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Ostensibly interesting stuff

Whiteside   Theatre  tube-thingy

4/6/2021

1 Comment

 
Picture
Some complicated multi-plane bends in this one.
This thing is mostly to prevent people from putting their hands on the acoustic panel behind it.

I hated math as a kid, with the exception of geometry. Now, I think it's cool, but maybe I'm just jumping on the bandwagon of "math is cool!"
Anyway, a project like this involves bending tube in three dimensions, which is more advanced geometry than I ever studied in school. Ultimately, I just eyeball and fudge it. When I need to, I cut, re-weld and grind down, to cover my ass. A powder coat covers a multitude of sins.

I made a sweet receiver-hitch mount for my tube bender:
Picture
 Tube bending requires a lot of force. You're stretching the outside of the tube through the curve and compressing the inside. Without the benefit of heat to soften the metal. Even with a cheater bar on the handle, I often put my full weight and strength into bending large tubes.
Thankfully, cars are really heavy! I periodically stop in to weigh stations just to make sure I'm not putting on too much truck-weight, and the last I recall, this truck (legal name: "Dakota Jesus Fanning") weighed in at 2,150kg (4750lbs). This makes for an awesome place to mount tools that have to withstand a lot of external forces, and I'm planning on taking better advantage of this in the future. It'd be a great place to mount a vise, or a bike repair stand.
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Having a stick of 0.25" wall-thickness 2" square tube lying around is so handy for making stuff to go in a receiver hitch.
Picture
The verticals are actually parallel, though the wide-angle lens distorts the perspective.
1 Comment
John Carston link
1/24/2022 05:41:14 pm

It's great that you elaborated on how the machine can perform and operate differently. My best friend mentioned to me last night that he is looking for a tube bending company that can bend stainless steel for his upcoming project and asked if I have any idea what is the best option to do. Thanks to this informative article and I'll be sure to tell him that he can consult a well-known tube beading company as they can answer all his inquiries.

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