gjesion

I fill the tube with table salt then bend. Readily available and one can flush it out with water.

Regards,
Jerry

HighPlains

My Feedback: (1)

This has been a great thread! The cat is almost skinned.

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

I heat the tubing with a propane torch until I can see it "discolor"...turn a different shade from original, but definitely not red. Once it has naturally cooled off I can use a Dave Brown Products mandrel bender to form my bends.
I build my own fuel tanks for diesel powered projects out of tin and using this method works very well.
I am talking about bending either 1/8" or 3/32" brass tubing from K&S.

countilaw

All this heating, freezing, and filling with sand or salt seems to take up a lot of time. Why not just get out the bending springs, bend the tube and be done with it?

The thought of filling the tube with sand is a little frightening. All you would need is for one grain of sand to become unlodged on take off and become stuck inside the needle valve at the time of take off. I know the chances of this happening is slim, but is it worth the risk with a new plane? I think not.

Doesn't it seem a little more reasonable to spend $3.00 for a set of K & S tubing benders?

Seems a lot more reasonable than getting out a torch and lighter, a ban of water, or filling the tubes with water and putting them in the freezer and waiting for them to freeze.

But...... whatever floats your boat. I'll spend a couple of minutes just bending my fuel tubing and get on with the building and flying.

Frank

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

Or you could simply start using Hayes tanks and perhaps never have the need to bend brass or aluminium fuel tubing agine because its not used.

John

mooseflier

Not sure if it's been mentioned (sorry, lazy reader), but what I do is put a thick, 'soft' metal wire (like 10 or 12 gague cooper or alum) through the fuel lines before you start bending them. Then make your kinks alnong the line... then pull out the wire. Been using that technique for year without issues or leaks

editted to change 'likes' to 'ines'

JPMacG

My Feedback: (2)

If the OPs application is for fuel tanks then an alternative to brass is plastic tubing. Plastic tubing can be formed into bends using a heat gun. You can even form barbs on the ends with heat. And plastic doesn't corrode like brass. I use leftover bits of outer sleeve from Dubro throttle cable assemblies.

bikerbc

Du-Bro makes a set of tubing benders for small tubing 1/8" and 5/32" that work pretty good...You cant bend hard tubing, you need to anneal it first...I have the spring set too and I use them on the larger tubing but I dont find much use for them building my planes...The Du-Bro tool number is 785(A) and 786(B) They are sort of like pliers that the tubing fits into.. I really like them for fuel tubing ..They have a video demo on line , that might be worth a look

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

This is the Dubro tube bender that bikerbc is talking about and I agree it does work pretty good and it is reasonably inexpensive and far far better than the springs which present the problem of removing the tube from the spring if you bend the tube to much. That is a major problem with the springs, They are quite limited.

It is the tool at the bottom, the other one is the now discontinued Dubro Z bender. If you should ever run across one snag it fast it is a marvelous tool and much better than the heavy one they sell now which requires bolting to a bench.

Or as I indicated in my prior post and since I have have changed over almost entirely to Hayes tanks which use no brass, aluminium or plastic tubing that bender gets little or no use now for some years.

John


Whoops the RCU's providers are feeling cranky agine and don,t like my pictures - will add the pics when they are cooperating agine.

bruce88123

The Dubro benders make beautiful bends and very tight bends if needed. Only 2 sizes available but plenty for most fuel lines.