First attempt at pipe bending...

[Razor900]

You might be seeing this Eco in a week or s @Razor900

Because someone cut the wire off?

 

[Dan Robinson]

Bloody Dutch won't listen will they?

I am sure I can, stretch to a bit of 5 core though.

 

[sbgasman]

it won't help that a lot of the cheap copper pipe these days has pretty thin wall

 

[RobTi]

Try lubricating the guide and wheel, it stops the copper catching

 

[dilalio]

Had to break out my benders this afternoon.

Ooh! Is your wrist OK?
Not that one... The other one

 

[bobasd]

for a first few tries thats great. ripples wont big time affect the function of the pipe unless thers a high pressure flow. so your bends should work OK in your house.
disregardin bad copper pipe,maybe your not gettin just the right amount of tension on the former.
keep the tension even all through the movement to make the bend.

for what its worth, we learned to hand bend with springs without using our knees - i never tried that again. except for droppin a spring down fixed pipes and long stubs, i always used a machine.

 

[Nige F]

Try lubricating the guide and wheel, it stops the copper catching

Or polish guide and former with steel wool.

 

[endecotp]

Thanks for the comments everyone. No I haven’t left the spring in

It’s interesting to read the reviews on the Screwfix site:
https://www.screwfix.com/p/heavydutypipebender/18255
Of course there are plenty of 5-star reviews, but a couple of people complain that the grooves are slightly the wrong size resulting in bad bends. I don’t think that’s my problem; the pipe seems to be a good snug fit.

I suspect RobTI and/or Nige F above are right; the wheel is finished with a somewhat rough coating. I guess I’ll try adding lubrication first, then maybe try to polish the wheel if that helps.
Do “quality” benders have smooth (polished) grooves in the wheels?

While it would be lovely to have beautiful pipes like Dan’s, this is going to be hidden under a floor so I’m only really worried about whether these ripples will weaken the pipe significantly. Does anyone think that’s an issue?

 

[Dan Robinson]

Does anyone think that’s an issue?

I wouldn't leave that on a customer's job, hidden or otherwise.

 

[Nige F]

T
I suspect RobTI and/or Nige F above are right; the wheel is finished with a somewhat rough coating. I guess I’ll try adding lubrication first, then maybe try to polish the wheel if that helps.
Do “quality” benders have smooth (polished) grooves in the wheels?

Lube the bearing the wheel runs on and polish the bit the pipe lays in and the long loose aluminium bit that goes over the pipe i.e The surfaces that contact the pipe - not the wheel

 

[endecotp]

Lube the bearing the wheel runs on and polish the bit the pipe lays in and the long loose aluminium bit that goes over the pipe i.e The surfaces that contact the pipe - not the wheel

Yes, sorry, when I said “wheel” I meant the curved “bit the pipe lays in”.

It will be a few days before I come back to this but I will update the thread.

 

[endecotp]

Had a quick go with some oil applied to all the surfaces in contact with the pipe and it is a bit better, but still far from perfect

 

[dilalio]

Had a quick go with some oil applied to all the surfaces in contact with the pipe and it is a bit better, but still far from perfect

Are we still talking about bending copper... Or something discussed on "other" forums?

 

[oilboffin]

It's a crap bender get a record built for proper work.Bob