How to make a copper pipe bend. Pipe bender for copper pipes: types, do-it-yourself manufacturing. Work with profiled metal pipes

During the plumbing work often there is a need to bend pipes. Depending on the material of manufacture, the methods of how to do this will also differ. In particular, it is worth noting that it is quite difficult to bend the pipe evenly and without creases in the walls, especially when it comes to pipes made of copper. This material has good performance and is often used in plumbing work, so it's worth knowing how to bend a copper pipe.

Work options

It should be said right away that there are several options for carrying out work. Each of them has certain nuances, and therefore it is necessary to consider each of them separately.

Spring

The use of a spring can be mentioned as one of the main ways to bend a copper pipe.

  • First you need to choose a steel spring that matches the diameter of the pipe intended for bending. It must be added that only a spring with a thick core and frequent turns is suitable for these purposes, otherwise the effectiveness of its use will be low.
  • This spring must be placed inside the pipe. Well, if the length of the spring will correspond to the length of the bent pipe. However, this is rare. Basically, you have to bend a section of the pipe, which is quite remote from the end. Therefore, so that after bending the spring can be removed, a piece of steel wire of the appropriate length can be wound to it.
  • After placing the spring inside the pipe, the desired section of it must be heated. For heating, you can use a gas burner or a simple blowtorch. In doing so, care must be taken. As soon as the color of the pipe begins to change, you can start trying to bend it. When the temperature reaches required level, the pipe will bend easily.

  • Next, the pipe is bent to the desired angle and left in this position until it cools. As a kind of template for bending, you can use, for example, the old car disc from which the tire and chamber were removed. If you need to bend the pipe more than the disk radius allows, then you can take a steel pipe of the appropriate diameter as a blank.
  • When the pipe has cooled and takes its final shape, you need to pull the spring out. This work can be considered completed.

Sand

Another way to bend a copper pipe without a pipe bender involves the use of sand.

  • First you need to prepare a sufficient amount of clean sifted sand.
  • The pipe must be filled with this sand. To do this, a wooden cork is driven in from one of the ends of the pipe, sand is poured into the pipe, after which the second end is also plugged with a cork.
  • Next, the section to be bent is heated to the desired temperature and bent. After that, the pipe is left to cool.
  • Then wooden plugs are removed from the ends of the pipe and the sand is poured out.

The described method is simple and accessible, while the result is quite acceptable.

Manual pipe bender

It must be added that the methods described for how to bend pipes are suitable in the absence of devices intended for this. Here we mean pipe benders. These devices are the most various designs. One of the most affordable to use is a mechanical manual pipe bender. To bend the pipe with it to the desired angle, special interchangeable nozzles are used. They usually have the shape of a semicircle, the outer radius of which corresponds to the radius of the intended bend.

Pipe bending can also be done with a hydraulic pipe bender. The principle of its operation is not much different from the principle of operation of a manual pipe bender, and the only difference is that the mechanism is driven by hydraulics. By the way, you can find both pipe benders, which only increase the muscular strength of a person with the help of hydraulics, and fully mechanized devices that run on electricity. They also have interchangeable tips that determine the bending radius.

For best understanding process, you can watch the video. The pipe is bent into a spiral or we are talking about a slight bend - it does not matter. If care is taken and all stages of work are carried out in accordance with the rules, then the result will meet expectations.

There are many options for how to bend a copper pipe at home. You need to choose a specific method individually. If there is no constraint in means, then the best option there will be a purchase of a pipe bender. Manual models are relatively inexpensive, but at the same time they are able to solve the necessary tasks.

Video

This video shows the process of mounting and bending copper pipes.

Copper products are in great demand in the field of housing and communal services, namely - in the arrangement of water supply and heating networks, as well as - in the conduct of various repair work. Copper pipes are integral components of the heating system when installing underfloor heating. The popularity of this chemical element due to its excellent characteristics: strength, flexibility and resistance to corrosion. And since copper products are stacked mainly at a certain angle, the information is how to bend copper tube at home - for many it will be very useful.

Spring to help

For this procedure, regardless of the bending method, you will need heating tool. Therefore, work must be carried out on fresh air or in a well ventilated area. Great option will become a yard or garage with open gates.

There are several ways to bend at home, but they all differ in the level of complexity, the price of materials and the use of specialized equipment.

