Silverline Mini Pipe Bender 6 - 10mm (MS129)

Product Information

When the handles are pulled together, the stay (3) which is attached to one of the handles, pulls the pipe down and around the wheel former creating the bend. Bending copper pipe can be done properly in two ways, ether a tool called a bending spring is used or a more substantial tool called a proprietary plumbers copper pipe bender is used.

Pipe benders come in a variety of sizes catering for copper pipes from 6mm to 38mm and are operated by hand. Mechanical benders deal with pipes bigger than this. GLR sell a set of mini bending springs but you still need a former or something to get a nice smooth bend. You will not see many plumbers using springs however as it is very hard to keep the bend neat and to the correct diameter.The handles (2) are opened wide which allows the hook (1) and the stay (3) to be in a straight line. I've had some good results using Field's metal (bismuth, indium & tin alloy melts @ 61 C), similar to Wood's metal but no lead.

The copper pipe is then placed under the hook across the top of the wheel former (5) and under the stay. pipe, bent with a spring is ok, but do not expect a very tidy job and read our project about how to box the pipes in afterwards as although it will probably do the job it will need hiding away!Within this area you will find a great deal of information including how to pull 90 degree bends with 50mm offset bends at 30 degrees allowing you to bend round vertical pipe runs with a horizontal pipe run you are placing.

If you are prepared to make one, Stan Bray described a small pipe bender in Model Engineer Volume 157, number 3783. The rollers can be made to suit the diameter of the pipe and the radius required. Very simple design that wouldn't take long to make. I was talking about this subject of bending small pipes only yesterday to an engineering friend. He was at the Harrogate ME show and was told that one of the ways to do it, is to anneal the copper pipe and then to fill it with molten lead. Do the bending and then melt out the lead. This way will prevent collapse and kinking of the pipe. Seems like a good idea. I will put this to the test myself when I get to my pipe bending bits. Hope this idea will help you. Or use Wood's Metal - that stuff that goes liquid in boiling water. Fill pipe, bend, melt out Wood's. Job-jobbed. Another method is to machine a groove in a piece of bar, the groove width being the diameter of the pipe and the inside diameter to suit the radius of the bend. The pipe's simply bent around in the groove. Pipe springs can be used in pipes up to 22mm diameter but bending a 22mm pipe with a spring is a herculean task which none of us would attempt.

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Bending pipes with a pipe bender is difficult. Its not actually difficult to bend the pipe, but bending the pipe in the right place is a different ball game. Working out the diameter of the bend and linking it to the place in the run where you want the bend to start and finish can only be done with practice and we would very strongly suggest you buy extra pipe to practice with. Also, as with any other system in a house which contains many parts, the greater the number of pieces involved, the more there is to go wrong. If a pipe can be bent to do the job, it is impossible for it to leak. If it has fittings in the run, it certainly can! How to Bend Copper Pipe This is one of the reasons plumbers prefer to use a copper pipe bender rather than simply cut the pipe and put a bend fitting like an elbow into the run to change direction. Pipe springs are just that. Springs which go in pipes. Putting a spring into a pipe before applying pressure to bend it, will stop the pipe kinking. Further to Baggo's suggestion of a bar with a groove machined in it, If you put the bar in the vice and get two pieces of wood, one to hold against one end of the tube and the other to push it round the bar.The formers are sized at different pipes sizes and are about 150mm long. Now, as you close the handle, the former pushes the pipe round the wheel former giving you a perfect, kink free bend. The images shown here are of multi pipe benders and mini pipe benders. The multi bender, as the name suggests, will take many different sizes of pipe, while the mini bender will take the smaller diameter pipes. Hold the two pieces of wood close to the bar and the bend will start where it is meant to and not some distance away.