Tube roller or Bender?

[2SlickNick]

I want to acquire one but not sure what would be better. HF sells the roller cheap but only sells pipe bender not tube bender.
I know I will need one of these machines one day if I want to make a frankenbuggy or any other projects.
What would be my best bang for small bucks? Lol.

[TheFauxFox]

The pipe bender will be more HD. As pipe is (by nature) thicker than tubing. So if you're looking to bend almost anything, get the pipe bender.

[2SlickNick]

That is problem. Pipe bender kinks and folds tubing. From what I have read.

[JERSEYDEVIL]

they are 2 different monsters
i have the HF roller and had the bender w/ the bottle jack pump.
i sold the bender at a friends garage sale. the roller is crappy quality but i found a company who sells upgrade parts for all the problemed parts so i might keep it and spend a lil money on it to see if it's worth keeping.
benders bend angles in the tube or pipe. rollers put long gradual bends.
a bender is more practical for the buggy build application. ive never gotten the HF bender to bend w/ out kinking and lost patience w/ it quickly. bought it about 10 yrs ago when i was racing cars but tried to make a bumper once and was not pleased w/ the results and threw it in the corner. people have said threr are all kinds of tricks to it like filling the tube/pipe w/ sand and taping the ends, putting a size bigger tube in the die than looks like it takes and kearney at bn has a thread on how he filled his dies w/ jb weld or something and sanded them back smooth so the dies had a perfect fit.
there's no way i would even attempt a cage w/ a bottle jack bender, but that's an impatient me i love what i have but it was pricey but the job it does makes it worth it.
as far as tube and pipe IMO tube is the way to go, different gauges for different apps and the strength to weight ratio is better. pipe is way to heavy for a 150/250 buggy but that depends on the wall thickness too. tube will bend alot better too.

[ckau]

I got the same story as JD. Very unsatisfied with the bender and it now collects dust some where in storage. Save your money on that one!

[Masteryota]

The way I see it, the bender is the cheapest part of the equation. Where the serious money comes in is when you start collecting dies to do the jobs you want. Each size tube, another die, each radius bend, another die, and so on. At $200-350 each, it adds up quickly.

A quality bender is on my wish list along with a decent sized lathe.

+1 on the HF 'kinker'. It only bends pipe, not tube, which really does no good for us.

You don't need a bender to do a frankenbuggy, but one would save lots of time and make a better looking finished product.

[Kearney]

Heres my post on the mods i did to the HF pipe bender to make it work. http://buggynews.com/modifying-harbo...ilit=%20bender

While its not as good as a true tube bender, it got the job done. If I knew i would use it more than once things would be different. This is my cage i made with it.

[2SlickNick]

Nice thanks guys, will read this mid when I am home tomorrow.
http://m.ebay.com/itm/321337149043?nav=SEARCH
I was wanting to buy one like this. I will get use out of it. I will make and adapt things for my special needs son. I already made a swing for him out of 3/4 " square tubing. Will post pics later. But to bend pipe and not have to have many weld points seems nice. Thanks again.

[Masteryota]

It is a cleaner look for sure. Just keep in mind, you will need dies to go with the bender for each size tube you use.

[2SlickNick]

It is gonna be a be a costly road to travel down. But maybe one day. Unless I find a good deal on a used one somewhere.
Here is a picture of swing I started to build for my son.
As always, turn head LEFT Lol. Just have to add fabric ( I found an upholster to do a fabric mesh when I am done), add chains. and then swing time.
I just think round tubing would be great on projects for him.

[2SlickNick]

Originally Posted by Kearney

Heres my post on the mods i did to the HF pipe bender to make it work. http://buggynews.com/modifying-harbo...ilit=%20bender

While its not as good as a true tube bender, it got the job done. If I knew i would use it more than once things would be different. This is my cage i made with it.

Thanks for the info. IF I come across a HF pipe bender at flea market or CL for Cheap maybe I will pick it up and modify to bend tube.

[2SlickNick]

Picked this up at flea market brand new for $20
http://m.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-...not%20provided

I figured what the heck.... I am sure I can use it for projects and smaller stuff in the buggy.

[TheFauxFox]

Not bad! Maybe mount one end to a table or a stand of some sort and you've got a bit more muscle to work with

[2SlickNick]

Well, I come to figure out I am missing the 2 top parts of the dies.
so it does not work at this time.