The most common method is to bend a copper tube with a steel spring, which must necessarily consist of frequent turns and a thick core, and its diameter would be smaller than that of the tube. This condition is necessary so that the spring easily enters the product. Most best option when the lengths of the products are approximately equal. In the case of a short spring, a piece of wire is required, which is attached to it, and then all together is easily removed.


Many do not know how to bend a copper tube of small diameters. In this case, the size of the spring must exceed the diameter of the pipe that will fit inside it.

Next, the workpiece is heated using a heating device. For these purposes, a gas heater or a blowtorch is suitable. By changing the color of the pipe, you can understand that it is heated quite well and has become plastic. Now you can easily give the copper tube any shape and you can leave it to cool.

Do not forget that it is possible to remove the spring from the pipe only after the final cooling.

You can bend pipes using sand

The next method - how to bend a copper pipe at home - is quite simple, because. no steel springs or specialized devices are needed. The actions are the simplest - heat the tube and bend.

But in order to avoid deformation of the copper product due to its increased flexibility it is better to use the useful advice of experts:

  1. Prepare a support surface, a heating device, a couple of pieces of wood with diameters corresponding to the size of the future pipe, and sand.
  2. Construction material, in order to avoid deformation when bending copper tubes, it must be dry, sifted, river, without bulk components.
  3. Plug one edge of the workpiece with a wood cork, fill the hollow space with sand, repeatedly shaking the pipe for more uniform filling.
  4. Plug the other end of the tube with the remaining cork.
  5. Then heat up and, leaning on a solid base to avoid tearing the walls of the product, gently bend.
  6. Do not overheat the pipe due to the pressure of the sand on its walls.
  7. When the product has taken the appropriate shape, it must be lowered into cold water.
  8. After the final cooling of the copper pipe, remove the plugs, pour out the sand.
  9. It is advisable to blow ready product to remove debris.

Pipe bender application

Consider another way - how to bend a copper tube without applying any additional effort. A reliable assistant in this matter will be a special device - a pipe bender, thanks to which you can save time, speed up and facilitate the bending procedure itself.

What is this device? This is a mobile tool that bends a pipe according to a given parameter, fixing one end of the pipe and moving the other. And the bending point is always in a stable position.


All pipe benders, according to the principle of operation, are classified into:

  1. Lever (manual), including a pair of levers with a shoe and a bending template. To set the desired angle, it is necessary to take a guide to the signs on the surface of the levers. Then fix the workpiece in the bracket, match the zeros and do the main work. Using this pipe bender, you can bend the pipe at almost a 180̊ angle at home.
  2. Hydraulic related devices professional level and bend the tube much faster than the previous ones. Thanks to hydraulic principle pipe bender, you do not have to strain too much.
  3. Electrical, which are used in industrial production or business. With the help of such devices, it is quite possible to fulfill a serial order. Electric pipe benders are powered by an electric drive and are very similar to manual counterparts. The tubular product is placed in a bracket and bent according to the parameters specified by special segments.

Having understood the topic - how to bend a copper pipe, you still have to choose the right equipment in accordance with the parameters of the workpiece to be bent. For example, a manual pipe bender, a spring or sand will come in handy when bending a product of small length and diameter. But only hydraulic and electric tools can change the profile of a large workpiece.

How to bend a copper pipe using a spiral method

Sometimes pipe bending in the usual way fails due to non-standard settings, such as square instead of cylindrical shape blanks. To understand how to bend a copper pipe in this case, you first need to purchase a rubber mallet and a pair of supports. Then fill the cavity of the tube with sand or fill it with ice (in winter); install the product with the ends on the supports; heat the place of the fold; using a mallet to give it the appropriate shape.

Often, craftsmen have to bend a copper pipe into a spiral on order.


This will require:

  1. Fire the workpiece for more flexibility.
  2. Let cool completely.
  3. Pour sand into the pipe or freeze water there.
  4. Bend the product with your hands or with a blowtorch, which will greatly speed up and facilitate the bending process.

When bending a copper pipe, you can use a cylindrical support, and then the spiral will turn out to be perfectly even.

As you can see, there are many methods for bending copper pipes. But no matter which one you choose, you must strictly adhere to the basic rules. First of all, perform all actions carefully and slowly in order to avoid deformation and rupture of the pipe walls. Sometimes an unexpected sharp movement can lead to negative irreversible consequences and the rejection of products.

Listen to our useful tips, and you can easily bend a copper billet at home for a future plumbing or heating system.

