Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Where is a good place to find a tool for bending 1"x1" steel? I would like to bend it myself to save time and money.
Jason

I really don't think you'll save either. Once you shell out the money for the bender you'll most likely go through a few pieces of steel learning how to bend it correctly. That's one of those things that you'll save time and money on by paying someone who's been doing it a while.

Of course you could always do it the old fashioned way by bolting the wheel from an old car down to a table. Looking at your wheel as though it's a clock, put put two rods through the table (and this table needs to be solid wood at least 1.5" thick) at the 12 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions right outside your wheel. That'll bend steel, but there's a much better chance of crinking it up than using a bender.

You really need a three roller bender to bend square tubing with any consistency. A member here made a couple of steel framed trailers that he shows the build on his webpage here: http://saber.net/~sking/teardrop.htm You can see the bender they used.

I was going to build steel sides before I got indoctrinated by all the woodworkers here. I contacted a local sheetmetal fabrication shop and he knew a guy that had a bender who was willing to bend my side frames up for less than a bender would cost. You might want to call some of the fabrication shops around you. I'll bet you can find someone to work with you.

I've bent both round and square tubing doing it the old fashioned way - with a torch and using anything that offered the correct radius that I was looking for and would stand up to the heat. An old car wheel like Brian suggested works well but also, a section of an old piece of thick tubing does well too. If you have a curve that changes radius, you can cut your shape from scraps of hardwood such as white oak. It'll get scorched but you'll get your tube bent. I've built several dune buggies and even helped a friend build a roll cage for a dirt track car that he was going to race.

The trick to getting good bends without kinking or collapsing the tube is to fill the tube with clean dry silica sand. Then you tack weld a freeze plug on each end of the tube to keep the sand in place. The sand will prevent the tube from collapsing but it needs to be dry. If it's wet/moist, you'll get steam which may cause an explosion. Of course, it won't be a big one, but it could be enough to mess up your work.

Doesn't the sand turn to glass inside the tube? I thought it has a pretty low melting temperature (could be wrong).

Hi Jason,

The ring roller you see on our web page belongs to my brother-in-law. He has had it for seven or eight years. I think it cost him $700.00 when he got it back then. He now has a power ring roller thats much easier and faster.

If your going to go with the square tubing it would be much easier for you to go to a metal shop and have the rings rolled. If you can find a show that builds custom gates they most likely will have the equipment to do it.

Keith.

Thanks for the input everyone! looks like I'll be saving myself the effort and headin down to a steel shop. that's just more time I can spend on other things!
Jason