[Shop-talk] tubing bender dies

[Dave Cavanaugh]

I think I would make the dies out of maple or oak on my wood lathe, but 
I'm primarily a wood guy.  You can turn wood on a metal lathe (but it's 
messy) and you could just grind a quickie tool with the appropriate 
radius out of a piece of scrap or old file since you're only turning wood.

On 5/18/2016 5:00 AM, Brad Kahler wrote:
> I was given one of these tubing benders from Harbor Freight.  By
> design it bends flat stock rather well.
>
> http://www.harborfreight.com/compact-bender-38470.html
>
> I now have a need to bend some 5/8" diameter OD 1/16" wall tubing.
> I've been shopping around for dies but the prices I'm finding are
> fairly high for a one time need to make a couple of bends.
>
> I've got a nice 13" South Bend lathe so I'm thinking I should be able
> to fabricate the dies myself.  Would a material like Delrin would be
> suitable for the dies?
>
> Assuming I do decide to try and turn the dies myself I would also need
> to figure out how to grind the cutting tool to shape the curve.
>
> I'm looking for suggestions on how to accomplish this task.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Brad
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