ladder to the 20 foot one to reach the next higher set of limbs. To reach even higher I nailed 2x4's to the tree to turn the tree into a ladder. This seemed like a good idea and gained me another 10 feet but once I climb up the 2x4 section I started loosing my nerve. The 2x4 section didn’t get wasted as I at least used that to get a large rope tied to the tree, I then attached a cum-a-long to lean and steer the trees direction of fall.
I do the same thing when things aren’t going right, just set the project aside till a better idea pops into my head.
Pugsy rethinking what you said a big rope to help lean the tree and cutting the roots might have been a lot easier.
