Plans for square tubing die

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To any one out there, I,m looking for some plans or ideas for a 3/4" or 1" square tubing die, to adapt to my HF bender / SO bender. Any plans, pictures, web sites, and suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Reply:If I get the chance weds, I'll take a look in the storage unit at job two and see if I can get pictures of the assorted dies adn rollers for the big Hossfeld. Other than the large radius mandrels and a followers I'v made up in the last couple years, I'm not even sure what we have. (I like benders. Did an 18% bend the hard way in 2" bar the other day. No distortion. The dies and followers really make for quality)
Reply:Mariner41. I have the 1" dies, 3" radius I believe, for a #2 Hossfeld bender. Don't know how successful you will be in adapting the HF bender to do this job, but you are more than welcome to whatever drawings or photos I can work up for you. You are not looking at a simple build for the inside radius die as it is a rather involved casting with a double bevel on the mating surface for the inside of the bend radius. The other two dies involved would be a simple task to weld up though. This is a great die set to work with as it will give excellent results with no sidewall or outside wall deformation and only a minimal indented curvature on the inner wall of the tubing. I will have to caution you that even on 1" thick wall tubing this die set will place tremendous pressure on your HF or SO bender.  I could see the SO model being able to handle this pressure, but I have my doubts about the HF model without a lot of reverse engineering to the bender's frame. Why don't you post me at rwebster at vcn dot com and I'll see if I can't pull up a page off of the Hossfeld manual relating to this die set and send it off to you.
Reply:Mariner,it might be cheaper to buy then build...this guy makes the Howron benders... an 1st cousin (stronger) than the HF unit..he sells the benders, dies, and a video to boot...  I've seen his stuff at the car shows and it's well made..hope it helpsjohnhttp://www.metalbendingtool.com/
Reply:To Wyoming & jniolon,Thanks for the info.
Reply:jniolon & mariner41, Also check out www.americanbender.com for good graphics on the needed dies to do square tubing proficiently. American Bender utilizes many of the same dies as Hossfeld with good interchangability, cheaper prices, and better fit and finish. Many of their dies are machined instead of the cast and forged dies from Hossfled. Neither is cheap, but both will get the job done for years to come.
Reply:If you build ,you must put a round rod in the center of the dieto colaps the wall of the sq. tube to keep it from wrinkeling the outer wall.hank
Reply:hank, do you have a picture of one that you can post. Thanks for the info.mariner41
Reply:Originally posted by hank If you build ,you must put a round rod in the center of the dieto colaps the wall of the sq. tube to keep it from wrinkeling the outer wall.
Reply:Jack's got it right.... I've got bot a 1" and a 1.5" square tube dies for my JD-2 model3... Nothing like what you're talking about.There IS some indentation on the inside/outside of the tube, but nothing unmanagable...Here's the best example I have: more here:http://www.printroom.com/ViewAlbum.a...lbum_id=143878Driving a Jeep is like drinking tequila... At some point you're gonna get the misimpression that you're bulletproof and invisible... At that point, if you're smart, all you can do is hang on and pray that it ends soon. -- Me.
Reply:bluesman-what wall thickness are you using on your tube?  I was going to buy a 1" die set form my jd2 to bend up some .120 wall square tube, but they were recommending a multi piece follower die set that was well over $300, instead of the $190 regular one....  just seeing what your experiences have been.Chad-
Reply:That is all .120 wall. I've bent 1" tube down to .095 wall. The thickness required is specific to the radius on each die. I have yet to see a die that requires multi-part followers, at least not on the model 3. Now if you were running a model 4, that might be a different story.These dies are just the plain old single follower variety...Driving a Jeep is like drinking tequila... At some point you're gonna get the misimpression that you're bulletproof and invisible... At that point, if you're smart, all you can do is hang on and pray that it ends soon. -- Me.
Reply:I have a model 4. I haven't seen any multi-piece sets. Mine have a main in the center, a follower on the outside and a holder on the backside (for leverage and holding the piece in place)
Reply:Thanks for reposting this thread. I've been wanting to make those fenders for my jeep. You can buy them but they're about $400 a pair. Alot of money for some tube and sheet metal!!!Sure, I can fix it... I got a welder!!!