Tools are to the hot rod hobbyist as shoes and handbags are to the fairer sex—in either case there’s no such thing as too many.
The subject of this issue’s look at tools that make our home shop fabrication chores easier are tube and pipe benders. Benders of this sort allow us the ability to easily fabricate a myriad of items from small-diameter brake and fuel lines to crossmembers, reinforcements, and even exhaust systems–all on our own. And just like the varied uses and applications for these creations, there are various types and sizes of bending apparatus as well.
The first subject is a really handy item from Summit Racing Equipment. Yep, the folks that offer the performance-minded car guy everything they need in the way of mechanical performance parts offer tools, too! The Summit tool of which I speak is a 16-ton capacity hydraulic pipe bender that’s ideal for jobs like forming tubular crossmembers, trans mounts, and exhaust systems.
The second bender we’ll take a look at is a really handy item from a company by the name of Woodward Fabrication (also found in my Summit Racing catalog). The Woodward bender is designed to make perfect bends in flat stock and is perfect for making mounting brackets and the like.
The third and fourth benders are designed for use with small diameter tubing like brake and fuel lines and come from one off my all-time favorite sources—The Eastwood Company.
The last, but by no means least, bender we’ll take a look at is a compact bar and rod bender manufactured by Pittsburgh and sold through another one of my favorite haunts—Harbor Freight Tools. So, let’s get going and take a look at this array of home shop wonders that’ll make our home shop fabrication chores much easier—and keep in mind you’ll be seeing all of these tools in action in upcoming tech stories during the course of the next year.
This 16-ton hydraulic bender...
This 16-ton hydraulic bender (PN sum-907016) from Summit Racing gets a lot of use around my home shop. I’ve used it to bend up a couple of trans crossmembers recently and I’m planning on fabbing the exhaust systems for the “Homebuilt Hot Rod” and my ’52 F-1 pickup, as well. For the price, this baby’s a must have—it might not be something you’ll use every day but you’ll be glad you have it handy when the need arises. I’d also suggest checking out Summit’s website for a huge selection of specialty and shop tools—and you thought they only sold speed parts and accessories.
One of the best things about...
One of the best things about Summit’s bender kit is the large selection of dies (8) that come with it. With this kit you’re covered from 1/2-inch to 3-inch diameters covering about any tube bending chore you may run across.
The Summit bender dies are...
The Summit bender dies are heavy-duty cast items with a smooth face that allows minimal distortion. Just keep in mind that this is no big-dollar mandrel bender—just an affordable tool that does what it’s designed to do—help you fabricate instead of purchase.
Another item I find indispensable...
Another item I find indispensable in my home shop is my Woodward Fab form bender. I could have saved lots of time, energy, and vice abuse over the years if I had found this tool earlier.
The Woodward form bender utilizes...
The Woodward form bender utilizes a 4-inch die which works in conjunction with an internal V-block and an Acme-thread shaft that smoothly and almost effortlessly bends up to a 90-degree angle in strap stock up to 3⁄16-inch thick. Not only is it much more precise than beating a piece into submission in your vise it’s a heck of a lot easier, as well. Woodward Fab has a huge selection of metalworking tools and equipment—and hopefully we’ll be showing you more of ’em in the future.
The Eastwood Company is the...
The Eastwood Company is the source for these two fine small-diameter tubing benders. The triple head tubing bender on the left is ideal for brake, air conditioning, fuel and transmission lines. The bender on the right aligns, bends, and adjusts 3⁄16- and 1/4-inch brake and fuel lines with a twist of the wrist. The best thing about these forming pliers is its perfectly shaped jaws that perform really tight bends without distortion.
This lightweight, die-cast...
This lightweight, die-cast aluminum baby bends 3⁄16, 1/4, 5⁄16 and 3⁄8-inch tubing, and makes incredibly smooth, tight 180-degree bends with minimal effort and great control. Its Roto-lokTM handle pulls out and repositions to affect the second 90-degree bend so you can get a smooth 180-degree rotation with no repositioning of the tubing.
The Eastwood forming pliers...
The Eastwood forming pliers make terrific tight bends that make running brake lines in tight surroundings a heck of a lot easier—and their one-handed operation comes in extremely handy, too. Every rodder should have both of these brake line benders in their tool box.
The bar and rod bender pictured...
The bar and rod bender pictured here comes in pretty darned handy around the shop. I’ve used this bender to make everything from ornamental items to exhaust system hangers; as a matter of fact you’ll soon be seeing it in action forming the inner support structure in a fiberglass street rod body. Stay tuned for a look at more neat tools and equipment for the home-shop rodder in future issues—cuz you know as well as I—you can never have too many tools!