Hot Rods Precision Bending of Nicopp

Just curious what members have used for successfully bending Nicopp tubing to 90 degrees without collapsing. The purpose of using Nicopp is of course for ease of forming as well as being non-rusting but there is a point where the tubing softness works against you. I have designed and built several dedicated tubing benders and clearly know the flaws in the hand held bender I have. I'm about to build one but before investing the time I thought I'd see if any of you have had success with the benders on the market and if so, what you're using. There is a boat-load of small tubing benders available in several different design styles in terms of how they form the tube shape. I'd like to see what you have found that works for you.

Thanks much,

- EM

 

From my experience it seems that most tube bending collapse occurs when attempting a radius too small.
Experimentation is sometimes necessary to find limits.

 

I've used a variety of cheap hand benders for both 3/16" and 3/8" nicopp with good results. One was a combo Harbor Freight unit set up for different diameter tubing. Just make sure your bender has a fairly good size radius.

 

I haven`t made any benders but I have made tubing straightners. I mount them on a board alternating them in a straight line

 

I was working with normal 3/16" brake line, not Nicopp, but bought a multiple size bender at Harbor Freight. Seems it was ~$10. It did nice, tight bends without any kinking. I wanted a bender that was capable of starting the bend right where the tube comes out of a tube nut, like at a wheel cylinder double flare connection. Although I positioned the tube nut a bit different than you would position the tubing along the length of the tube, it started the bend really close to the nut.

The only bender I found that looked like an overall nicer unit was about $140!

Lynn

 

Did my coupe with nicopp and I have several benders. Having done my Camaro with stainless I can say you can definitely bend a tighter radius with stainless vs nicopp but stainless is a pain in the ass to work with vs nicopp. This is an example of the tightest bends I made with the nicopp.



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Imperial bender.




Kind of a pain in the ass to use, but 1/2” radius bends work fine. Here’s a piece of scrap I was fooling around with.







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I have couple of these imperial benders. They are very nice for Nicopp and steel. The handles are adjustable for a full 180 degree bend.

https://images.homedepot-static.com.../imperial-bending-forming-664fh08-64_1000.jpg

 

Thanks for your comments fellas. I had previously done my brake lines in Nicopp 3/16" diameter and had issues but not quite what I'm having with the 3/8" line I'm doing now. The main issue is that while my hand bender has a perfect radius to fit the tube, the radius depth in the center mandrel and on the forming shoe are not deep enough. The result is that around 25% of the tube (at the centerline of the tube) is not supported or controlled by the bender so is free to deform. This is an old Harbor Freight model. I'll check into the "Imperial". The other option is that I might just machine this cheapo bender so the radius' are the proper depth.

- EM

 

I have re-plumbed two cars using Ni-Copp tube. I have found that the 3/16" tube bends real easy by hand or with a cheap bender. I have even bent it around a socket to get the tight radius I needed.
The 5/16" however was a different story. I had to go out and buy a Rigid bender to prevent kinking the tube. The results were excellent.
Also be careful with a straightener. Too much pressure on the straightener can distort the cross-section of the tube and that can contribute to kinking when attempting to bend it.

 

I always heard to make really tight bends to fill the tube with fine sand. Never tried it, but I bet it works.

 

Another Imperial user here! Funny thing though is that having never used anything else and thereby never having had a problem it's kinda odd to imagine anyone having difficulty! I'm clearly blessed, haha! But I do manage to fuck up all kinds of other things, so maybe it's just a case of being lucky occasionally.

I have a facsimile of an Imperial for 3/8" and it won't bend stainless beyond about 45% without excessive flattening, but i think that's because the shoe type design instead of rollers stretches the tube. I dunno.

Chris


Chris

 

All of my brake line radii = that of a floor jack handle for some reason...

 

Have you tried a spring bender like is used for soft copper ,if you go slow , you can bend a fairly tight radius around a piece of 3/4" pipe with a spring bender...

 

I too have used my imperial bender for Nicopp line.

This line bends nicely and was very happy as opposed to the new steel lines they sell.

