Stainless Steel tubing

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Hey guys,Didn't know where else to post this....I have a close friend who has terminal cancer....he has to be wheelchaired into the shower at home. My task is to make a shower curtain rod that bows out to clear the wheelchair.Easy enough design, it is L shaped. 4ft of 1-1/4" tubing will be needed. I have a JD2 Model 4 tubing bender and have never bent stainless. I have done mild steel and aluminum. The specs on the bender tell me that a wall thickness of .058" is minimum for a wrinkle free bend. But is that for ALL tubing or just mild? Any insight? I don't want to waste a ton of stainless for this project. FYI, mounting will be a 3inch round flange welded to the end of the tubing for screws to attach to the wall.Lincoln Power Mig 210MP MIGLincoln Power Mig 350MP - MIG and Push-PullLincoln TIG 300-300Lincoln Hobby-Weld 110v  Thanks JLAMESCK TIG TORCH, gas diffuser, pyrex cupThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 101My brain
Reply:SS is tougher to bend than mild and WAY more tough than aluminum. What is the thickness?John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:Micro,well, the minimum is .058, but I can get thicker if that bends better and smoother. Usually I use .120 for most of my projects. Easy to use IMHO.But really, I was asking for suggestions and that included wall thickness.Lincoln Power Mig 210MP MIGLincoln Power Mig 350MP - MIG and Push-PullLincoln TIG 300-300Lincoln Hobby-Weld 110v  Thanks JLAMESCK TIG TORCH, gas diffuser, pyrex cupThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 101My brain
Reply:I don't know anything about bending but 1.6mm wall SS should be fine structurally (think thats .063" )Or 0.000007954 furlongs  Brett
Reply:NEVERMIND,The small town I live in is so retarded that NOBODY has SS. I find it hard to believe but it is all special order. Not of any use when you need it today. I ended up using mild steel 1-1/2 tubing and will paint it with white epoxy appliance paint. I tried.....Lincoln Power Mig 210MP MIGLincoln Power Mig 350MP - MIG and Push-PullLincoln TIG 300-300Lincoln Hobby-Weld 110v  Thanks JLAMESCK TIG TORCH, gas diffuser, pyrex cupThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 101My brain
Reply:Its hard to find small diameter SS in most places because of the big $$$ in the overhead.I would have suggested .065 wall should you had chosen to go with the stainless.  It's substantial enough that it wouldn't/shouldn't flex much with a shower curtain hanging from it, and it can still support its own weight without moving around much when welded on either end.
Reply:Well, here is the story....I did finish it. I used appliance epoxy on it. But it is monsoon season here in Arizona and the humidity is crazy. The temps are 100 or better. The can said drying times were based on 70 degrees and 50% humidity. So I was able to talk my wife into letting me hang it in our shower. Even so, our house is 77 degrees, slightly higher than the can gave drying times for. My camera would not autofocus and flash for some reason on the bare metal, sorry.Lincoln Power Mig 210MP MIGLincoln Power Mig 350MP - MIG and Push-PullLincoln TIG 300-300Lincoln Hobby-Weld 110v  Thanks JLAMESCK TIG TORCH, gas diffuser, pyrex cupThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 101My brain
Reply:Well, here is the story....I did finish it. I used appliance epoxy on it. But it is monsoon season here in Arizona and the humidity is crazy. The temps are 100 or better. The can said drying times were based on 70 degrees and 50% humidity. So I was able to talk my wife into letting me hang it in our shower. Even so, our house is 77 degrees, slightly higher than the can gave drying times for. My camera would not autofocus and flash for some reason on the bare metal, sorry. I ground down my welds so that the flange would mount flush. Setting I used was 160amps max DC GTAW, too hot, weld was ugly and needed to be ground down anyways. On the second flange I used a 120amp max DC GTAW. (Airgas SteelMix for both). Finished pics in next postEdit: website is giving me frustrating fits. Sorry if this posts twice. Attached ImagesLincoln Power Mig 210MP MIGLincoln Power Mig 350MP - MIG and Push-PullLincoln TIG 300-300Lincoln Hobby-Weld 110v  Thanks JLAMESCK TIG TORCH, gas diffuser, pyrex cupThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 101My brain
Reply:Pics of finished shower rod. I wanted the rod to look like it was store bought, and all the storebought ones were welded on the backside and are SS. I realize that this is now a potential rust zone because I used mild steel. I plan on using touch up paint to get into the exposed seam on the front, but you have to wait a week with epoxy before you re-coat. I tried it on another project and you get a crinkle effect if you do it before it cures completely.How many of you guys can get your wife to let you use the shower for your projects? My wife loves me so much, it's hard to believe. Attached ImagesLincoln Power Mig 210MP MIGLincoln Power Mig 350MP - MIG and Push-PullLincoln TIG 300-300Lincoln Hobby-Weld 110v  Thanks JLAMESCK TIG TORCH, gas diffuser, pyrex cupThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 101My brain
Reply:looks great, and for a great cause. good job. "Ask not for whom the bone bones, it bones for thee" - Bender
Reply:The shower rod came out great!  Sorry to hear about your friend.
Reply:Sorry about your friend.The curtain rod looks nice, at least from the fuzzy and far-away pics!GTAW with a SteelMix gas?  Isn't that an Argon-CO2 mix?  Why'd you run anything other than plain argon with TIG?