Copper pipes are often used in plumbing and heating systems. Copper is flexible and durable material, which does not corrode, so it is in demand in the arrangement of communications. The question of how to bend a copper tube at home arises among many owners who have gathered to carry out repair work in their home.

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A heating system based on copper shows that this material retains well thermal energy coolant. But when installing the system, pipes have to be carried around various elements and change their direction. Therefore, plumbers install tees, bends and flanged connections. Because of this, the system becomes unreliable, seals wear out, and leaks appear in communications. And when bending, the pipes acquire the necessary shape, while maintaining their tightness. The thinner the product, the easier it is to bend, and all the work can be done by hand.

Standard requirements for bending radius

During bending, the walls of the product must retain their profile, cross section and inner diameter. Therefore, the standard establishes that the bending radius of the copper pipe must occur according to special requirements. You can get the minimum rounding limits different ways: using mandrel pipe benders or heat treatment. They make it possible to make the size of the circle smaller. Also, this indicator is calculated depending on the material from which the product is made and its dimensions. According to GOST No. 617-90, the minimum radius for bending copper pipes is:

  • outer diameter up to 10 mm with the minimum required bending angle up to 20°;
  • with a diameter of more than 12 mm, the radius should not be less than 24 °.

Copper pipe bending methods

There are several methods that are used at home when bending copper pipes. Which one to choose depends on the type of material and the equipment available. The entire work process for bending a copper pipe with your own hands is carried out in the open air or in a well-ventilated area using a heating tool.

With spring

You can bend the copper pipe using a spring. This is the easiest and most popular way. For work, choose a spring with a thick core and frequent turns. It must be made of steel. High Quality, fit freely inside the pipe and correspond to its length. If the spring is shorter in size, then a wire is attached to it, which will help to easily pull it out. For thin copper products, a larger diameter spring is selected, the pipe is placed inside it. Work process:

  1. The workpiece is heated with gas burner or blowtorch.
  2. When a high temperature is reached, the pipe will begin to change its shade. At this point, it becomes flexible enough and the workpiece can be bent.
  3. The finished product is left to cool. The spring is removed when the pipe is completely cool.

With the help of sand

If there is no special equipment available, then the copper pipe can be bent by heating. But so that it does not deform, you need a supporting surface, heating device, 2 pieces of wood and sand. To reduce the risk of deformation, use river sand. It must be sifted and dry. Work process:

  1. One side of the product is closed wooden cork, then sand is poured inside. In order for the sand to lie evenly and tightly, the pipe is constantly shaken and tapped.
  2. Then it is plugged with a cork on the other side.
  3. Before bending, the copper tube is placed on a hard surface and gradually heated.
  4. It must not be allowed to overheat, because under the pressure of sand, the pipe may burst.
  5. As soon as the product takes the desired shape, it is placed in cold water.
  6. When it has completely cooled, the sand is poured out. So that no debris remains inside, the product is purged.

With the help of a pipe bender

A special pipe bender works with pipes of any diameter and allows them to be bent professionally at any angle. It has clamps, removable nozzles and special rollers. The tool is electric, manual and pneumatic:

  1. Manual models. It's mobile lightweight device, which can be stored in a pantry or garage. When working with a manual pipe bender, physical effort must be applied. Since only thin pipes can be bent with it, the device is used at home.
  2. pneumatic models. When working with the tool, the physical strength of a person is not required, so it is suitable for working with products various diameters. This is a professional equipment with large dimensions and high cost.
  3. electrical models. Unlike other models, electrical device has high performance and is used in industrial environment. Allows you to more accurately adjust the bend angle.

It is not necessary to purchase expensive professional equipment to work at home. Because it can be rented.

How to bend a pipe into a spiral?

Sometimes pipes are irregularly shaped, such as square, and there are problems bending them. To work with such products you will need: 2 supports and rubber mallet. Bending process:

  1. The cavity of the pipe is covered with sand. If the work is in winter period, then the cavity is filled with water and frozen to a state of ice.
  2. The product is fixed on supports, and the place of the bend is heated.
  3. Then, with the help of a mallet, the pipe is bent.
  4. Before bending the copper tube into a spiral, it must be burned. It will gain flexibility and when it cools down, it can be shaped by hand.
  5. To facilitate the bending process, use a blowtorch.

A cylinder-shaped support will help form an even spiral.

How to make an effective pipe bender with your own hands?

