Built A Side Bender

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twenty2late
Posts: 81
Joined: Sat May 28, 2016 8:48 am
Location: Savannah, GA

Built A Side Bender

Post by twenty2late »

That was fun...for a couple hours ;-)
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MaineGeezer
Posts: 1711
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: Built A Side Bender

Post by MaineGeezer »

What is the heating element?
Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
twenty2late
Posts: 81
Joined: Sat May 28, 2016 8:48 am
Location: Savannah, GA

Re: Built A Side Bender

Post by twenty2late »

It uses a 500W cartridge heater that is surrounded by 20ft of aluminum flashing. The plans to build it are in the book in the pic.
rcnewcomb
Posts: 359
Joined: Wed Jul 29, 2015 9:04 pm
Location: San Jose, CA, USA

Re: Built A Side Bender

Post by rcnewcomb »

Is the pipe galvanized? There may be a health risk due to toxic gasses released when heating galvanized metals: Metal fume fever
- Randall Newcomb
10 fingers in, 10 fingers out - another good day in the shop
twenty2late
Posts: 81
Joined: Sat May 28, 2016 8:48 am
Location: Savannah, GA

Re: Built A Side Bender

Post by twenty2late »

It is galvanized...because that is all I can find. After a little research, it looks like the concern is mainly for welders who liquify the metal. Most sources state it is fine up to 700°F. I plan to be at 400 max. I'll do some outside testing first to be safe. Does anyone else have advice on this? Thanks for the heads up!
MaineGeezer
Posts: 1711
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: Built A Side Bender

Post by MaineGeezer »

I doubt you need to worry about fumes. The surface finish may be more of a problem. I might be inclined to take some abrasive roll (the stuff plumbers use to polish copper fittings) or something similar and try to polish the surface so it is very smooth. I would wear a dust mask while doing so, to avoid breathing the zinc dust.
Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
Sunset
Posts: 30
Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2017 7:14 pm

Re: Built A Side Bender

Post by Sunset »

Pablo Requena has a great youtube video on he made his bending iron using only a light bulb as a heating element. Very interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-py9FGK ... 6s&index=1
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