Tube work newb

rokntoy

rokntoy

FUCKIN SLAYER!!!
Joined
Sep 2, 2006
Location
Elkin, N.C.
I am wanting to learn how to do tube work.Cages, bumpers etc. What is the best software to use? Im getting a jd square bender.
thanks for the help
 
I have bendtech pro and something that you want to take quess work out of is building a cage. Do yourself a favor and purchase it, I use it almost every bend I do...because you can do some awesome work and get crazy tight to body lines. I have some hoops that I have 13 bends in. Just to make it lol similar to the back of a cab or somethi,g of the sort. Not all huge bends,some just 5-15* bends to keep the flow. But it allows you to do mirror bends much easier too.
 
Awesome! Thanks guys. Im a welder by trade but havent done any tube work and ill do my cage and test before ill think building
 
If you read the instructions to the JD2 bender and follow them exactly, you will do just fine. I've never used bend tech but have read and followed the instructions very closely and have done really well with bending tube.
 
I did the majority of the work on my XCab interior cage and the rest of the tube work with the Pirate101 method. It makes it fairly easy to understand.

If you buy Bend-Tech, just pony up for the Pro version. I will be doing so soon as I compile some more tools and whatnot. Its nice because you can build and see the entire assembly/finished products and make changes if you so desire without hacking up physical tube, see how it rotates through the bender for compound bends and even comes with the ability to print the notching stencils for the end of each tube. Even for the hobbyist, IMO it is a worthy investment. UNBREAKABLE has it and it saved us a lot of headache in the past on some other builds.
 
rokntoy said:
How hard is it to learn? Im pretty.computer stupid.
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It's not too bad to learn, I taught myself with YouTube videos and playing with the program for a few minutes. I started with simple parts and worked towards complex stuff.

The templates are easy and fast to use, the 3d assembled drawings are a bit more "involved"

If I can help at all, let me know.
 
rokntoy said:
Yeah ive got to get on the trail again but im nervous without one. Ever since since that near BAD role at harlan! Thanks again for that you really asaved my ass on that one!
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Yeah, you scared the crap out of me. Im glad the worst damage was a lost bead.
 
Black Bear said:
Bendtech is nice.. i have used it some, it takes most of the guess work out of it.

check out bending 101 from pirate. Pirate4x4.Com

Thats one of the better ways to learn how to bend stuff without the software.
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Thanks for that link! I had never seen that page before. I am planning to get a bender by summer and start doing tube work...
 
No one wants to hear this starting out, but to really get good at tube bending, start slow with a manual bender and learn to eyeball stuff and notch by hand. Bending up the first piece is easy, the second piece to duplicate it is a beast. If nothing else, it'll give you a whole nother admiration for the more high tech stuff.
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The most important thing you can learn, aside from bending and welding and material selection, is proper triangulation. The more cages I see for off-road stuff (including a lot on this site) the more I realize how many people don't know what a triangle is. It makes things stronger, that's its party trick. You can use less tubing and make a stronger/stiffer cage, and I know that seems completely obvious but apparently it's really not obvious or else you'd see better (or at least some) triangulation.

The great thing is that you're usually going slow enough when wheeling that when you roll over then the bad cage design won't kill you. That's not an excuse for bad cage design. It all changes when you roll down a hillside or into a ravine and a tree stops you cold. Basic cage design is easy enough, so why mess with safety?

Choosing big tubing with a heavy wall thickness isn't a cover-up for bad cage design either. No need to make things unnecessarily heavy instead of paying attention to the basics of design.

I'm no master fabricator like many of the badass guys on this site, but I can spot a proper cage when I see one.

I'll get down off my soapbox now..
 
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Other important aspects are as few dead tubes as possible, have as many nodes, or tube junctions with many pieces in different planes as possible.

Proper fit up is key, if the tube is tight and somewhat difficult to get into final position it's probably the right length.

If the tube is ridiculously easy to get into place it's probably too short.

The larger diameter the tube, the stronger it is, but easier to dent.

The thicker the wall thickness the more resistance to denting, but much harder to bend.

Thinner wall thickness and or smaller diameter pieces can be substituted to save weight in the straight, non bent, interior filler pieces, and .156 or .188 or even .250 wall can substituted for rockers and pillars that will be seeing frequent bashing by rocks.
 
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