To make the pipe bender itself, good and durable materials are required:

  • 2 steel rollers;
  • welding machine;
  • metal pipe - with a diameter of more than 1.5 mm and a length of 1.5 m;
  • metal strips 0.15 × 0.6 mm in size, 5 mm thick - 4 pcs.;
  • metal plate 6 cm wide, 3 cm thick, 25 cm long;
  • 2 bolts with a diameter of 2 cm and 1.3 cm;
  • metal plate 30 × 30 cm and 0.3 cm thick;
  • vise, hammer, ruler and sandpaper.

The manufacturing process of the device can be started after the preparation of all the elements and the drawing, which indicates the location of the main parts:

  1. First, check the holes in the rollers and the diameter of the bolts. They must match.
  2. AT metal slats drill 2 holes - 2 cm and 1.3 cm. The distance between them should be 8 cm.
  3. A hole with a diameter of 2 cm is made in the center of the supporting frame and a bolt is inserted into it. At the same time, it is welded to the plate without being removed from reverse side beds.
  4. Then prepare the design U-shaped. To do this, use plates measuring 150 × 60 mm, a bolt 1.3 cm, a small roller, a steel strip 3.5 × 6 cm. Before welding all the parts together, a bolt with a roller is inserted into the holes.
  5. The bolt is fixed with two ends on steel strips, a slingshot-shaped structure is obtained with big hole, which will be located with open side products.
  6. A pipe is welded to the slingshot. For her, a support bar is welded to the steel frame. In this case, the distance between the line of the bar and the axis of the main bolt must correspond to the radius of the large roller + 1.3 cm.
  7. At the bottom of the frame, a 150x60 mm bar is fixed.
  8. Video clip big size inserted into a slingshot. The structure is mounted on the main bolt and tightened with a nut.

The pipe bender is ready, it is clamped in a vice and tested.

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How to bend a pipe: more than 10 ways to self-fulfillment

Hello dear readers. Today I will talk about how to bend a pipe without a pipe bender and with a pipe bender, and how to bend a polypropylene pipe. The topic is of great interest because bent pipes it is difficult to build a greenhouse, a gazebo or a canopy over the porch.

Why the right choice of bending method is important

Incorrect cold deformation of the pipe, regardless of what material it is made of, adversely affects the strength of the walls.

In the process of bending the pipe, the wall along the outer edge is strongly stretched and the material from which it is made becomes thinner. By inside pipes, with improper bending, the walls are crushed and folds are formed, which adversely affect both appearance, as well as the strength of the product.

In order for the bending of the pipe to be performed correctly, the walls must not be crushed, while the stretching of the material along outside should be done evenly.

How to achieve such a result?

Ways to deform pipes without compromising their strength

The choice of pipe bending method depends on the type of production materials. Three types of pipes are widely used: metal, metal-plastic and completely plastic.

You can bend the first two categories to the required configuration. If the question is how to bend a pipe made of polypropylene, we use industrial dryer with a special nozzle.

By installing the part on the nozzle, you can heat the plastic to a temperature close to the melting point, after which you can gently bend it. However, for working with plastic, I recommend using angle fittings with soldered or adhesive.

How to bend metal pipe

Let's take a closer look at each of the methods listed in the diagram.

The hydraulic pipe bender is used to work with thick-walled steel pipes that require a lot of force to deform.

The instructions for using the tool are as follows:

  • The deformable part is located between the metal guides and pressure rollers;
  • Due to the hydraulic shifting of the pressure rollers, the radius and angle of the bend are set;
  • the workpiece is rolled through the guide and pressure rollers, due to which the required shape is obtained.

The use of a hydraulic pipe bender, due to the selection of rollers of the required configuration, allows you to work with workpieces with a traditional round section and with modifications.

To increase productivity, the hydraulic tool can be supplemented electric drive on rollers. As a result, you will have to set the necessary bend parameters and monitor the work process without exerting physical effort.

The manual pipe bender is similar in design to the hydraulic modification. The main difference is that the location of the pressure rollers is set not by a hydraulic drive, but by muscular effort.

because of design differences manual pipe bender is used to work with pipes with a small wall thickness and with a small cross-sectional diameter. The main advantage of hand tools is affordable price and the possibility of making your own.

The use of external springs is relevant when working with thin-walled pipes with a round section of small diameter. To increase the efficiency of deformation, the metal walls in the stretching area can be additionally heated with a blowtorch.

