"pipe" bending?

[Chop Top 10]

ok so i got a peice of pipe today od 1.66 and a .140 wall, i got it real cheap compared to some DOM tubing, my question is am i going to have trouble bending this pipe into 45 and 90 degree angles? the guy told me to buy dom tubing if im going to bend it but i didnt listen... o and im going to be useing this for my frame kind of like some web stuff over the notch

[ka_jd7and1]

Uh, yeah, you'll want tubing and not pipe.

[jcrazyjj]

agreed

[Chop Top 10]

so that means it cant be bent then ok thanks

[journeyman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Chop Top 10

so that means it cant be bent then ok thanks

Well um.... it CAN be bent.... it can even be bent & hold it's structural integrity as long as the radius isn't too small & you pay attention to where the seam is... I just don't know what those tolerances would be. It's never a *good* idea to bend seamed pipe... you risk compromising strength of that seam, which compromises the structure of the pipe. DOM tubing has no seam, which is mainly why it's ideal for bending. There might be other reasons for not using pipe, but that's all the argument I personally need. I've also seen broken pipes on construction sites. Pipes are meant to carry water/air/steam/shit/whatever thru them. Tubing is made for structural applications. It's always a good idea to use the material for what it's made for.
Thought I'd just expand on the responses you got... which I agree with.

[Chop Top 10]

Quote: Originally Posted by journeyman

Well um.... it CAN be bent.... it can even be bent & hold it's structural integrity as long as the radius isn't too small & you pay attention to where the seam is... I just don't know what those tolerances would be. It's never a *good* idea to bend seamed pipe... you risk compromising strength of that seam, which compromises the structure of the pipe. DOM tubing has no seam, which is mainly why it's ideal for bending. There might be other reasons for not using pipe, but that's all the argument I personally need. I've also seen broken pipes on construction sites. Pipes are meant to carry water/air/steam/shit/whatever thru them. Tubing is made for structural applications. It's always a good idea to use the material for what it's made for.
Thought I'd just expand on the responses you got... which I agree with.

thank you, im glad there is people that do know what there talking about,so were does the seam need to be to bend it on the side? if it dont work im just gona go get a peice of dom, i just thought shit $13 compared to $75 ill try the cheap one first i knew i should have listen to the guy at the metal place

[journeyman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Chop Top 10

thank you, im glad there is people that do know what there talking about,so were does the seam need to be to bend it on the side? if it dont work im just gona go get a peice of dom, i just thought shit $13 compared to $75 ill try the cheap one first i knew i should have listen to the guy at the metal place

That's just the thing... I dunno? I think the first thing you gotta do is ask yourself what the bend radius is. I would tend to think it would be at least 3-1/2 times the pipe diameter for a centerline radius... but that's just pulling a number outta my ass.... the seam just has to be in a location which it will stretch "the least" . Your guess is just as good as mine on that one. The fact is... it's stretching... that's not good. Personally speaking... saving a couple bucks on material isn't worth risking my life, or the people I share the road with. If you are looking to do something for more visual effect... not structural.... bend away... if you are doing it to hold your rig together..... spend the $$ & get DOM.

[SoloSDN]

these guys have decent prices on DOM,i get mine through them.

Speedy Metals

[ka_jd7and1]

Quote: Originally Posted by journeyman

That's just the thing... I dunno? I think the first thing you gotta do is ask yourself what the bend radius is. I would tend to think it would be at least 3-1/2 times the pipe diameter for a centerline radius... but that's just pulling a number outta my ass.... the seam just has to be in a location which it will stretch "the least" . Your guess is just as good as mine on that one. The fact is... it's stretching... that's not good. Personally speaking... saving a couple bucks on material isn't worth risking my life, or the people I share the road with. If you are looking to do something for more visual effect... not structural.... bend away... if you are doing it to hold your rig together..... spend the $$ & get DOM.

Like I said before, you want tubing and not pipe. Can you bend pipe? Sure. Would I ever use it in any sort of structural application? No way in hell. Black cast water pipe is exactly that......water pipe. Some tracks allow black iron pipe for roll cage material.........scary.

If you have regular welded seam tubing, the strongest way to bend it is so the seam is on the inside of the bend radius, that way it has to stretch the least.

That being said, I bet you don't need DOM. For our circle track cages, we use regular welded seam tubing and it holds up just fine. It takes a lot of force to split the tubing on the seam, and (in our cars at least) if the seam splits that's the least of our worries, stuff is majorly F'd up.

[iLLblazer]

ERW tube is generrally fine if you want to save a few bucks compared to DOM. Pipe should not even be an option unless you are putting in a new shitter.