How To Make Rectangle Tube Bends WITHOUT a Bender in ANY Size + Radius!!

Summary

In this video, the host demonstrates how to create a rectangle tube bend using a DIY approach, perfect for custom fabrication projects. Despite the challenging 'hard way' method, the tutorial shows a step-by-step process of bending hollow structural steel into a tube donut. The host uses spacers and a welding tank to achieve the bend, emphasizing the importance of smooth cuts and consistent welding for a professional finish. The result is a reusable template for creating custom tube bends, showcasing creativity and resourcefulness in metalworking.

Takeaways

• 🎥 The video is a premiere of 'Metal Reborn' at a twilight drive-in, which has been a huge success despite the weather.
• 🌐 'Metal Reborn' is also available online for viewing at metalreborn.com.
• 🔩 The video tutorial focuses on making a rectangle tube bend the 'hard way', which involves more material to bend compared to the 'easy way'.
• 🛠️ The presenter demonstrates how to create a tube donut using welding techniques to bend rectangle tubing.
• 👷‍♂️ The motivation for the video is to explain how the floor bracing for a model 8 was made, which required custom bending of rectangle tubing.
• 🛠️ The process involves creating spacers to hold materials at the right height for bending.
• 💡 A welding tank is suggested as an alternative to a roller for bending flat bar into circles, showing creativity in the absence of specialized tools.
• 🔨 The importance of smooth cutting with a plasma cutter is emphasized to minimize slag and ensure a nice, clean circle.
• 🔩 Clamping and spacers are crucial for accurate assembly of the rectangle tube.
• 🔥 Welding is done using a small 110 welder, demonstrating that it's possible to achieve quality results with basic equipment.
• ✂️ After welding, the tube is cut and ground to create a smooth, finished tube bend that can be used for various structures.

Q & A

What is the event being discussed in the script?

The event being discussed is the premiere of 'Metal Reborn' at a drive-in theater.

What is the website mentioned for checking out 'Metal Reborn' online?

The website mentioned is metalreborn.com.

What is the purpose of the video tutorial in the script?

The purpose of the video tutorial is to teach viewers how to make a rectangle tube bend using a homemade method.

What is referred to as 'the hard way' in the context of bending rectangle tubing?

Bending rectangle tubing in a direction that requires more material to bend is referred to as 'the hard way'.

What is a 'tube donut' as mentioned in the script?

A 'tube donut' is a term used in the script to describe a circular shape made from bending a rectangle tube, which can be cut into various angles for different structures.

What is the motivation behind creating the tube donut as explained in the script?

The motivation is to replicate the floor bracing for the model 8, which requires bent 1x2 rectangle tubing.

What is the significance of the welding tank in the script?

The welding tank is used as a substitute for a roller to help bend flat bar into a circle without specialized equipment.

What is the importance of being smooth when using a plasma cutter as mentioned in the script?

Being smooth with a plasma cutter is important to achieve a nice, clean cut with less slag and easier cleanup.

What technique does the script suggest for welding corner joints?

The script suggests using the whip and pause welding technique for corner joints, which involves welding on the corner edge to create a radius on the weld.

What is the reason for leaving a gap when cutting the sizes for the weld?

Leaving a gap is important for structural welds to ensure that the joint can be filled with weld material effectively.

What are the steps involved in grinding the weld after it has been made?

The steps include grinding the flats, grinding the corner at a 45-degree angle, and then rounding it out to be consistent all the way around.

Outlines

00:00

🎥 Premiere of 'Metal Reborn' and Introduction to Tube Bending

The speaker begins by greeting the audience and informing them about the premiere of 'Metal Reborn' at a drive-in theater, which has been a success despite bad weather. The video is also available online. The speaker then references a previous video on making circles with a plasma cutter and introduces the topic of the current video: making a rectangle tube bend the 'hard way'. The hard way refers to bending the tube in a direction that requires more effort due to the shape of the rectangle tubing. The goal is to create a tube donut that can be used as a template for various structures. The speaker also mentions the motivation behind this video, which is to explain how they made the floor bracing for a model 8 using this technique.

