I need to get some 5/8 OD, 1/2 ID (15mm/12.7mm stainless tubing bent, to make a short exhaust return pipe similar to the pic (LHS)....Do you reckon a standard hand tube bender will be up to the job? Ta
That's what I'm thinking....exhaust places don't want to touch it.....not because it's a hard job, but because they're not tooled up for anything smaller than about 1 1/2....typical....another of those 'straightforward jobs'
Like Malc said.. I don't think they're man enough... you'll need a hydrulic bender use for iron pipe. with the correct sized formers http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hydraulic..._Metalworking_Supplies_ET&hash=item5af94e45b9
I've got a conduit bender that would do that easily so just pop to your nearest sparky and ask if they'll do it for you.
Cheers BH....it's tough stuff stainless...was hoping I could get away with it.... Think this is going to be my next option...Ta
Stainless can be a pig to bend. I doubt it will bend even with a conduit or hydraulic bender. It will probably crush or wrinkle on the inside radius.
'spose I could use mild steel, but the rest of the exhaust is stainless....so it'd rot in no time....I'm not arsed what it looks like as long as it works tbh
With that wall thickness a hand won't touch it, a hydraulic will once the pipe is filled with sand, the ends plugged and the pipe heated. It will still wrinkle a bit as @Silver has said.
I've no experience bending steel or stainless under 35mm O/D, smaller diameters may be less problematic. You need to try a few bits with different wall thicknesses, not every steel tube likes to be bent. I was a tube bender in a former life
this stuff is 15mm OD 12.7 ID 316 stainless...I reckon a conduit bender will tackle it, but you never know....as you say some stuff goes, some stuff wrinkles....
Then out comes the largest available hammer applied to either end of the fold in a frenzied attempt to beat it out......result a strange square bend with a split in it.
on the stock system some of the exhaust gas is diverted from one cylinder up through the inlet manifold and back out to the collector....most aftermarket exhausts just have the heat risers on two oppoosing headers...which means gas just pulses up and down the heat risers instead of flowing from positive to negative pressure.....stock VW wins again! Don't know who made the exhaust in the pic but it's a good design....
I think @MorkC68 knows what will/won't bend well and @Paul Weeding was playing with a hydraulic crossbow style bender and some 25mm ERW. They may have some advice on bending smaller tube.
