Tube Bender
I would have liked it to make a new seat for my recumbent bicycle and for it was necessary some aluminium tubes and to bend those on proper shape. In our town I have not found a place to bend some tubes and I have decided to make my own tube bender for this work.
Preparing
First time I went to scrap metal depot to find the necessary materials. I found some rusty pieces there. At home prepared the other pieces. I rounded the sharp heels of the laminated wood base, and my friends and his dad helped me to weld a handle and one more piece on the main forming wheel.
Mounting
Once all the components was together, I installed bearings in the wheels, I put all components an the base ti find the correct position and place for the components and I drilled the holes for each pieces. I used M10 metric bolts to obtain a massive construction, and because the support for the wheels from the scrap depot was also very thick and robust.
The Result
Immediatly after the assemling I tested my tube bender with a piece of plastic pipe with aluminium insert. I also drilled two more holes for fixing the base on a bigger working table. The whole tube bender is portable, the maximum dimension is ca. 40 cm on each side, and it's really heavy. I will use this only for 20 mm diameter aluminium tubes for my new seat.
First Use