05:01

🛠️ Preparing for the Rectangle Tube Bend

The speaker describes the process of preparing to bend the rectangle tubing. They plan to weld spacers onto all four sides of the tube to create a donut shape. The spacers are made from three-quarter-inch square bar and are used to hold the tube at the correct height for bending. The speaker emphasizes the importance of being smooth when cutting circles with a plasma cutter to minimize slag and ensure a clean cut. They also discuss the use of a welding tank as an alternative to a roller for bending the flat bar into a circle.

10:15

🔨 Assembling the Tube Bend Structure

The speaker demonstrates how to assemble the tube bend structure using the spacers and clamps. They aim to create a 1x2 rectangle tubing dimension using 10-gauge material. The spacers are placed to ensure the tube is bent into a circle with the correct dimensions. The speaker also discusses the importance of accuracy in the assembly and the use of a square to ensure the pieces are aligned properly. They mention the need to leave a corner joint for welding, which will result in a stronger structure.

15:15

💥 Welding the Tube Bend

The speaker proceeds to weld the tube bend, starting with tack welding at various points around the structure. They emphasize the importance of keeping the clamps on during welding to minimize distortion from the heat. The welding is done using a small 110 welder, and the speaker uses the whip and pause technique to ensure a clean and strong weld. After welding, they remove the clamps and spacers and prepare to cut a piece out of the 'donut' to create the final tube bend.

20:41

🛋️ Completing the Tube Bend and Final Thoughts

The speaker completes the tube bend by cutting out a section of the donut and finishing the weld on the inside. They use a die grinder with a drum sanding wheel to create a smooth radius on the inside of the bend. The speaker reflects on the process, noting that while it is time-consuming, the result is a reusable template that can simplify future fabrication projects. They encourage viewers to watch the video and try the technique for themselves. The speaker also promotes the online availability of 'Metal Reborn' and other related content creators.

Keywords

💡Plasma cutter

A plasma cutter is a tool that uses a stream of hot ionized gas to cut through electrically conductive materials. In the video, the plasma cutter is used to create a circle tool for making round shapes, showcasing its precision in cutting metal for custom fabrication projects.

💡Rectangle tube bend

A rectangle tube bend refers to the process of shaping a rectangular metal tube into a curved form. The video discusses two methods of bending: the 'easy way' and the 'hard way', emphasizing the challenges and techniques involved in bending metal tubes for structural applications.

💡HSS

HSS stands for Hollow Structural Steel, a type of metal tubing that is hollow and used for structural purposes. The video mentions bending HSS, specifically rectangular tubing, to highlight the material's use in creating custom metal structures.

💡Spacers

Spacers are used to maintain a specific distance between parts. In the context of the video, they are clamped between metal pieces to ensure consistent spacing during the bending process, which is crucial for achieving the desired shape and size of the tube bend.

💡Welding tank

A welding tank is repurposed in the video to help bend flat bar into a circular shape, demonstrating the creative use of available resources when specialized equipment like a roller is not available. This showcases the DIY approach to metalworking.

💡Tack welding

Tack welding is a process where small welds are made at intervals to hold parts of a project together temporarily. The video describes using tack welding to hold the metal pieces in place while creating the tube donut, which is essential for maintaining the shape during the bending process.

💡Whip and pause welding technique

The whip and pause welding technique is a method of welding where the welder moves the torch along the joint and then pauses to allow the weld pool to freeze before continuing. This technique is mentioned in the video as a way to create a smooth and strong weld on corner joints.

💡Milling scale

Milling scale is the oxidized layer that forms on metal surfaces during the milling process. The video emphasizes the importance of removing mill scale before welding to ensure a clean and strong weld, as it can affect the weld quality.

