Bender dies -- why one CLR over another? oh, and...

[dremu]

I get that a smaller center line radius means tighter turns ... any reason I should pick one over the other? More likely to kink tube or take more effort? (I prolly won't care, I'm thinking air over hydraulic on one of those DIY jobs.)

I'm gonna be doing rollcage stuff, a stinger tire carrier for the back, that kinda thing ... prolly do everything in 1.75" at first, i.e. can only justify/afford buying one die set... so I wanna get it right

And I think I've only a wide range of choices of 6" and 7" CLR in that size, which means it prolly doesn't matter ... but, any opines from y'all appreciated.

EDIT: The oh, and is ... what about the 110* versus 240*? I see a lot of guys saying you can just move the work part a bit and re-bend ... is it worth it to get the bigger die, to do it in one turn?

-- A

 

[camiswelding]

go to tube fab net or one of the bending sites,,, theres oddles on bending and clr....

IIRC there is a "standard" for cages.. I believe it is 5.5.....
if you look at bending diagrams you will see why... for cages the 5.5 spreads load while still being tight enough for critical clearance areas... also tube size is an issue with different clrs.... obviously larger diameters like bigger clrs,, has to do with stretch and shrink
240 is very nice to have over the 110 and worth the money

Im no expert... heck I havent even bent more than 3 sticks,,, most of that ended up in the corner

 

[dremu]

go to tube fab net or one of the bending sites,,, theres oddles on bending and clr....

IIRC there is a "standard" for cages.. I believe it is 5.5.....
if you look at bending diagrams you will see why... for cages the 5.5 spreads load while still being tight enough for critical clearance areas... also tube size is an issue with different clrs.... obviously larger diameters like bigger clrs,, has to do with stretch and shrink
240 is very nice to have over the 110 and worth the money

Im no expert... heck I havent even bent more than 3 sticks,,, most of that ended up in the corner

Got any URL's for said sites? Any permutation of "tube fab net" I tried came up with either crap, or things that made me scurred.

-- A

 

[ntsqd]

Off Road Fab Forum You'll likely recognize more than a few posters and at least one Mod over there. Was down when I just checked it. Must be on the same server as race-dezert.

The larger the radius the stronger the part. Obviously the smaller the radius the easier it is to fit into truck cabs etc.

 

[tRustyK5]

I run the 6.5" CLR die, 210 degrees I believe (it's not in front of me). I know I can do close to 180 degrees though. Thinner wall tube kinks with the tighter radii die sets, so for versatility I went with the 6.5" CLR over the 5.5" CLR.

Rene

 

[BadDog]

Generally, you want the tightest radius that will work for what your bending based on wall thickness. Tighter radius allows more options for better fit and generally looks better in more applications (though obviously not all). For 1.75" x 0.120 (typical cage tube for full size rigs) the 5.5 CLR die with 180*+ capability is usually what you want, and that was my first die. Larger radius can bend thinner wall without kinking, so you might go with a larger radius for more flexibility in tube wall. But in no circumstance would I consider any die with less than 180* capability...