Judging by the reviews, many owners of private houses and summer cottages have to work with profile pipes. The fact is that it is very convenient to assemble frames from them for building structures, namely greenhouses, various greenhouses, arbors and other objects. However, according to experts, pipe bending is possible with special expensive equipment. This explains why many home craftsmen are interested in how to bend the profile pipe yourself without a pipe bender? Mostly it interests those who are going to make a greenhouse. You will learn about how to properly bend a profile pipe for a greenhouse from this article.
Getting to know the product
Before you are interested in how to bend a profile pipe without a pipe bender, you should understand what it is. According to experts, a product that has a rectangular, oval, hexagonal or square cross section can be considered profile. Unlike a pipe with a round cross-section, a profile one, due to the presence of faces that are used as stiffeners, has increased strength.
Thus, the profile is able to withstand significant bending loads. Such pipes are made of high and low alloy steel. Depending on the manufacturing method used, the profile pipes are electrically welded, cold or hot rolled and seamless. Products can have different profile heights and wall thickness. Judging by the reviews, not only garden greenhouses are made of profile pipes, but also arched structures, stairs and railings. If you do not know how to bend a profile pipe, you can use one of the methods, more on which later.
What is the complexity of the procedure?
How to bend a profile pipe for a greenhouse yourself? What should be done so as not to spoil the workpiece? Due to the fact that the product has a fairly high strength, it is possible to give it a curved-smooth configuration only under high pressure. Its indicator can be reduced if the selected area is subjected to heating. Nevertheless, many beginners experience several complications during the course of their work. For example, wrinkles may form on the inside of the profile. As a result, the product will resemble a corrugation. If bending was carried out correctly, then these folds will be evenly reduced. Technically, the bending procedure is carried out in two ways: only pressure or pressure with additional heating can be applied to the product. Thus, in the selected area, the inner part of the profile undergoes compression, and the external - under tension. How to bend a profile pipe for a greenhouse so that the workpiece remains intact? This interest is due to the fact that often the metal during tension cannot withstand the force. Another complication is that as a result of a change in shape, the profile, namely its fragments, loses alignment. As a result, after bending, parts of the pipe will be located in different planes. According to experts, this is possible if the method of bending is incorrectly selected.
What should be considered?
If you do not know how to bend the profile pipe yourself, you should consider some nuances. For example, you need to know about the plastic capabilities of the profile. To determine them, use parameters such as wall thickness, size and shape of the section. Knowing these values, they calculate the radius of a possible rounding. Bending a pipe with a smaller radius is undesirable. To determine the minimum radius, use the height of the section. Measure the height of the pipe, and then double the thickness of the profile wall is calculated from it.
According to experts, what kind of bend will be (full or partial) depends on the wall thickness. The thicker it is, the lower the likelihood that in the course of work the part will hesitate or a gap will form on its surface. This should be taken into account by those who are going to bend the profile pipe 20x40 mm with their own hands. Experienced craftsmen do not recommend trying this with wide metal products. In this case, it is better to use welding. In addition, you should know the value of resistance. This recommendation is due to the fact that low alloy and carbon alloys have a fairly high elasticity, and therefore, after bending, they can return to their previous shape. As a result, you will have to carry out the adjustment again using a pre-made template. According to experienced craftsmen, it is most convenient to work with profile pipes with the lowest value of plastic resistance.
About cold bending
This method is suitable if you are working with pipes with a small cross section, namely 10 x 10 mm, 10 x 20 mm. In addition, the profile wall thickness should not exceed 1.5 mm. To deform the product, you need the muscular strength of a home craftsman, which controls the state of the metal using a special template. This device measures the position of the pipe in horizontal and vertical planes.
About Preheating
If you bend a profile pipe yourself without a pipe bender for you is problematic, you can warm up the product using an oven, gas burner or blowtorch. The workpiece to be processed should turn red. When heated, the metal will become more ductile and supple, which will greatly facilitate the procedure itself. Now the pipe can be bent, depending on your chosen configuration. You need to heat the profile pipe exactly in the place where you are going to bend it. Those who decide to use a burner or lamp should be aware that if the metal is repeatedly heated strongly with its further cooling, it becomes brittle. In addition, the heated metal is predisposed to return to its original form. Therefore, you will have to keep the heated curved profile pipe energized until it cools completely.
Using internal content
Those who are interested in how to bend the profile pipe themselves without a pipe bender can recommend filling its internal cavity with sand, machine oil or water. In this case, the metal product is not deformed, the bend will be strong and even. Judging by the numerous reviews, due to the availability of the necessary materials, this method is quite simple and very effective. To bend a profile pipe with your own hands without a pipe bender, first of all, you need to make two wedges from wood, which will subsequently plug the cavity of the metal product. First, a wedge is driven into one end of the profile. Then the inside of the pipe is filled with sand. It is advisable to sift and dry it first. To prevent it from spilling out of the pipe, you need to plug its second end with a wooden wedge. After that, the desired area is heated and bent. At the end of the work, the wedges are removed and the sand poured out. For those who decided to bend the profile pipe for the greenhouse without the bender using water, experts recommend freezing it. This method is suitable in the cold season. It is only necessary to fill the workpiece with water, and then hold it on the street for some time until it freezes. Ice will not allow the product to be doubted by high pressure. In this case, wooden wedges will not work. A home craftsman will have to brew both ends of the profile.
