Seems to me this stuff kinks worse than steel. What's the magic I'm missing? I think I kinda stumbled on something helpful, I slid one of those abrasion-protection springy deals over it before bending, and it kinda helped:
then I tried that plus heating with propane torch before bending but I couldn't tell if that gave better or worse result:
That's about a 1.5" radius. It's got some wrinkles on the inside and flattened out some on the outside:
Help please! MonZora needs you!
What are you using to bend it?
Patrick said:What are you using to bend it?
First I tried a typical pliers-type bender with 2 small rollers a few inches apart on one side and a larger die on the other. That sucked. Pix above are from bending it around the round base of a clamp post on my welding table.
this is the only kind i use and have zero issues with nocopp or aluminum making tight bends
In reply to Patrick :
That is or looks very similar to one I use, bought from an auto parts store 20 years ago. Good bender and once you learn the allowance for bends is spot on.
I used Ridgid benders at work, they are great but pretty spendy tho. This ^ is the next best bender for the money.
I haven't touched the spring benders in decades.
I still kinked 3/8 nicopp with that type bender, Patrick.
Sorry im no help. Never figured it out myself.
NICU
Just saying.
Wish I could help. I just deal with nicu fasteners etc.
https://products.swagelok.com/en/c/hand-tube-bender/p/MS-HTB-6T
You probably don't want to buy this for one job, but you can form the most beautiful bends with one of them.
3/8 needs all the help.
Does sand packing work on stuff this small?
ralleah said:Does sand packing work on stuff this small?
Unless there's some magic in "grain size vs tube diameter", I imagine it would. I considered it but didn't try. Maybe that'll be an experiment for later today. For now I'm gonna eat breakfast and go to HF and HD.
Got the tool Patrick referenced, results are a little better but not what I'd call great. Good enough though, and that's all it takes at this point.
I used this for bending 3/8" and 1/2" stainless tubing. It did a great job, but only cost $50 when I bought it.
Nicopp sucks to bend, it is so soft that it folds far too easily, even worse than plain steel.
Plastic coated steel is my go-to, it seems to be the best compromise for workability.
I have a version of the one that Patrick linked, it works "best" but you still need to keep a certain amount of tension on the tube you are bending so it doesn't pull up and fold. Definitely a tool and work material that you need to develop an amount of skill to use if you want good results, and you will still end up folding a bend from time to time, usually the last bend on something you needed to make four bends in. Lubricating the moving part (shoe?) seems to help, as the problem seems to be because there is more friction on it vs. the stationary part.
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