Tube bender selection help

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I need a tube bender that will bend tube that has a inner diameter of 3"  im not sure thats how to measure tube but anyway tube isnt going to be thick at all so hydrolics isnt needed. Preffably cheap like under 500$ ON a side note im buying my first welder (a tig) Im thinkin of Lincoln Electric Precision TIG 185 Ready-Pak is thes good choice? ill be welding manifold,exhausts,headers and motor mounts that kind of stuff
Reply:I have a Precision Tig 185 and I love it. It would be a good machine for what you're doing.Bruce
Reply:3" is pretty big for a tubing bender. And cheap rules out a lot of choices.You dont mention what wall thickness you think is thin, but 3" in any wall thickness is still hard to bend. Maybe your best bet is the harbor freight hydraulic jack bender. Kind of a POS, with a fixed radius and not a very good looking bend, but for 3" cheap, its about the only type available. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=35336If you was talking about 2", I would go for a JD2 bender, as they are 10 times the machine the harbor freight is, but 2" is their max, and, of course, they are more expensive.http://www.jd2.com/If you tube is really thin wall, you may have to fill it with sand and pound plugs in the ends before bending.
Reply:thanks guys ill try out that hydrolic bender see if it really would be sumthing i could use