I'm looking at pipe notching tools, bending brakes, and pipe benders now that I just bought a welder. Maybe we can make a list of good fab tools. I don't usually like Harbor Freight, but if I can save some money and get some decent tools from them while knowing which tools to spend more money on better quality, it would be nice to know which to spend the money on.
It's very similar to the Harbor Freight one. The Allstar one appears to be a bit better built, but I really do like the base mount on the Harbor Freight piece. I've been plenty happy with the Allstar notcher, aside from the lack of mounting options.
I'd like to learn more about each style of tubing bender. I'm in the market for one, but I'm not sure which is the best bang for buck in my price range.
As of right now, I'd 80% sure I'm going to buy this one: Allstar Performance
I haven't heard many reviews on it, but I might have a change to borrow one for a weekend before I buy one. The one thing that I don't like about it is that it doesn't have a degree wheel anywhere on it. But it is the least expensive hydraulic bender that I've found.
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-Paul Volk-
'99 GSX
'91 TSI
NOt sure if you guys know this trick, but there's a way to use water and fine sand to make a cheapo harbor freight bender work ALMOST as good as a mandrel unit... NO kinks or anything.. If you don't know or would like me to demonstrate not only the sand filloing but the modifications to the chea HF bender let me know and i'll do a pictorial write up.
As for that nothcher.. it works great! Keep your drill speed up, and you will also have to "re-mark" true "0" as teh degree guage is usually off on them. I've go a lot of harbor freight stuff that people can't believe what i can do with it... It all really comes down to tweaking and modifying the unit it's self and using it within it's bounds!
Just go some where and buy quality hole saws and you'll be set!
I own the PRO-105 from Pro-Tools.com. This is a very well designed mandrel tube bender and is exactly what any fabricator needs if they plan on making roll cages, manifolds, or bumpers. The dies are expensive but I have around $1500 in my set up with almost every die size, although most people will never need some of the sizes. With a mandrel bender like this it does take some time to form your bend especially if you use a thick wall tube, it can also be a pain in the back using it for long periods of time.
I do not recommend the Allstar bender, these should only be used for light fabrication as they will break! They also will cause distortion in thin walled tubing.
What type of welder do you have?
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Morgan
My car drinks METH ☠
I own the PRO-105 from Pro-Tools.com. This is a very well designed mandrel tube bender and is exactly what any fabricator needs if they plan on making roll cages, manifolds, or bumpers. The dies are expensive but I have around $1500 in my set up with almost every die size, although most people will never need some of the sizes. With a mandrel bender like this it does take some time to form your bend especially if you use a thick wall tube, it can also be a pain in the back using it for long periods of time.
I do not recommend the Allstar bender, these should only be used for light fabrication as they will break! They also will cause distortion in thin walled tubing.
What type of welder do you have?
This is the same bender that I purchased, it works great for roll cages and is easy to use. The only thing I did to make it easier to bend manually, was to make a 5' extension for the bending arm.
Great product!
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Tim Zimmer
2.3L, BW475, AEM, etc.
I was so excited when Miller announced this new welder - the first TIG from a quality company available for half the price of the cheapest TIGs on the market!
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-Chris
FP3150-powered road racer!
Please use the "Site Problems" forum or the "Tech" forums instead of sending "help" questions directly to me or the Moderators/Wisemen.
I am looking at that same welder Chris. Have you done much with it? How does it work on stainless and aluminium for you?
Don't have the 250V outlet installed yet to use it. I'm hoping to have that done next week when we get back from our Cali trip. I also still need a mask/gloves, an argon tank and some filler rods.
It's a Miller though. It can't be bad.
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-Chris
FP3150-powered road racer!
Please use the "Site Problems" forum or the "Tech" forums instead of sending "help" questions directly to me or the Moderators/Wisemen.
I'll add some things for doing brake lines. I picked up this flare tool kit from Eastwood when it was on sale. It beats one I spent around $400 on all day. Of course their are cheaper ones from part stores but this is for the guy who may do a variety of lines for other projects. Professional Brake Tubing Flaring Tool
This is the more expensive one, which I managed to a lot find cheaper then this. I'm still up in the air about it. I have not had the best luck with some of the specialty flares Universal Hydraulic Flaring Kit NOT FOR STAINLESS
As far as tubing benders, I currently have my good one at a friends house. Be very careful on what you buy. Some of the 4 in 1 claim they will bend 3/16" when its really a 1/4" die. Trust me, it'll ruin you day. There is a small tubing bender that starts at 3/16", but i forget who makes it.
Another I found is from here, Lever Tube Bender, 3/16" Brake Line
Which speedway does have some great parts, I highly suggest getting a free catalog from them. They also carry some tools that are priced lower then many others.
For tubing benders I know a couple people who have the Pro-tools bender and enjoy it. There seems to be a lot of options. Just from using these at school I think I would spend a little more on this for a higher quality tool and dies like pro-tools. They also have a nice notcher.
For i/c piping you'll need to run a bead. At a shop I spent some time at we had one of these, Bead Form Product Page which seem to really have gone up in price. If you don't feel the need to spend that you can find a cheaper bead roller for sheet metal. Some come with additional dies that can be used for i/c beads. I have a cheap, cheap one that isn't the easiest to use. Its made from a piece of steel so it becomes flimsy since their is no bracing. I use a c-clamp and some steel to close off the 'throat' so it doesn't twist. Woodward Fab WFBR6 - Woodward Fab Bead Rollers – SummitRacing.com is an example of the bead roller you can use for i/c piping beads.
As far as tubing benders, I currently have my good one at a friends house. Be very careful on what you buy. Some of the 4 in 1 claim they will bend 3/16" when its really a 1/4" die. Trust me, it'll ruin you day. There is a small tubing bender that starts at 3/16", but i forget who makes it.
Another I found is from here, Lever Tube Bender, 3/16" Brake Line
That looks very much like a Ridgid bender. Kind of pricey, but very high quality.