  • A special spring selected according to the diameter of the section is put on the surface of the pipe and pushed to the place of the bend, so that the deformation area is located approximately in the middle of the pipe;
  • The area where the deformation is performed on the outside is heated with a blowtorch;
  • The pipe is taken by hand from both ends and gently bent with force until the required angle and radius are obtained;
  • After the metal has cooled, the spring is removed.

Why is a spring needed?

Regardless of which spring you use, external or internal, it prevents the pipe walls from deforming unevenly. That is, the walls of the pipe in the bend section will repeat the shape of the spring.

For this, special springs are made of hard grades. of stainless steel. In order for the spring to be easily removed after use, its surface is made smooth.

The use of sand filling is an opportunity to give the pipe a more or less uniform radius and bend angle without strong wall creasing.

Using sand backfill, it is possible to bend only individual sections of pipes, while at the same time it will not be possible to deform already welded structural elements of the pipeline.

The deformation instruction is as follows:

  • A plug is installed on one of the ends of the pipe;
  • Sand is poured from the other end without heterogeneous inclusions;
  • The open end is also sealed with a cork;
  • At the intended place of the bend, the metal is heated with a blowtorch to a slight reddening;
  • Holding both ends, we bend the metal pipe on a round post until the desired angle and radius are obtained.

Methods suitable for working with metal-layer

Pipes made of metal-plastic differ from metal counterparts in their lower wall strength due to the smaller thickness of the metal. Therefore, to work with a metal-layer, you can apply the methods listed in the following diagram.

Consider listed methods more.

The use of a manual crossbow-type pipe bender allows you to set the required angle and radius of the metal-plastic pipe.

Due to the lower degree of pressure, in comparison with the hydraulic counterpart, it is possible to deform the metal-plastic product without the risk of damage to thin walls.

If you want to set a small bend radius, you need to deform the metal-plastic gradually, moving from a large radius to a small one. Despite the fact that the workpiece will have to be rolled several times, its walls will remain intact.

The use of a steel spring is similar to that of a metal pipe. But if a spring could be used on metal bigger size than the diameter of the pipe section, then when working with a metal-layer, the size must match.

We bend the workpiece gradually. In order to make it easier to remove the spring at the end of the bend, it is advisable to lubricate the adjacent surface of the pipe with machine oil.

The use of sand backfill is practically no different from the use of backfill when working with metal. In fact, the sand backfill acts as an internal spring that prevents the walls from collapsing.

Since metal-plastic is more plastic than thick-walled metal product, we take the metal-plastic pipe for bending not by the ends, but closer to the deformation area.

The use of wire is a type of pipe deformation using filler. That is, if the cross-sectional diameter is small, the pipe can be filled with wire scraps to at least 80% of the cross-sectional area. Then, holding the workpiece by the ends, carefully bend it, after throwing it on a round post.

The only drawback of the method is the impossibility of making a bend with a small radius, since then it will not be easy to pull the wire.

Work with profiled metal pipes

Finally, I’ll tell you how to bend a square steel pipe with a grinder and a metal cutting disc.

The instruction is as follows:

  • At the site of the intended fold on the inside, we mark the slots;
  • We cut the pipe with a grinder so that the disk passes through the inner and two sides and from the side the cuts look like small hollow triangles;
  • We bend the workpiece along the cuts.

The smaller the bend radius, the greater the angle of each cut.

Conclusion

Now you know how to bend a HDPE pipe and how to do a similar operation with metal and metal-plastic parts. For more details, please watch the video in this article.

Do you have any questions about the text? Ask them in your comments.

July 25, 2016

If you want to express gratitude, add a clarification or objection, ask the author something - add a comment or say thanks!

Copper products are often used in the construction of heating and plumbing communications. Strong, flexible copper products are popular for their resistance to corrosion. When organizing a pipeline, it often becomes necessary to bend a copper pipe: to do this correctly, you need to familiarize yourself with the basic bending methods.

Features of the use of copper

When it comes to the organization of heating or plumbing system, then it is hardly possible to think of something better than a copper tube. This material is in excellent contact with liquids of different temperatures, so it can be used equally well for both plumbing and heating. Features of copper products include:

  • versatility: in addition to the listed areas of application, the arrangement of underfloor heating, as well as ventilation systems, are distinguished;
  • copper products are used wherever liquid is used;
  • resistance to rotting, corrosion: water is not exposed to the reproduction of the fungus and does not bloom;
  • plasticity: subject to compliance certain temperatures, the copper pipe lends itself perfectly to bending;
  • wide temperature range: liquid temperatures from -100 to +250 degrees can be used inside the water pipe.
Copper products are represented by a wide variety of diameters

If you install copper products on the water supply, then the water from it will not have a metallic taste. This is another feature of the material, which is complemented by pleasant decorative qualities: copper pipeline can be decorated in retro style.

