Square steel tube bending dies

[Roy]

Anyone have a pic of what the profile for them would be? I would be game to:
A: Adapt my Harbor Freight pipe bender to bend square tube.
B. Adapt the hosefield type Harbor Freight bender to bend steel tube.
C: Make a bending machine fromscratch.

I checked out Shop OUtfitters website but they do not really have a good image of square tube dies. I would like to go perhaps 180 but would be satsified with a good 90 deg bend in 1/2 thru 1" tube not heavier than 14 ga, most likely most would be 16 ga materials. The wife has me on this garden ornament making kick to justify her allowing me to buy my MIG machine so now I have to produce a few items every now and then off her ever growing list.

I assume round tube dies would merely be round dies with a radiused groove to accept the tube OD, but not quite sure on square tube. It does not matter if the sides of top and bottoms get drawn in / shrunk somewhat during the bending process.

I have been using a piece of pipe for a die in my homemade press brake and it works somewhat but leaves a lot to be desired. I would like a more uniform approach and more uniformity to the bends.

[James C]

I've seen people cut a bunch of slits or wedges on the inside radius before bending, and then weld them up and ground smooth. You'll get a pretty, uniform bend, but with more work.

Just an idea.

[Bryan]

From memory, they are basically a flat roller with a bead on the inner one (in the center) to collapse the inner faces into the section of the square, whereby giving somewhere for the excess material on the inner face to go... this way it is only the side faces that have to "bend"... the outer face will bow in a little as it resists stretching around the bend...
Look at the legs/frame on steel furniture to get an idea of what happens...

[Daniel.]

I have tube bending machine for sall. the machine is of type Schwarz & Wirtz C80..year of manufacture 1975.
if you are interssted please contackt me..
Daniel +46 737289725..
danielmatte94@hotmail.com

[shark]

hey roy I made a die for bending 1" square tube I can't do 180 degree Probly be hard to remove from die but it can be done i think i couyld make a die do thatI'll try to explain the die I t's just like a conduit bender I took a piece of 1" plate and cut out a bit more than a quatarof a circle around the eged i welded a piece of 1" C channle heat and bend it around weldit to the plate. then i took a piece of round bar i can't remember exact size it layed right in the C of the C channle probly 5/8 or 3/4 round bar this starts the bend it crushes the inside wall of the tube as the bend starts like bryan said. Then i welded sides on the !' plate to keep the sides of tubing from expanding. This die bolts to a machine my grandfather made for twisting fence pickits it will twist 3/4 inch solid bar cold it's a big worm drive gear box and 2horse motor . i made a cam switch I can set and it will bend the same bend every time 90's 45's not quite a cnc bender but it works I don't have any pics of it or none in the computer but if your near nashville your welcome to come see it Mark barnes nashville tn.