# Bending square tubing



## rigginuts (Dec 27, 2008)

Can someone tell me what is needed to bend 1" square alum tubing ?


Thanks,


----------



## Teh Wicked (Jul 30, 2009)

I wouldnt try just a simple bend...Aluminum is a pretty fragile metal when you start twisting it like that. The best thing to do would be to weld it to make your angles. But you can bend it to a certain degree before it starts to break apart. You got to bend it SLOW and you cant go very far...A simple tube bender from a muffle rshop will do the job if you have the correct jigs to hold it while its being bent.


----------



## q2_hunter (Nov 17, 2006)

You cant use a bender made for round tube, got to have a bender that holds the square tubing square and flat.. Ive been looking at it myself as I have aluminum square tubing that Im gonna make a game cart out of and tested with a round tube bender and no go with that.. Heres a homemade one I seen on youtube that works like a conduit bender but holds the tubing square and I plan on making one and seeing how it goes.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vguWbHxzG98


----------



## wbrogdon (Nov 16, 2010)

The type of aluminum alloys also determines whether or not you can bend. 3003 & 5052 bend okay, 6061 t-6 will not, if a 6061 grade
you would want a t-3


----------



## rigginuts (Dec 27, 2008)

wbrogdon said:


> The type of aluminum alloys also determines whether or not you can bend. 3003 & 5052 bend okay, 6061 t-6 will not, if a 6061 grade
> you would want a t-3


My dealer handles 6063-t52 and 6061-t6. Is the 6063-t52 soft enough to bend and does it weld ok ?


----------



## f4irocket (Oct 20, 2010)

Another thing you can try before bending is filling the tube with water and freeze it before bending this will help keep the material from collapsing in on its self. Also you can use 6061-t6 if you lightly heat it with pure acetylene no oxygen this realigns the molecules of the material and helps with bending. Don't let it get to hot this takes some practice.


----------



## rigginuts (Dec 27, 2008)

f4irocket said:


> Another thing you can try before bending is filling the tube with water and freeze it before bending this will help keep the material from collapsing in on its self. Also you can use 6061-t6 if you lightly heat it with pure acetylene no oxygen this realigns the molecules of the material and helps with bending. Don't let it get to hot this takes some practice.


Heard of sand but never frozen water. And wouldn't the acetylene turn the alum. black ?


----------



## jlnel (Dec 22, 2009)

could you make some relief cuts??


----------



## hollywood88 (Feb 9, 2009)

if you heat the aluminum you can still use the oxygen, just dont get the flame too close and when you can spit on it and it bubbles off it is warm enough, too much heat makes aluminum brittle and useless. also dont give it much time too cool off before you bend it. not enough heat or too much heat and the aluminum will crack when bent.


----------



## zestycj7 (Sep 24, 2010)

If you take the acetylene and turn the alumn. black then use a rosebud to heat it till the black is gone you sould be able to bend it carefully. And if you fill it with sand and bend it it should keep the flats from collapsing to a degree.
Just do some tests first. 5053 H3 is the easiest to form and still is nice to weld.
Good luck and keep us posted on how you do.
Don.


----------



## swampboss (Sep 8, 2009)

rigginuts said:


> Can someone tell me what is needed to bend 1" square alum tubing ?
> 
> 
> Thanks,


Some of these mentioned " tips" may or may not work. but if you have a lot of tubing that needs to be bent . To bend it properly it requires a precision hydraulic bender with machined dyes and roller. The tube must be pressed in and rolled at the same time. It also depends on the alloy as stated above or aluminum will break or be very weak. IMO it is better to just cut and re weld the joints. 
Other wise IMO ,just cut and weld the joint. 
Caution should always be used with aluminum due to the alloy. Welds and bends may look good but are in fact weak. Steel can also be this way, but is less common ( most steel re-bar is very poor material for building things, too brittle and can be hard to weld. )


----------



## wbrogdon (Nov 16, 2010)

not familiar with the t52, but the t-6 will break. 3003 should be the least expensive and it allows for better forming.


----------

