this looks like it would be awsome for a few different apps

http://www.theturboforums.com/smf/in...?topic=83119.0 can anyone say cheap custom headers

sorry forgot you wouldnt be able to see them if you dont have an account

 

last one

 

Good read, that is some cool stuff. I'm sure it will be massively time consuming to master that technique though.

 

I saw that on a movie once....I was wondering if it really worked.

 

Brass trumpets are made by filling the pipe with water and freezing it. I've also heard of using compressed air. This is the first practical way of bending pipes without machinery I have seen.

Thanks SpototRs305 .

 

i have used the compressed air to fix dentent tuned pipes before how are they using it to bend? is it really high psi or something?

 

i read that article a while back, its good stuff. though to make headers, you probably couldnt use this method and it be easy, because of the sharp angles and small lenghts of pipe,

 

Yes.

 

tried this today with some 1 1/2 BMI can do a circle with about a 3 1/4 ID dont see why 1 5/8 would be much harder... anyone know how much heat BMI can take

 

How long did it take, and did you take pics? I'm very curious about doing this because of the cost of mendrels (not to metion all the welding involved).

 

i only tried it out to play nothing constructive

well after spilling sand everywhere
then realizing it really needs to be DRY not sorta kinda dry

and you really do need a special tip for the torch
i used a small drill bit in a pin vise to open the center hole "a bit"
took about 10-12 minutes for a 360°

i will try and find a camera and see if wal-marts 1 hour photo actually takes 1 hour

 

They usually will have "disposable" digital cameras, also. I am going to try it, but I need to go to my mother-in-laws to pick up the acetyline tanks and torch tips (inherited from my father-in-law ).

 

one suggestion... dont seal the pipe air tight no pipe cap or anything like that... could get ugly

 

Are you speaking from experience?!?

 

you could say something like that the sorta wet sand i spoke about i guess built up some pressure before i decided the pipe cap is a bad idea unscrewed it shot out of my hand not what i was expecting

 

You could have hurt yourself! I thought he packed the end with paper and left it open (I'll have to re-read it). He also said you should heat the sand in a barrel for quite a few hours to dry it.

 

he did heat the sand to dry it and packed the end with newspaper but i didnt really have enough sand or the patience to dry it so i had packed newspaper into the pipe and cut a piece of broom handle to keep it packed not the best idea i have to admit but atleast i figured it out soon enough

 

I tried this a couple of years ago after reading an article in car craft. At the time it didn't work to well. I tried 3" pipe and didn't have the correct tip for my torch. I have since gotten a rosebud tip and plan to try some 13/4" pipe. I think it will work.
Kory

 

I saw something like this done while I was in Germany... very skilled tradesmen over there. The guy used a torch and two pair of pliers to bend some steam pipe (no sand or mandrel)... blew my mind with the quality of his work.

Couple of quick questions.
Can this be done with stainless steel?
Is there any reason you can't do roll cages using this technique? ie does it weaken the material?

 

Stainless would be "stained" from the heat, I'm sure, much like it is from welding (or the blue/gold effect after exhaust has been through some heating cycles).

Unsure about the weakening of the metal.

 

do you think you can bend exhaust piping with this method?

 

in the article he claimed to have bent 12" diameter pipe with 1/4" thickness...with enough practice I'm sure roll cage pipe as well as exhaust pipe would be a breeze.

 

Here is some more details from a different source.

http://www.crystal-netbook.info/e158795/e171023/e171233

 

thanks for that link it helped alot ill let you guys know how it turns out!

 

I'm sure you can.

But why when exhaust pipe is so cheap?

 

mandrel pipe bender = $$$

sand and torch...ehh not so much, plus it's cool to tell your friends you bent your own exhaust lol

 

I agree with you on the satisfaction of bending your own, but building them with a welder and header kits can be fun too .

You don't need a mendrel bender, I built several turbo kits and headers with a $129 welder.

Here's a good source for cheap pipes...

http://store.racing-solutions.org/bendkits.html

 

that site is pretty helpful do you know of anymore stores/sites like that?

 

firstfirebird - thank link is awesome!!! Thanks for sharing, those are great prices they have on those kits.

 

That is cool but over the years there has been better ways.