Cliff Ramsdell

 

I used Ni-Cop in 3/16", 5/16" and 3/8" on my RPU lots of precision bending and I used Imperial benders.
Lots of pictures in my build thread.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/26-t-roadster-pick-up-build-thread.460009/page-59

 

I bought Imperial Eastman individual tube benders starting in 1973. I still have them and use them often. I don't use the multiple size tube benders because they are made to bend all size tube at the radius of the largest tube channel in the group. Imperial Eastman is not cheap by any means, just the best I have found. I have from 3/16 up to 1/2 inch benders and they bend steel, stainless steel, brass, copper, and Nicole without any problem. Granted, they are a little spendy but they are as reliable as lassie. My son is now building cars for a living and borrows them when he does plumbing. He get them full time when I croak. There is no substitute for quality or accuracy.

 

@Blue One very toight,

 

If it goes under the car, it gets gravel guard, which is a spring tubing bender, itself.

Otherwise, Imperial, as I used to have a shop. Other brands are good, too.

Imperial has little 3/16" and 1/4" benders that go on a ratchet, for brake lines, that work well in tight spaces, for on-car replacement, or for assemblies that are too complex to put in once bent.

 

I made benders from small pulleys. I also have set of bending pliers


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Ridgid 400 series tubing benders... Not cheap, but the best. Designed to bend hard stainless lines, these will bend our tubing with ease. If you buy new or with the factory paperwork, there's a guide on how to measure for bends. Do shop for these, as deals can be found.

https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/400-series-instrument-benders

 

Ditto on the Imperial benders..............Mine stay on loan to my buddy car builders and for that, i feel like they are worth the investment.

If you use the wrong size mandrel (i think thats what it is called) to bend your tubing around, it will not properly support the diameter of the tubing and create the collapse.

Key to good bends is using the correct size bender for the tubing.

 

Watch eBay and buy used imperial benders. Prices vary a lot. They let you make tighter Ben's that look better. Once you have one you will never go back to the multi bend crap.

 

I have an older KD 2189 tube bender that works pretty well, they are still available. Another one I need to get is the ATD-5472, the last one I borrowed when I was doing the lines for my Ford.

 

I use these. There is such a thing as minimum bend radius
https://www.hotrodhotline.com/content/bending-brake-lines-jim-clark
http://knowhow.napaonline.com/tips-for-bending-brake-lines-and-fuel-lines/

 

I got chastised on another thread for mentioning buying quality tools instead of going to HF. Ridgid and Imperial Eastman are good example of quality. I've been using them for over 40 years. They go along with a quality flaring set, and not from HF.

 

Been doin that for years. IT WORKS. I used glass bead outta my blaster

 

Here is a picture of Imperial type of tube bender and a "jig" that I made for finding the correct place to start a bend when you want the tube to be flush at a 90 degree turn. I bought a bunch of excess steel rod at the metal supply store.
It works great for making brake and fuel line patterns. It can be restraightened in your vice and saved for your next project. I cut a small piece and made the jig. Basically you just make a bend at the angle you need.....normally 90. While you have the jig piece in the bender, you make a mark where the bender starts the bend. Then when you are bending your pattern or your actual line, lay it in place and put the jig against the intersecting 90 degree surface. Make an identical mark on your tubing. When you make the bend, it should perfectly align with the surface.

View attachment 4433283

 

I think the thing about tools is that there is no "always right" choice. You have to not only evaluate the comparable costs of a tool, but the result you can obtain. Many times a cheap tool will do exactly what the expensive tool will do and give the exact same result. Compare the cost of HF impact sockets to Snap On. Absolutely no advantage to purchasing a Snap On Socket. When you compare the Impact Guns, the SO will out perform the really cheaper HF guns, but falls short when compared to an Earthquake gun. It either loosens the bolt or it does not loosen the bolt, so you get an exact result.
Now look at tube benders. I have a bunch of the cheaper benders that I accumulated over a lifetime. They work fine when you just need a general bend. If you want to make a tight crisp professional looking bend, then you need to buy a better tool.
The thing a lot of people don't consider when buying a used purpose specific tool, .....its almost always worth what you paid for it if you want to resell when done.

As for flaring tubing, there are lots of tools out there that are foreign made and not big name $$$$$ stuff. They work great, and a little shopping can get you some stuff that does quality work. 37 degree flaring tools are expensive but I found a great one for a decent price. You just gotta shop around. If someone buys one of the neat multi flaring sets, get the more expensive and more complete ones that do fuel lines too.