i made a tubing bender for 3/4 inch square tube

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I make gates to keep the critters from running amok. Some are straight doorway size gates, some for hallways. They are constructed from 3/4 inch square tube, .063 i believe. The tube serves to be the upper and lower rails. The slats are 3/8 inch steel rod. I drill the tube top and bottom to accomidate the rod. Next, i weld the rod to the tube to keep it in place. Straight gates are fitted with legs that are situated perpendicularly on the lower rail to keep the gate from tipping over. The curved landing style gates dont require legs due to the curved nature of the beast. I didnt know how to make curves so i cut little angle wedges out of the tube like pizza slices and bent the tube to a curve like situation, then welded each seam and grinded each seam etc.... OMG lots o' work! Nice effect but not THAT nice...So i decided to make a tubing bender for the task of bending the curved gates...I started with a 3/16 plate to which i attached a die. I made the die from pieces of 14 ga mild steel that i cut to a quarter circle shape...Next I attached the die to the plate with 3/8 inch bolts so they could swivel. I place a piece of 1/4 inch angle to act as the back stop , and a 3/8 inch bolt to act as a stop for the particular piece / curve i was going for. The whole mess is mounted to a trailer thingie (i dont know what its called) and place into the reciever of my car. see next posting for more pix.... Attached Images
Reply:looks good>Innovations are what i leave behind for History
Reply:I can't really tell from the picts. Did you "laminate" the die using multiple pieces? Not a bad idea if so. I could use a square tube die like that from time to time. I may have to think about doing that..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:Yes, I laminated by migging some and a little tig to weld the edges, then I took the flapper to it
Reply:any close ups of the tubing ? does it crush or distort the tubing????                    Bob
Reply:It does slightly indent the inner curvature. I designed the die to be convex so it would since that's how square tubing benders seem to work when I see them online. With this curvature it doesn't seem to make much of a dent at all. If the crap-a** camera on this iPad were worth a sh#% I could easily post a close up! , if I can I'll do it the long way and post it!