Copper Pipe - Bending?

[Sandy Beech]

Hi

I need to pull a few slow bends in 22 MM copper pipe and wondered if it would be easier if I were to anneal the pipe first in the chosen area? If I did this do I risk any problems? I have a correct spring from when I was younger and took more risks

Many thanks

 

[chrishutt]

Bending 22mm with an internal spring is hard, especially on the knees. Annealing will help, but you ought to consider the alternatives - investing in a bender (£50ish?) or using 45° bends.

 

[Paul Barker]

fill it with sand, aneal it and benmd it in the fork of a tree.

 

[pf_mills]

You can get a very reasonable pipe bender from Screwfix for £29 I bought one a couple of weeks ago and am having no problems with it.

As above I have also used 45Deg elbows..where bends would have been more difficult to get exact...with the price of copper dont want to waste too much copper!

 

[corgiman]

fill it with sand, aneal it and benmd it in the fork of a tree.

blimey charlie you'll be telling to heat it on a charcoal burner next

 

[kevplumb]

fill it with sand, aneal it and benmd it in the fork of a tree.

was how we used to do it son

 

[corgiman]

fill it with sand, aneal it and benmd it in the fork of a tree.

was how we used to do it son

back in the days when you used to turn up on jobs riding a diplodocus eh pappy

 

[solo]

So you carried a tree as part of your tool kit???

 

[bripl]

those were the days kev when men were men and sheep were worried,the modern eqv would be a lamppost for a tight bend or a parking bollard for a slow bend.personally i prefer to use the benders cheaper than gas.

 

[Nige F]

fill it with sand, aneal it and benmd it in the fork of a tree.

Done that @ a farm ..with galv. steel didn`t need to heat it .........ingenuity=poverty here in the stix

 

[ChrisR]

Sandy in answer to your question(!) yes hand bending is easier if you have heated the pipe up first. You can cool it quickly too - some people think it'll harden if you quench it but it won't.

Slightly over-bend the pipe then straighten it a bit to free it from the spring.

An external spring is nice to use - no need to remove small internal burrs, but won't go as tight.

 

[Sandy Beech]

Many Thanks guys