i'm in the process of building a tubing bender from plans, i have access to steel and a 3 ton ram, so my only out of pocket expense is going to be the dies. i'm going to be using a series 105 die from pro tools, the same as that are used in their 105 bender, and i think it's the same as the model 3 bender.

my question is this: being that i am most likely only going to be using this bender exclusively for sliders and bumpers for my runner and my bro's pickup, i only want to buy one size die. what size (radius) should i get? i was figuring and 1-1/2 tube as a good size, but the dies go from 3-1/2" to 7" inch radius. i'm guessing i want closer to 3-1/2" radius for bumper corners, and maybe a short stinger on the front?

any advice would be greatly appreciated...

 

Using 1.5" tubing all around may be a little small for the front bumper but that is your choice of course. You can do a partial layout of the bumper by using some PVC piping. By using the PVC you get to see what bends you will need plus you can design the parts the way you want without wasting the expensive tubing.

The other thing to remember is that you will need a near 180 degree bend for the stinger. My bender I bought was not capable of doing that so I brought that part to a shop, cost me a six pack

Maybe see if you can get some tube bend at a shop with the different sizes that you think you may use then you can use all those bends in your mock up. I would say you would need at least two different sizes, just my opinion.

 

use a 1.75" die.....

 

You can also use electrical conduit and a hand bender to mock your parts up.

 

Do some research here

http://www.offroadfabnet.com/

Any thing and everthing about tubing fabrication can be found here.