💡C-clamps

C-clamps are a type of clamp used to hold objects tightly together. In the video, C-clamps are used to secure the metal pieces with spacers in place while bending the tube, illustrating their utility in metalworking for precise assembly.

💡Die grinder

A die grinder is a power tool used for grinding, sanding, and polishing. The video discusses using a die grinder with different grit discs to refine the welds and create a smooth finish on the metal tube bend, highlighting its importance in the finishing process.

💡Cubatron discs

Cubatron discs are a brand of abrasive discs used for grinding and finishing metal. The video recommends these discs for their durability and performance, noting that they last longer and provide a superior finish compared to other options.

Highlights

Premiere of 'Metal Reborn' at a drive-in theater was a huge success despite bad weather.

The film 'Metal Reborn' is now available online at metalreborn.com.

Introduction to a tutorial on making a circle tool with a plasma cutter.

Explanation of the 'easy way' and 'hard way' to bend rectangle tubing.

The motivation behind creating a video on making floor bracing for a model 8.

Demonstration on how to make a tube donut for cutting up and using in various structures.

Use of welding spacers to hold materials at the right height for bending.

Innovative use of a welding tank to bend flat bar without a roller.

Importance of smooth operation when using a plasma cutter to avoid slag.

Cleaning mill scale and slag off the metal before welding for better results.

Clamping and spacing the materials to create a 1x2 rectangle tubing.

Bending the flat bar into a circle shape with the help of a hammer.

Using a small 110 welder for precision welding of the tube donut.

Technique of welding on the corner edge for a smoother finish.

Cutting a piece of the pie from the tube donut for further processing.

Grinding the weld with different grits for a smooth and consistent finish.

Using a die grinder with a drum sanding wheel to achieve a nice radius on the inside of the tube.

Completion of the tube bend and its application in fabricating floor inner structures.

Promotion of 'Metal Reborn' being available online for free and other related YouTube channels.

Transcripts

hey guys

what's up

[Music]

how's it going

so here we are at the premiere of metal

reborn on the big screen twilight

drive-in it's turned out to be a huge

success there's tons of people coming

out despite our bc weather

now it's available online for you guys

to check out right here on

metalreborn.com

welcome back to make custom everybody

you may or may not have seen one of our

previous videos on making circles with

the plasma cutter if you have not go

check it out i teach you how to make a

circle tool so that you can make stuff

like this so what these are and what

this video is about is how to make a

rectangle tube bend the hard way what i

mean by the hard way you may not know

that reference if you're bending hss

hollow structural steel like rectangle

tubing there's an easy way and a hard

way the easy way is pretend this is

rectangle tubing if you were to bend it

this way

like this that would be the easy way

it's got uh you know less material to

bend if you were to bend it like this

that would be the hard way

what i'm gonna do today is show you how

to make a tube donut that you can cut up

and use the radiuses to make

whatever structure you want to make and

the motivation behind me making this

video is a couple of people asking about

how i made the floor bracing for the

model 8. now christina hopefully you can

find a couple clips to put in there for

the floor bracing and the model a it's

got nice bent 1x2 rectangle tubing for

the floor bracing makes it look really

nice i did the exact same thing what i'm

doing today to make that i had to make

my own rectangle tube bend that i could

cut up as if it were an exhaust tube

bend so that i could make that floor

structure here are the donuts that we're

gonna make this tube bend out of

basically what we're gonna do is we're

gonna weld these on all four sides it's

a lot of welding and a lot of finishing

but if you do it nicely it's so so worth

it in order to kind of make this happen

without it going uh in a weird direction

i'm going to make a bunch of spacers to

clamp in between these two to hold them

at the right height so that we can bend

some flat bar and make our circles all

the way around you might be wondering

what the hell that tank is that tank is

going to help us bend

our flat bar because not everybody has a

roller i've got a roller back there that

i could

just feed this through it'd make a nice

little ring and you guys would all be

like oh well i don't have a roller well

you don't need one no excuses you can

just use a welding tank or anything it

doesn't matter there's always a way to

figure it out so i'm going to cut a

bunch of these pieces of three quarter

inch this is just something from the

scrap bin three quarter inch square bar

i'm gonna just put a few pieces

in there that we can clamp in

and clamp this thing together while we

wrap it tack it weld it

make it happen come along

[Applause]

