Bend some pipe - Metal Shop

I would like to bend some pipe soon, Not sure the type yet, steal or a soft copper, something that will be flashy. I know I have to fill it with sand and cap the ends. I have already taken the heat induction class. How do I get authorized to go into the metal shop to see what available there to complete my project?

Thank you
Anita

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Don safety glasses (should already be on your face if you’re “in the back”.
Be careful and aware of anything going on when you open the door, or step through the doorway (which is standard practice for being…anywhere, but, I suppose, especially “in the back”)
Use auxiliary ppe as necessitated by situations therein (i.e. if you’re going to watch some welding, use welding helmet, etc.)
Help yourself to a walk-about.

More seriously, and succinctly: if you’re authorized to be in the building, you’re authorized to go roughly anywhere (except electrical/server closets). That includes rooting around in the metal shop to your heart’s content. Feel free to clean up.

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Thank you, I’m thinking I saw a piped bender in there.

There is was may be a “tubing roller” and a “pipe bender”.
I’ll refer to this post, where I elaborated a bit more on phraseology and equipment available (all of this is “as of last I knew” and may have changed since I last looked for any discussed equipment).

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To my knowledge, we do not have a tubing bender. Automotive may have a small one, say up to 3/8”. We do have a roller but that is a larger radius tool. We used to have a bender but to my understanding someone threw it away because they didn’t know what it was.

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A Tubing Bender is not a small piece of equipment. It seems odd that someone would just toss out something has heavy or large as a bender would be. I also have a need for bending 1 1/2" tubing.

I also have a need for bending tubing (baja style parts for truck). I know there are various tube bending kits that and they are generally not that hard to make, though you want to order pre-fab dies when you can purely for the standardized sizes and hardness.

I know. I have a personal tubing bender that I built. That’s what I was told by multiple members. “Someone just threw it away “. It was a JD2 bender.

That’s ludicrous; was the tool not marked as a DMS tool or something? Regardless of how it came about, that’s still a serious oversight by someone.

For what this is worth, I was told by someone who I expected to know, it was on loan by a member who took it with when they moved from the DFW area.
So who the hell knows.
What is not disputed, however, is that we no longer have THAT one…

Assuming it is in working order and comes with all the dies, you could buy this Harbor Freight model for $100 off Craigslist, use it, and then sell it for $100 on Craigslist.

Air powered (as opposed to a hand-operated jack) is nice.

Free, other than lost time…

https://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/tls/d/hydraulic-pipe-bender/6549886194.html

In general, if there is work being done in the metal shop while you’re walking around in there, a particulate filter mask is a good idea.

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What I recall being thrown away wasn’t the press but the various dies that were in a box. But these weren’t small pieces of metal and were clearly a set of some sort.

Just to clear this up here is a timeline as I am probably the most knowledgeable of this.

I accepted a donation of the JD2 in May 2013.

Some point in 2013-2015 (I don’t remember and too lazy to look it up) DMS purchased 1 inch square dies for the purposes of building a frame for a power wheels racing league vehicle that never happend.

I emailed the metalshop leadership in July 2015 trying to identify what happened to the pipe bender and was told this.

“The JD2 Pipebender we had did not have a complete set of dies. Not to mention that the stand itself was structurally damaged upon closer inspection and it was trashed. A brand new unit is around $300 which was deemed a worthwhile investment and a much safer approach to using the old one”

I think it’s BS and I was pissed then but at the end of the day it happened and I moved forward. I think it’s a good idea to look into adding pipe bending capabilities to DMS that being said you need plenty of space to operate a pipe bender.

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As for the space, it’s possible to work the tubing bender outside or move it around. I wouldn’t recommend vertical operation in this situation, but an air driven hydraulic unit can be wheeled around on a stand freely (at least this is what I have done in the past). Tucks away in a corner pretty cleanly, especially if you make a hinge and lock pin to rotate part of the assembly 90 degrees.

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