Tube Benders For Frames/Hoops/etc..

[t8erbug]

I recently bought a tube bender. One of the biggest motivations I had was to do it was the odd tube size of the XS400 subframe. I had wanted to do some custom subframe design on my bike even if it was only a ducktailed hoop, but was limited to the online stuff available or having a local shop bend the tube for me. The local fab shop has a bender with about every die size imaginable.. Except for anything in 7/8". A handle bar shop would have been able to do it but we don't have any around here that I know of. So with upcoming bumper projects on my bronco and perhaps a roll cage the decision was made. I researched for weeks on what bender was the best. For me it came down to two benders. The JD2 Model 32 or the RogueFab bender. The model 32 has a beefy frame, beefy pins, and an anti-springback mechanism BUT you have to bolt that sucker to the floor. That means for a guy like me (in college/non-homeowner) it's just not the best option. The Roguefab bender won my business because they're a little closer to home (HQ in Oregon), it bends vertically, the die prices are very fair, and ultimately because it's mobile. Not to mention it is already hydraulic and combo dies are available for the same price as their other dies. The only downside to it is that the dies are aluminum. I'm not worried about overall strength as much as I am just surface finish damage from running steel tube through it all the time. I'll let you know how they hold up over time. Did I mention all the dies available are 180° capable? Pretty cool. Anyways as far as price goes with all the dies I bought I ended up about dead even between the two of them. So again, the deciding factor for me was definitely the self-contained power/drive system. Let me know if you guys want to see it in action. I'll post pictures up as I do some of the projects I have planned.

 

[81xs400sfttailbbr]

Would ya make me a rear hoop for my xs?

 

[t8erbug]

You bet! Where are you located?

 

[NewHavenMike]

I was gonna buy a hoop already made from DimeCity. I decided against it because I just dont like how generic the rounded hoop is and its not more specific to the styling of my XS, which the frame is pretty square and I have a square gas tank. A rounded hoop wasnt gonna do it for me. I had my own idea for bending a hoop and was gonna make a bender to do it, but then I found a company that made a hoop exactly the way I imagined mine to be. I bought the hoop instead. If you stick around here long enough, you will see my build up here. I still have a bunch of parts that will soon be ordered and some cutting and welding to do.


Looks like a nice bender though. After some practice you will get better and maybe youll be able to do some work for other people.

 

[Rusnak_322]

I am looking to get a custom hoop done, it will need a 20 degree kick up as well. Can you make that? Are you also a source for slugs to help weld them to the frame?

 

[Ryguyd]

How much would u charge for a custom subframe?

 

[t8erbug]

How much would u charge for a custom subframe?

Only a year later haha. So sorry! It depends on what you'd want done. I've built one custom subframe so far and it was just a hoop and two vertical support legs. It was for a Suzuki Bandit. I think it turned out really well. I'm sure you've already done something with yours by now, but if you're still sitting on the fence shoot me a PM and let's see what we can do!

 

[t8erbug]

FOR THOSE OF YOU FELLAS WHO'VE THOUGHT ABOUT BUYING YOUR OWN BENDER. Here are my two cents.

Now that some time has passed and I've been able to use the bender on a few projects now I can say I really like it. There is definitely a learning curve to being quick on multi-bend parts and/or bends over 90° but it doesn't take too long. The dies hold up great and the machine bends these smaller diameter tubes (1", 7/8", and 3/4" OD) like they're nothing with precision. I've done one project with 1-3/4" tube and the speed of the bender was significantly slower but it certainly wasn't over-labored. The only real improvement (which I plan to make myself but it would be nice if it was a factory improvement) I'd make to the bender is make the bend offsets shorter. The bend offset is the distance from the bending clamp to the start of your bend. Having a 6-5/16" bend offset means I must have at least a 6-5/16" straight section between two consecutive bends. With almost all of my motorcycle designs, at one point or another, I've had to modify them to work within this constraint of the bender but never to the point the designs looked drastically different. In other words it hasn't been an insurmountable obstacle, just a pebble in my shoe.

What I've learned about tube benders. They all have their pros and cons. This one in particular has a lot of pros and very few cons. As a buyer/user you need to be aware of what types of jobs you'll be using the bender for 90% of the time and find a bender that'll do the types of bends you're looking for. For what I've been doing this one has been fantastic. I can say after owning my Roguefab bender for over a year now I wouldn't trade it for another bender/die-set of equal value. I'm willing to take the ONE shortcoming (bend offset 'which may not even be an issue for other folks') to also have the versatility of being able to build motorcycle subframes one day and 2" roll cages the next. I'm all about bang for the buck and I feel I couldn't have a more capable machine for the dough.

If you've got any questions about this stuff just shoot me a PM and I'd be happy to talk about what I've learned or what I might do in your situation.

Here's some pics of the Bandit subframe.

 

[spectra]

Looks good! I had a JD years ago and did my Jeep frame and cage with it then sold it......

I have a ercolina hydraulic that I use now but it wont do tube that small. I am going to look into this as I would like to have something for the thinner smaller stuff.

 

[t8erbug]

Looks good! I had a JD years ago and did my Jeep frame and cage with it then sold it......

I have a ercolina hydraulic that I use now but it wont do tube that small. I am going to look into this as I would like to have something for the thinner smaller stuff.

Ercolina benders are nice. Do you just not have the die? That's the other nice thing about the Roguefab bender. The die prices are very very good, comparatively speaking, because they're a lot less labor intensive to make. Also, they make combo dies and don't charge extra for them. So it's like getting two dies for the price of one.

 

[spectra]

Ercolina benders are nice. Do you just not have the die? That's the other nice thing about the Roguefab bender. The die prices are very very good, comparatively speaking, because they're a lot less labor intensive to make. Also, they make combo dies and don't charge extra for them. So it's like getting two dies for the price of one.

Yes no die for the tube. All I bend in it is pipe and yes the dies are nuts for the Ercolina........I think my last one was about 500 with shipping for the die and the shoe......

 

[t8erbug]

We've got a baileigh in the shop at my work that's basically the same as the Ercolina. That type of die has its plus's and minus's. Zero bend offset is probably the biggest plus, but bend adjustment isn't as easy (tweaking an experimental bend after taking it out of the machine). And, even though there is zero bend offset, they still can't do an 'S' bend with one bend immediately following the other because of the draw die. Which means if 'S' bends were your thing (imagine a dirt bike handlebar) you basically have to design a bending operation/machine that presses a specific 'S' bend in one shot.

That die price is outrageous! Almost all the Roguefab dies are $199 except the 2" die and a couple other big ones

 

[spectra]

Yeah I use my Ercolina for handrails and yes no tweaking at all.......it just bends and your done. Been using it for almost 15 years so have it down pretty good.

Probably should have kept the JD but oh well I do have a old hossfeld that can do smaller stuff so may try that if all else fails.......