Bending Stainless Steel Tubing By Hand

And there are a couple of ways to cheat that number even lower.

Bending stainless steel tubing by hand.

Stainless steel hard lines are not too difficult to bend but flaring them is. Swagelok hand tube benders feature roll dies reduce bending force and tube ovality compared to conventional slide block design. Available in 1 8 1 4 5 16 3 8 and 1 2 in as well as 3 6 8 10 and 12 mm tubing sizes. Scoring stainless steel sheets with a grinder eases the hand bending process.

Generally tube is measured by the outside diameter while pipe is measured by the inside diameter so pipe may appear thicker than tubing of the same measurement. For show cars and street rods the polished look of stainless steel is. Rigid metal pipe and tubing tend to be made of copper steel stainless steel or aluminum but are not the same thing. As you bend a stainless steel sheet the bend area cold hardens increasing the amount of pressure required to finish the bend.

1 to 180 bending range. Stainless steel lines are expensive three to four times more than regular steel lines. This added hardness increases the amount of force needed to place a bend on a stainless steel sheet. Homemade hand bending may not be the best technique for really short radii.

You need a really good flaring tool to make good quality double flares with stainless steel tubing. Another method of bending stainless steel tubing is to use a mandrel bending machine which is a flexible insert that fits into your tubing bending it without allowing it to collapse internally. Tubing benders can help create smooth tight radius bends in tubing such as soft copper aluminum and light wall hydraulic tubing. They help to prevent damage from bending such as crimping scoring and flattening.

The stainless tubing can be bent using a ram bender by securing it in place on both ends and ramming the tubing in the center. For example piece of one inch pipe will seem to have a greater diameter than a piece of one itch tubing. This isn t an exact number because of the differences in temper and metal quality.