[TheForge] Pipe bending

[Dave Mudge]

You could also cut 3 or 4 thin wedges from the inside radius and make
the bend, then weld up the seams.
You could also get 1-1/2" "weldable" 45's from your local plumbing
supply. If you are not familiar with these,
they are black iron, slight bevel on both sides, no threads. They fit
perfectly to schedule 40 pipe and when
welded and smoothed make a beautiful 45 degree bend. They come in 90's also.

dave m


On Wed, Oct 20, 2010 at 2:56 PM, Paul <forge at wi.rr.com> wrote:
>
>  It seems that what you were attempting to do was what we call in the
> trades a "wrinkle bend". It is not that common anymore, as it does
> weaken the pipe and introduce stresses that are not a good idea in
> pressure piping. The part where your description varied from what we
> actually did was that you were 'necking' the pipe down and then trying
> to upset it.
>
> The process that we used was as follows:
>    Heat the pipe about 240 degrees radially on the inside of the bend
>   Bend the pipe using the cold 120 degrees of the pipe as a hinge and
> collapse the hot side. It will from a pucker in the pipe on the hot side
> if you bend it far enough.
>   In an extreme bend the cooler areas of  the hot side of the pipe will
> actually touch...if you  want a rather tight radius, the raised 'pucker'
> can be cut off and the pipe welded to hide the excised piece of pipe.
> It is important that you heat the pucker side quickly and do not allow
> the heat to creep to the 'hinge' side. Cool the pipe when you get to the
> degree of bend that you want and before starting the next wrinkle.
> You can also leave the pucker if it is not unpleasant to look at and if
> you don't carry the bend to an extreme.
>
> The next wrinkle is spaced down the pipe and the process is repeated.
> Once you make a test bend, you can figger out bend spacing and degree.
> I will also add from practical experience that you should use a rose bud
> tip to heat the pipe quickly and prevent the heat from spreading to far
> axially along the bend side. This will result in a neat little bend.
> If you are using schd 40 pipe with a seam, place the seam on the inside
> of the bend as it will split on the outside.
> Practice and trial pieces are a real good idea...
>
> see for some pics and text...
>
> http://www.tpub.com/steelworker2/42.htm
>
>
>    I need to bend a length of 1 1/4" pipe about 45 degrees as part of a
>    hand railing. Any ideas on how to best do that without access to a
>    Hossfeld
>    or other non-crimping process?
>
>    In the past I necked down and then upset (to create a kind of
>    bubbley effect) and then bent there. It worked and looked
>    interesting. This time
>    when I tried it, and after doing a bunch of other work to the pipe,
>    the necked down part was too tired and a tear started which couldn't be
>    salvaged (I tried).
>
>    Thanks for any appropriate info.
>
> _
> _
>
>    Dan A.
>
> --
>
> Paul
> WB9HCO
> My Grandfather WAS a blacksmith...
> and it didn't do me one damn bit of good.
> All opinions are the personal beliefs of the author, and are based on decades of experience... so use your best judgement, I'm just a lowly crafstman.
>  "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." -Albert Einstein
> "Life is hard...it's harder if you're stupid" John Wayne - Sands of Iwo Jima
>
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