pic: Rob (0121)
 

Re: pic: Rob (0121)
 

Okay. Okay... I know its an ancient picture. But I need to know this!

What tool would one use to bend aluminum tubing like this?

Re: pic: Rob (0121)
 

A pipe bender, most likely:

http://www.shopoutfitters.com/WebPho...b_editedRS.jpg

Re: pic: Rob (0121)
 

Really? Becuase I've tried to use those with thin walled alluminum (I tried today) and it didn't go well... Does putting sand in the tubes make a big difference?

Any ticks of the trade I should know about?

Re: pic: Rob (0121)
 

I think the pros will freeze water in brass pipes to bend them well

not sure how that'd go over with Alu.

Cheers

Re: pic: Rob (0121)
 

Ancient...that hurts :yikes: Maybe it is time for a new picture...

We use a tubing bender. To do a radius that small you have to use a real bender with dies for the correct tube size. Note that the tight radius at the ends is actually achieved with 2 pieces welded in the middle where it is tightest, so the actual bends are not that tight.

To check out the bending in action, take a look at these linked episodes of American Robot from last year:

http://americanrobot.rhodewarrior.or...nRobotS2E3.wmv
http://americanrobot.rhodewarrior.or...nRobotS2E5.wmv

It can be tough to do, but there are people with experience around. The guy who did it for us made custom metal fixtures for yachts and roll cages for race cars. You might be able to find people at auto body shops who can do this.

Good Luck!

RAZ

Re: pic: Rob (0121)
 

Sry about calling your WAI ancient :(

Thanks for the videos! That’s really helpful!

I'll give it another shot tomorrow, this time with 1/8" wall instead of 1/16". Although what I'm trying to bend is a little more complex...

Guitar Hero FTW!!!:D

Re: pic: Rob (0121)
 

Using a mandrel-type pipe bender will solve these headaches.