we've got some spacers cut here i'm just

going to clean up the edges deburr them

a little bit

[Music]

now these came fresh off the circle

cutter you know i just want to reiterate

when you are circle cutting with that

type of a cutter you have to be as

smooth as you can be you saw me i kind

of like started here i started with

myself turned over and kind of worked my

way around it's important that you can

do a full sweep without having to be

jerky and stop that way you get a nice

smooth

circle out of there also less slag if

you're nice and consistent with a plasma

cutter you don't get as much slag it's

the same thing with a torch it's funny

when you see somebody torch with

oxyacetylene and you get all that

terrible slag well if it's held in like

a cnc or if you're really really smooth

with it that slag falls off same deal

here so less lag less cleanup try and be

smooth i'm just gonna clean these up and

get the mill scale and slag off there

isn't much slag but when you're tig

welding mill scale like this brown stuff

that can affect your weld i'm not saying

that you have to tig weld this stuff

it's just nice when everything's clean

[Music]

okay so now we can start clamping these

pieces

together spaced apart now i'm trying to

make 1 by 2

rectangle tubing or as close as i can

get to it so this is 1 8 material it's

actually a tiny bit thicker than 1 8

it's 10 gauge but it's fine for what

we're gonna be using this for

demonstration so i'm gonna put these

three quarter inch blocks three quarter

inch plus one eighth plus one eighth one

inch these are inch and three quarter

wide so that plus one eighth plus one

eighth will be two inches so we're gonna

go two inches this way one inch this way

and that is a rectangle tube this is the

hss tubing that we would be using with

something like this so it's one inch

here two inch there and uh if you were

gonna make bracing with this type of

material it's a great size that's why

we're making the bend now i need to

clamp this all together

okay we've got our spacers in place

kind of like that

i'm going to start clamping

you're going to want this to be pretty

accurate so i leave the clamps just just

a little bit snug so that we can kind of

tap around with a hammer after make sure

that we're as perfect as we can be

so just a little snug this will be a

little bit easier on us

put the c-clamps on the inside

and we'll do the outside first

[Applause]

so using a square i'm gonna

line these up you can see

how we're not quite there yet

we're gonna have to move it over a

little bit so i'm gonna

make sure these are loose

check it in a couple of spots

and i think that's pretty good

so we're squared up top and bottom

now i'm gonna bust some of the slag off

of this piece

i didn't have enough flat bar

i got most of it

quick grind on this piece of flat bar

here okay so i'm just going to bend this

thing around here

it's a little bit tighter of a curve

than we really need but we should be

able to spring it back a little bit

and use a hammer just to try and get

some of these flat spots out of it as

well

okay

we are getting pretty close

to what we want to see

this little flat spot here

a little tight spot there

i'm just finagling it a little bit

trying to get as close to a circle as we

can get and then the rest of it will be

able to just kind of clamp and and tweak

and and work as we go around this circle

there is a little bit of overlap here i

will have to cut off

but for the most part it's pretty good

i'm trying to leave

a bit of a gap not so much a gap but a

corner joint for the weld i think it's

important especially if it's going to be

something structural like you want to be

able to fill that up

with weld that's why i've cut the sizes

that i've cut this is three-quarter

these are an inch overall

and an eighth of an inch on each joint

there so that is why i've left that

corner joint it's just a way stronger

well

all right i'm gonna bust out bust out

the baby welder today

this is just a little 110 welder i'm not

using big guns on this

jacked it all the way up for this

thickness material you can

you can jack a 110 welder all the way up

for it so i'm going to pick a spot where

i think

it looks really good

as far as

fit i mean quite a bit of it does look

pretty good

i'm gonna double check

square on here

i mean that looks that looks pretty good

it's fitting nice and tight

nice and square

we've got attack down there we're going

to attack

right there

[Music]

all right so we made it

most of the way around there i'm just

going to trim off the end of the circle

here

now we should be able to

close that up

just like that

[Applause]

