Bending square aluminum tube

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New here, have done a bit of steel welding with a mm180 about 10yrs ago and decided id like to give aluminum a try so I sold the 180 (for abouy what I paid new for it) and bought a new mm211 with a spoolgun and have made some somewhat decent looking welds on 1/8"  2×2 square tube. I would like to start fabricating some aluminum gates from the 2" square tube and am wondering how to go about bending the arch tops in the square aluminum tube?
Reply:You'll need a Roller for making arches.and one that has dies for 2" material.the HF Rollerhttp://www.harborfreight.com/tubing-roller-99736.htmland aftermarket die sets from Swage Offroadhttp://www.swagoffroad.com/Harbor-Fr...Dies_p_51.htmlEd Conleyhttp://www.screamingbroccoli.com/MM252MM211 (Sold)Passport Plus & Spool gunLincoln SP135 Plus- (Gone to a good home)Klutch 120v Plasma cutterSO 2020 benderBeer in the fridge
Reply:I just bought exactly what Ed suggested you buy.  The harbor freight tubing bender and also ordered some roller dies from Swag Off Road.  I may also order the weld on Wings which can make the bending significantly easier. You could use the Harbor Freight roller alone if you were working with round tube and not square tube.  Harbor Freight does sell another set of dies but that is for 1/2" square tube rolling.  I actually bought those and used them to roll 1.5" flat bar.  The 1/2" channel in the dies did not really affect my 1.5" wide flat bar.  Wish they sold a set of dies strictly for flat bar but Swag Off Road has some I may consider getting.johnnyPLincoln Power Mig 256Lincoln 140 HDMiller Maxstar 150 STLHypertherm Powermax 45
Reply:There's a YouTube video where a guy bought the square dies that HF sells and took them and had them machined to 2" and it looks like it works real well,  and it is a lot cheaper than SwagSent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Reply:Thanks for the responces, I'll pick up a roller and a set of dies from swag amd give it a shot.
Reply:Originally Posted by ForgedThanks for the responces, I'll pick up a roller and a set of dies from swag amd give it a shot.
Reply:Aluminum will be easier than steel.  But if you start bending steel with the thing, also look into SWAG's kit to attach a HF pipe threader to the thing so that your shoulders can catch a break.The roll bender is best for larger diameter bends.  For tighter pieces, a Hossfeld type bender is the way to go.  Still, I made a steel gate and needed some fairly tight bends made in 1" square stock.  The roll bender worked great.  I have the SWAG dies.Like some others here say, with square tubing you don't necessarily need the perfect size die.  You can bend smaller stock in a larger die set with pretty good results.Jack OlsenMy garage website
Reply:Those are some pretty tight radius there jack. I dont forsee needing to bend anything that tight but nice to know it can. Are you getting any colapsing of the tube? Yay Johnny I'll be looking for that 20% coupon. Guess Im kinda lucky/unlucky to have a HF less than 2mi from me. Seems im happier in the long run buying quality but the price differential in this case is substaintial so a ride to the chinese jumk store is in order.Recently picked up a new angle grinder at HD and every single one said made in china on the tag, bought the milwaukee but really a bummer to see that.
Reply:Remember, aluminum specs and lengths are different than steel. My supplier has 12' or 25' lengths  you have the choice of square or rounded edges.  Most common alloy, 6061T6 is not the most bendable. You may not notice on a gentle arch, but it won't be good on a sharper bend. My guess is 5056 or 5052 would be best to bend.
Reply:Forged, those pieces were 16 ga steel, and there was some distortion on the inside edge.  It kind of bent in in a smooth U shape.  Not a lot, but some.  I've never used it on aluminum, so I'm not sure how it would take the bend.SWAG has everything you need to address the shortcomings of the HF design.  By the time you're done, it won't be a dirt cheap.  But compared to 'name' benders, it's still a huge bargain.Here's the finished gate.  You can see I didn't use the tightest-radius piece.  In the background, there's some 1/2" tubing I bent for the candelabra thing.Last edited by Jack Olsen; 07-12-2013 at 12:36 AM.Jack OlsenMy garage website
Reply:Gate looks good Jack. Will be making some driveway gates, hopefully many. I didnt realize that metal suppliers offered tubing in different alloys, mine probably only stocks 6061 seems to be the most common. Picked up the HF bender and the Swag dies for 2" sq. Are on their way. Thanks for the help!
Reply:Thanks, Forged.  I don't know if it will be helpful to see or not, but here's a video clip I shot with my phone which shows the HF bender mated to their electric pipe threader.  This stock was for the roof supports for the pergola that's up above the gate in the picture.Last edited by Jack Olsen; 07-18-2013 at 06:05 PM.Jack OlsenMy garage website
Reply:I use that HF bender every week. Here are my thoughts.1. SWAG square dies will NOT work well with 2" square aluminum tube, you will need to get 2" radiused square AL tube for them. If you use straight tube than the corners will be distorted and pinched if you curve it more than about a 6' radius. SWAG doesn't have much experience with AL.2. A better material is Derelin Plastic from mcmastercarr. It's about $60 for a foot. You can easily use a wood or metal lathe to make the 2" slot and bearing holes. If you plan to anodize or clear coat, then this is the way to go, Derelin won't scratch up your aluminum like Steel dies do. Use vegetable oil to virtually elminate any marks. Motor oil might degrate derelin dies over time?3. 1/8" thick tube is over kill. .062 or .093 is plenty for a fence IMHO unless you have very large spans4. You do NOT need a SWAG kit to use a HF pipe threader machine. Just buy 3/4" pipe nippel and tack weld pipe threader die to rotation axel. I have the SWAG kit and have never used it. I too was misinformed and thought you had to buy the kit to use the HF pipe threader.5. Bending tube is easier done with two people, but if you buy a HF on/off foot swith and some extention cords you can turn the pipe threader/bender on AND hold/guide the pipe at the same time.6. Don't try to bend 24' of aluminum at once unless you have two people. Easier to cut it down to approximate size and then bend it.7. you can bend down to about a 2' diameter with the HF bender.good luck.
Reply:Well we're going to find out. Dies will be here soon. Ive been in the gate bus. A long time taking care of the automation end of things and have always left the metal fab to others. In this area, close to the ocean, almost all are fabed from 1/8 wall square tube aluminum with square corners and are powdercoated. The corrosion due to the salt in the air is terrible and the light weight of the aluminum make life much easier for the operators to open and close them. Some of the fence companies offer "off the shelf" gates which use thinner gauge material but they are flimsy and utilitarian. The gate business is rather like the car business where the mechanics are not much interested in bodywork and the body guys not much into the mechanics even though they coexist side by side.
Reply:post a link or pictures of what you are trying to do and I might be able to give some more tips. I've been working with aluminum for years, just learned to weld it less than a year ago though so I'm still learning.