Not knocking your post for this information, but I bought front & rear from this guy. He has them built in Mexico for 1/2 of what he sells them for & that is just what you get, a cheap Ranch Hand knockoff.

 

im just talking somethin like a tow truck bar like a flat front dont need it to flow with the truck just to curve the edges so it has a little curve in the top coorners. something close to this Tow Truck front bumper

 

I made a few rigid bike frames and always use a local repair shops tube bender. A regular bender does well with short bends on DOM, however anything above 30-40 degrees starts to distort the shape of the tubing.

I say go for it, if you got the time, welder and grinder

 

we built a brush gaurd for an old caprice i had. go to tractor supply and get the smallest cattle gate u can. then use the tubes from that. it isnt that thick, but worked great on the caprice.

 

Pipe Bending Machine, Tube Benders, Square Tubing Bender is the one i have. it is the manual one they have an air assit to add on to it. this is a nice one Pipe Bending Machine & Equipment, Tube Notchers, Bead Rollers

 

If you have a brush guard on your Caprice, You might be a redneck

 

yea, but we also had a 5.7 diesel we put in it too. pimpin...

 

Before I purchased my bad boy bender I acutally used to use this method when bending thinner wall DOM tube such as .120 or so. If you pack with dry sand with light heat as well as use a HF bender it works well. As long as your bends are not more than like 45deg.

I have actually bent 1.5" .188 wall DOM in a HF bender back in the day at 50deg with no sand at it turned out good. Not much kink at all. The thicker wall tubing does not distort as bad. This is if you want to buy are Harbor Frieght bender... Good luck to you...

 

unless I missed it and somebody already did: Pipe is sized by its inside diameter. Tubing is sized by its outside diameter. A pipe bender wont work with tubing and a tubing bender wont work for pipe. At one time I had a HF pipe bender that they no longer sell it was an 18 tonner horizontal and worked well just fill the pipe with sand and bend away.

You are better off using tube and a tube bender no doubt. Pipe is good for the stuff that flows through it but sucks for structural.

 

You need a mandrel bender I have a Pro Tools 105 and I can bend up to 180 degrees you will also need a tube notcher to make strong joints. I have built lots of bumpers and roll cages and a couple buggies. If you have any questions let me know.

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do not buy a harbor freight complete junk for what you want to do!!!!!!!!!!!!