Bending square tubing??

Question

I am building a 3 foot wide wrought iron garden gate. I would like to bend some 1" 16 gauge tubing to go over the top of the gate. Any ideas how to do this at home without distorting the tubing or kinking it? I see gates all the time like this but unsure how they bend the tubing.

Answer 1

Dear Sir:

The gates you have seen were fabricated with a special
tool for bending square tube. The tool is build in such a
way that it compresses the sides of the square tubing
to create a dimple like crease in the sides and on the
inside edge (not sure about that edge). You did not
mention how you were going to join the sections of
tubing together - brazing, welding, nuts and bolts,
flat plate supports like a gusset...

If you are welding the gate together, and only making one of them, I would suggest that you contact local welders
and welding shops near you and see if one of them
can do the bending for you at low cost, then let you do
the rest.

Another possibility for fabrication of your gate might be to use a plate at the top and the bottom. Weld or braze the
various square tube sections as desired, in place, on the plate. I am thinking that the plates would be 3 feet long
and possibly four inches high. The plates would indeed
add weight to the project but they would also make the gate very strong, and give you a good base for the hinges.

Regards,
Zah

Answer 2

I think you could do it with a mandrel bender, but then you probably don't have that at your home. The next best attempt would be to be able to heat the tube red hot and trying to bend it while hot. This could allow the bend without too much distortion of the tube, but obviously you would need to be careful. You could also cut and weld the tube to the shape you want.