what is the most cost effective way to bend 1'' square aluminum tubing without kinking it?

Question

I bend 7/8 alum tube all the time with great success and with a bender I built myself. However recently I had a project that required 1'' square and I kept kinking the stuff and starting over. I ended up with about 1 outta 2. So if you know a tip or brand name of bender or................Cheapest solution that allows me to acomplish this at my shop gets 10 points.

Answer 1

Don't know how much bend or how tight the bend but square tube reacts entireky different than round. You need to build a die that is the same size as the outside of your square tube. three sided or u shaped. The tube must fit closely in it and it needs to have a radius like a pipe bender has. You can anchor one end of the tube as you would a round bender and bend your tubing gradually. Square tube must be supported on the inside and the two flat sides to keep it from wrinkling. If your bends are too sharp the sides will become concave.
Kind of difficult to explain but maybe you can get the picture.

http://www.thefabricator.com/TubePipeFabrication/TubePipeFabrication_Article.cfm?ID=23

Answer 2

The square shape is what's making it kink. I don't think you're going to have much luck with any method you use. Sorry, but bending square stock is not possible. If it was steel, you could heat it up, but aluminum doesn't give you that option.
If you're looking to make a sharp angle, the best thing you can do is weld 2 pieces together with aluminum welding equipment.
If you're trying to get a smooth curved angle, I think you're out of luck.
Let me know if you figure something out because I'd be interested in knowing myself.

Another option you might try is cutting 3 sides, bend the metal and then welding a piece in the place of the opening. It would be a little choppy, but I don't know what else you can do.

Answer 3

Fill it with sand and seal the ends. I've used this technique on round stainless steel, but the principle should hold using your normal bending operation.

White sand seemed to be the best.