Tube Bender 1.75” die

Metal Shop
#1

Howdy,
I’m looking to make 2 bends on some 1.75” 0.120” tube. I noticed the 1.75” follower die is pretty torn up. Are there plans to repair or replace this? If not, is there a way that I could repair it or somebody who has a personal die they would be willing to let me use?

#2

@Team_Metal_Shop …

#3

We can look at it this weekend and see if can be repaired. Can you find a source with replacement cost in case we can’t repair it

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#4

Wrongness removed.

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#5

Thats only part of the issue. The last time I looked at it, the pivot pin was jacked up & not in a good way either. The dies had gone way up due to import tariffs.

The dies are Pro-tools 105 dies.

This one is the 6”CLR

This one is 7” CLR

not sure which CLR we have. We should be able to clean up the follower die.

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#6

Gotcha, didn’t even notice the pivot pin. I figured for the follower we could just sand it out and it would be good to go. I’m not sure if it’s sensitive enough to need the low spots welded up first but either way it doesn’t seem too bad. The 1.75 die is marked as 6” CLR

#7

Welding leads you down the path of heat treating after the welds anneals the pin.`

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#8

Couldn’t you just pean the bejeesus out of it and work-harden it?

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#9

Good idea and something used a lot in industry. Shot Peening works great for raising material. It works great for localized surface hardening without heat/annealing related issues. Great for Inducing localized stress that can either reverse deformation resulting from residual stress of machining operations or induce it promote deformation. Can reduce stress (sorta like a thermos … How does it know which to do! :thinking:)

Here if there is galling on the die surface it could possibly be used to also move displaced metal (high points) back into the low points similar to burnishing.

Its downside in this application is it does not leave a smooth surface with very low Ra value close to mirror like. If followed up with polishing peening is a good choice and with the right media could possibly be done in the Vaporhone. Good idea if galling isn’t severe. Any ideas on polishing a large inside radius?