[Music]

right

uh actually

getting ahead of myself

i want to leave the clamps on

while we weld it

reason being

is that that heat from welding is going

to want to start doing stuff

and the least amount of stuff it does

the least amount of mess up it'll be

if that makes sense okay i'm going to

i'm going to attack a few more spots

then i'm going to do a grind and then

we're just going to weld the crap out of

it so let's tap a few more spots here

[Music]

let's weld it

[Music]

[Music]

all right we're all done welding have a

look at that i welded right on the

corner edge just like i said

this is the whip and pause welding

technique that i have talked about

before in a couple of the other videos i

like doing open root corner joints like

that it's

nice to have a radius already on the

weld it seems like there's a little bit

less grinding that way but that's with

meg you could take it and it'd be the

same thing so what i'm going to do now

i'm going to unclamp it i'm going to

take out our little spacers that are

everywhere since we don't really need

those anymore and then we are going to

cut a piece of the pie so to speak i'm

not going to actually weld in the inside

of the donut now the reason being is

that it's just really difficult to grind

that quite nicely so what i like to do

when i'm making these is leave it where

it's at i'm going to grind these edges

nice and then we're going to cut the pie

as if we're going to use a chunk of it

and then i'll show you how to put in the

inside piece finish it off and

we'll have our finished tube bend

ooh this thing's hot still atsui

means it's hot isn't it in japanese one

of the four things i remember how to say

these might be in there pretty good so

we can pry them out of there have too

much trouble

they're

they're really in there

they don't want to come out when i cut

it open i guess i'll get those out of

there it'll be easier

okay i'm going to grind it up just use a

3-inch ankle die grinder i know a lot of

people are asking me like what's what

kind of die grinder do you use

like the cheapest one ever harbor

freight in america or princess auto here

these are just the cheap ones that you

can get there i love them i mean i use i

run my compressor pretty hot like not at

90 psi i run it at like 110

so kind of any grinder is gonna work

really good at 110 psi so i just buy the

cheap one our princess auto i don't know

about harbor freight but if you break a

tool that you bought at princess auto

and you go back and be like i broke this

they're like here you go here's a brand

new one bye you know i don't know why

they do that but they do so and i never

really break them so that's what i use

as long as you keep them oiled they're

fine

speaking of which there's a couple of

drips to this guy got a lot of grinding

ahead of it today if you're looking for

good discs these are the ones i use

these are called cubatron discs they're

from 3m this is not a paid advertisement

i'm just telling you what i use they are

the best disc i have ever used period

nothing has touched them yet if you have

discs that you sell send me some i'll

try them out against these

good luck because these are the sharpest

discs ever they're very expensive they

only come 15 in a box i think they last

about three times longer than pretty

much anything else so if you're looking

for good discs they're expensive

but you get more than you pay for i'm

going to go at it with 36 grit to cut

the weld down

then 80 grit and then we'll give it a da

just real quick the way i like to grind

stuff like this that kind of matters too

so i figured out i'll just quickly

explain it i'm going to grind really

flat

get the edge of the weld off until it's

flat like like i've done there and i

stop right there you don't want to go

any farther than that and then i'm going

to grind the outside same thing right

till i hit the parent metal and then i'm

going to grind on a 45 all the way

around and you can see

really how consistent you're being nice

camera work there i saw that pan out

nice

you can see how totally consistent

you're being so you grind the top grind

the side then you've got almost a 90

degree angle and then you can grind that

on a 45 and you can really see how wide

your 45 degree grind is and make sure

that that's even all the way around

that's how you know that it's even i

think that some guys overlook explaining

that because it took me a while to

really kind of get that down like those

little things kind of help when when

you're doing stuff like this for your

end product so

grind the flats grind the corner and

then start rounding it out be as

consistent as you can be

[Music]