About sector slicing
Those who do not know how to bend a profile pipe without a pipe bender can recommend using an angle grinder (grinder) equipped with a cutting disc. The essence of the procedure is to make several transverse triangular cuts (cuts) in a metal product. Having cut out the fragments from the profile, they are removed. After performing these steps, you can bend the profile pipe both at 90 degrees and at any other angle without any effort. Only then will you weld the edges of the slices with thin electrodes. The number of slots depends on the bending radius. The larger it is, the less slots will be needed. Mostly, you can limit yourself to only three. Judging by numerous reviews, this procedure is rather laborious, but the result is good: curvatures and deformations are not observed with this method of bending. At the very end, the area where they worked by welding is carefully sanded, so that the product looks quite aesthetically pleasing. Despite the fact that there are no folds on the surface and a decrease in strength at the bend point is not observed, sector cutting does not provide perfect roundness. The fact is that the place of the bend is represented by several straight sections that are located at an angle to each other.
Using spring
Often, beginners are interested in how to bend a profile pipe correctly so that it does not deform and does not burst. For this purpose, experts advise using a thin and long steel spring. It can be made of steel wire with a 2 mm cross section. In order for the product to move freely inside the pipe, it is necessary to bend the wire according to the shape of the profile so that each spring segment is smaller than the corresponding side. After the spring is ready, it is inserted into the profile, and a wire is tied to one of its ends. This measure is necessary so that at the end of the work you do not have difficulties with removing the spring from the profile. Next, the selected pipe section is heated and begins to bend. At the end of the work, experts do not recommend using water to cool the profile. Otherwise, cracks may appear on the surface of the product from sudden temperature changes. It is possible that in the future such a profile will burst. Judging by the numerous reviews, it is best to cool the profile pipe with used engine oil. For those who are interested in how to bend a profile pipe without a pipe bender, the following alternative methods can be recommended.
Forging
To perform bending, the master methodically delivers strong blows with a hammer on a selected section of the profile. Will have to work on the anvil with the top of a rounded shape. To prevent the workpiece from slipping, it is securely fixed with clamps. After completing the preparatory work, they begin to fester. When working with a heavy hammer, you need to be as careful as possible. The fact is that the product can flatten due to excessive efforts. Judging by the numerous reviews, it is best to manage a segment whose length does not exceed 1 meter.
According to the pattern
In this case, they work on a concrete, asphalt or tiled platform. Before bending the profile pipe without a pipe bender, the base should first be equipped with an arc contour. This is done with the help of reinforcing pins or thin steel pipes that drive a sledgehammer into the site. Next, the workpiece is fastened by welding to the first pin. Then it begins to bend gradually, welding to the next pins or pipes. After the elasticity of the profile pipe has become minimal, it can be removed from the base. Dismantle the welded workpiece using a grinder. Enough to simply cut the product. The disadvantage of this method is the low accuracy of bending. In addition, the master will have to make a lot of physical effort.
About rental under oppression
In order to generate the pressure necessary for bending the profile pipe, in this case you will have to use a vehicle. It is important that its wheels are lateral and without wings. First of all, a groove is made of steel in the concrete base, in which the workpiece will be located. The essence of this method is the methodical rolling of wheels on a profile pipe.
Using mandrel
This method is suitable for profile products with a wall height of not more than 25 mm. You will have to work with a special mandrel. Place it on a dimensional workbench. The main thing is that its surface is enough for such a device. The material for the mandrel will be a thick sheet of MDF or plywood. After the desired shape is cut, you will have to think about how you install it on the workbench. Experienced craftsmen at the edge of the table make several holes, through which one of their ends, the profile pipe will be attached to the surface. Therefore, the same holes must be made at the end of the workpiece. The mandrel is fixed to the workbench with two clamps. Having completed the preparatory work, they begin to bend the pipe. Experts recommend doing this smoothly and without jerking, gradually increasing the pressure force. It is better to work with several workpieces on a metal mandrel made of a corner.
What will experts advise?
If the pipe has a profile height of less than 10 mm, then filling it with sand, water or a spring is optional. Fillers are necessary in cases where the product is bent with a profile above 1 cm. If you do not know whether to use cold bending or hot, you need to test the metal product. According to experts, if there is a pipe bender, a cold one will do. If this device is not at hand, experienced craftsmen do the following. First of all, one end of the workpiece is tightly clamped in a vice, a pipe with a larger internal section is put on the second. Next, bending is attempted to be carried out manually. If the pipe from bending began to bend, then you can do without pre-heating. If you have any difficulties at this stage, then most likely you will have to heat the selected area on the workpiece. If this recommendation is neglected, then the profile pipe may flatten.
Those who decide to use sand as a filler should first sift it carefully. First, a sieve is used for this purpose, the cells of which have a diameter of not more than 2.5 mm. This procedure is necessary so that no gravel and small pebbles remain in the sand. After sand is passed through 0.7 mm cells. If you leave everything as it is, then due to the presence of dust inclusions during heating, the sand will sinter. Judging by the reviews, profile pipes with a large diameter are almost impossible to bend manually. In order not to waste your energy and not spoil the workpiece, it is best for you to purchase a special device, which is also called a pipe bender. This tool has a drive wheel that moves along the edge, bending the profile in the right direction. The pipe bender can be manual (the wheel is driven by a special handle) and electric.
In the latter case, the products, judging by the reviews, are much more even. In addition, time is saved. It is not necessary to buy a fixture if you do not plan to bend pipes professionally. The best tool to rent. If you have very little experience, then it is advisable not to take risks, but to use the services of specialists.