solid 1" SS bar bending

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doing a project that needs to bend a 12 inch long, 1" diameter stainless steel solid rod.  Is bending this the same as bending a thick walled (say, 1/4" or 5/16 walled) SS tubing?  can a "normal" tube bender do this?is heating with O/A then bending 316SS solid feasible?any other ideas?I dont want to spend 50K on a forming die.
Reply:I've cold bent 5/8" and 3/4" dia. 304 SS with my Shop Outfitters compact bender. I was using the solid dies, not the tube dies. It was definately not easy to crank that puppy around with the 3/4" from what I remember.Yorkiepap made a bender a while back that works in a shop press that would work well. I'll look and see if I can find the link..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Heating and bending 316ss is quite feasible and makes the job much easier. I definitely recommend that as soon as you get it bent that you immediately quench it. You will have a heat stain to remove if a stain is objectionable.
Reply:Bending 1" solid rod is NOT the same as bending tube or pipe.'Normal' tube bender to bend 1" solid rod?  I think not likely.Cross-sectional area of 5/8 inch solid is about 0.3 in2.  Cross-sectional area of 3/4 inch solid is about 0.44 in2.  Cross-sectional area of 1 inch solid is about 0.8 in2.  Your call as to whether you want to bend your bender.  Heating and then bending?  Sure.  Got an induction heater and an inert atmosphere to keep the red-hot stainless from oxidizing?  The best laid schemes ... Gang oft agley ...
Reply:can the oxidation on the bar be buffed out with sand paper or some kind of abrasive?say, sanding, rub with comet, then buff with a bench buffer.
Reply:how about tube rollers?  are those more robust then tube benders?  robust enough for 1" solid SS bar?
Reply:Originally Posted by oxy moroncan the oxidation on the bar be buffed out with sand paper or some kind of abrasive?say, sanding, rub with comet, then buff with a bench buffer.
Reply:here's what I need bend Attached Images
Reply:Originally Posted by RojodiabloYou can high polish it, but you are going to spend some serious time doing so. I can only imagine if you have a JD squared model 3, you could heat and bend. But that's a lot of parts to tangle with when you have a seriously hot piece of steel to feed into the die and put the pull ring onto. It would at least be an accurate bend.
Reply:Find a local shop who has the tooling to bend your solid bar.  Pay them.  Done.And a "tube roller" is made to roll .... tube.  See above discussion of mine about bending tube versus solids.  Note discussion about cross sectional area.  Note how much larger that cross sectional area of the 1 inch solid bar is compared to the 'smaller' stuff.  And even 3/4 inch solid bar is a LOT smaller in the cross section than the 1 inch solid bar you want/need to bend.  The best laid schemes ... Gang oft agley ...
Reply:Originally Posted by MoonRiseFind a local shop who has the tooling to bend your solid bar.  Pay them.  Done.
Reply:Originally Posted by oxy moronI understand what you said about the cross section.  I am willing to pay someone to do this, as i dont have a o/a set anymore anyway, I'm wondering what tooling they will use to bend it?
Reply:Originally Posted by PassengerA really big press and a special die.
Reply:1/4 inch off wouldn't be such a big deal for this project
Reply:Hey oxy moron,Here's the bender I made that Doug(DSW) was referring to. First pic is my home-made press with the home-made Handi-Bend in place. I just wanted you to see the vertical rod I use which is a 3/4" dia threaded Gr10 bolt 12" long that works quite well. I have a half-dozen configured for different applications on the press. The following pics will show the unit I made that will bend up to 1" with these rollers. I made the rollers on my lathe & pushrod head on my mill from 3" solid stock. The rollers are drilled for 1/2" bolts & rod head drilled for 3/4". The side frames are 3" X 1/4"T  "C" channel & end caps are CS 3/16" plates. I have the sides drilled with (5) different hole locations to move the rollers to set varying angles & radii. The pic of the bends are with 1" black pipe, old cutoff rifle barrel, 1/2" solid & tube, & 3/8" solid. The varying angles are quite easy to do. I bent the black pipe cold to see how much it would take before kinking. The solid pieces were done cold & no problems. I know I could easily do 1" solid CS or SS if I heated. Anyway, I thought I'd post this if you or anyone else is interested in making an easy fixture that really works good.Denny Attached ImagesComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:I would think that a JD2 Model 3 bender should be able to bend it without much problem. I dont have any tables in front of me but I would bet that the section modulus of a 1" solid rod would be much less than 2"x.25" wall that I have personally seen bent on a model 3 bender.A cheap and easy way to go would be to use a Harbor Freight pipe bender. I have used one to bend 1" mild steel rod without much effort.I think the biggest problem you will have is finding a die with the correct radius. Since you are bending solid, you would not have to worry about the bend flattening or kinking so you could use a die with a close radius and not have to worry about the width of the die.