okay so i just wanted to show you what

it looks like

after i faced this side i faced all the

way around the edge stop as soon as you

get to the parent metal and by the

parent metal i just mean whatever the

weld is touching it's kind of a term and

then i went 45 degrees on here

and to make this consistent i just kind

of eyeballed how wide my 45 degree is

and tried to be as consistent as i could

all the way around

that way you've got a good starting

point for radiusing an edge like the

reason i say this is because i want a

consistent radius all the way around

like there's a consistent radius on this

tubing here that we're trying to mate up

to the next step is that i'm going to

change this to an 80 grit roll lock

that one right there and i'm going to do

the same thing but i'm going to go on

instead of a 45 degree angle i'm going

to do you know 22 and a half and then

whatever that one is and trying to be

consistent all the way around and that's

going to get us our radius so that it's

easier to blend just

be consistent with your grinding it's

kind of the key thing here

[Music]

okay we're all done grinding

we're still not done yet though i'm

gonna chop a chunk out of here and then

we're gonna finish the bottom and grind

that out and then we'll be done okay i'm

gonna chop it

here's a little tip

i don't know whether or not this is

going to pop in or pop out because now

we put a ton of weld into this piece if

you're using a zip cut and you've got it

all the way in there it could bite if

this thing goes and clicks in as soon as

you break through it could break a disc

so i know i've got a guard on there but

why let it jam right it could jam so i'm

going to finish it with a hacksaw

[Applause]

okay it popped out so it probably

wouldn't have bit our disc but could

have gone the other way

so i'm just gonna peel off approximately

a 90 out of it

[Music]

pop your spacer out okay now i'm going

to use this flat bar

a chunk of steel

don't ask me where i got this thing but

whenever i see

heavy hunks of different shapes for

stuff like this i just grab them and i

stick them in my dolly bin you never

know when you're gonna need it

let's see we're getting pretty close

okay i think we're just about there

yep

perfect

there it is

she's all closed up

it's a lot easier to

fit and weld that piece in if you

already cut your bend

so uh once again

with the pause technique when the joint

and the heat are perfect

you know you're filling just as much

material as uh as you need not too much

not too little so

that's hot it's easy to grind it off so

i'm going to grind that all up to grind

that inside area i'm going to use a die

grinder with a drum sanding wheel on it

that's going to help me kind of get that

nice radius in there and then we'll

finish it off with this and we're done

[Applause]

[Applause]

[Music]

cheers

[Music]

[Music]

all right here we are we're done there

is the tube bend this is what this is

all kind of working up to be

here is our piece of tubing check that

out that's what it's for

this donut you can cut whatever angle

you want finish the bottom edge

and then you can make your own

tube bends like that

so i hope you guys like this video this

is a technique that i've used a couple

of times it seems like it's a lot of

work but when you really think about it

yeah it took it took a few hours to make

this piece but

this one donut is enough pieces to do

the whole floor of that model a i

actually used up the whole 360 degrees

making the cross members in there so you

mean worse comes the worst that there's

a few hours and then it made your life

easier and more beautiful when you're

fabricating your floor inner structure

hopefully you guys like this tip thanks

for watching make it custom i just want

to say that metal reborn is now online

it's free for everybody to check out so

go to metalreborn.com speedline

filmworks they've got a youtube channel

as well check them out also bellows

customs they've got a 39 lincoln zephyr

three window coupe that's chopped and

it's deadly they've also built a ton of

sleds he's got a youtube channel bellows

customs there's this wicked time lapse

of him chop and i think it's a 37 ford

500 coupe just to kill our youtube

channel check him out i'm sure you'll

love it thanks a lot everybody don't

forget to like click subscribe hit

notifications and we'll see you on the

next video thanks a lot for watching

everybody

[Music]

you