What properties should a pipe have when bending

Flexibility is determined physical properties this material. Due to its plasticity, the workpiece can easily be deformed, as well as break at the bend, so when bending yourself, you should adhere to the established temperatures and do everything gradually.


Part of the material is offered to the buyer already folded in large windings

The main condition for bending is heating. Some thin-walled copper tubing can often be bent without the use of a gas torch or soldering station. A large number of copper products have thick walls, so heating is indispensable here. Several conditions for bending products:

  • temperature - copper cannot be heated above 1083 degrees: at such indicators, the material begins to melt, this deforms the product;
  • the presence of a compensating element - sand, a spring, other substances and objects can be used as a compensator;
  • gradual process.

In the absence of a compensator, the chances of deformation increase dramatically. Sand or spring inside a small diameter product will prevent it from taking irregular shape or allow corrugation to occur.

The need to bend pipes during repair work: advantages

Bent pipes are common in the implementation of installation and repair work of plumbing, heating systems. Craftsmen often choose the bending method themselves, preferring it to standard welding. The need to bend metal arises when it is necessary to bypass small plot on a wall or floor with obstacles. In order not to use fittings, not to wind the threads for connections, and also not to leave welds, bending can be used.

Before you bend your own copper tube, it is better to learn about the benefits of their use:

  • reduction in labor intensity;
  • increase in hydroaerodynamic characteristics of pipe passages;
  • reduction in the amount of additional material;
  • better sealing;
  • attractive appearance.

The need for bending is due to the desire to give the pipeline strength and integrity.

Pipework with bent copper is free from the risk of breakage and leakage, as happens if connectors were used instead of bending. The bending point is not subjected to friction, loads and other influences, so the chances of integrity damage are minimized.

We bend a copper pipe at home: a selection of methods

You can bend a copper pipe without involving plumbers. For this, there are proven effective methods. Masters use metal springs, river sand, bend pipes into a spiral, and also use a pipe bender.

Spring use

The first thing to do is pick up the spring. For bending copper pipe large diameter, you should choose a strong metal spring made of thick wire with frequent turns. Several features of bending with a spring:

  • a metal spring is inserted inside;
  • it is better that the length of the spring matches the length of the pipe;
  • if the spring is shorter, a wire must be inserted into it so that it can be easily removed later;
  • as a tool for heating, you can use a blowtorch or a gas burner;
  • the heating element is substituted for the bend, as soon as the pipe changes color, it means that it can be bent.

The metal spring acts as a compensating element for the copper material

The compensator in the form of a spring will not allow the product to deform. If you need to bend a thin tube, the spring is selected with a diameter larger than the product itself. The pipe is inserted inside the spring, then the procedure is repeated.

Sand application

For manual bending, you can use river sand, it will be a good compensator. It is better to work in a spacious room or on the street, as it will take a lot of space. Useful materials metal stopper- it will serve as a plug at one end of the product. piece of wood with desired diameter will act as a circle for bending. The procedure looks like this:

  1. The pipe is closed on one side with a plug.
  2. Sand is poured inside the product.
  3. Copper is heated with a lamp or burner.
  4. The product becomes plastic, therefore, in order not to deform it, rounded wood is used and a bend is made on it.

The main thing is to follow the technology of bending the material and do everything according to the rules

With the help of such not difficult, but effective method, you can bend the copper tube yourself without a pipe bender.

Spiral method

Self bending of the spiral causes difficulties. Here it is no longer possible to limit ourselves to the use of sand or a metal spring: another technique comes to the rescue. In order to bend the spiral you will need:

  • rubber mallet;
  • two supports;
  • bulk material, such as sand: ice can also be used in the cold season;
  • heating tool.

Due to its properties copper material plasticity when heated

The cavity is covered with sand or filled with ice. You can also pre-pour water inside and freeze it. Then the ends are placed on supports and the bends are heated. While copper becomes ductile, it is given the desired shape with a mallet.

Pipe bending with pipe bender

A special tool helps in situations where folk methods powerless. A pipe bender is a tool that fixes one end of a pipe by bending it to a predetermined diameter. There are no deformations during such work, everything goes quickly and clearly. Pipe benders can be steel, lever and electric. To bend a copper tube hand tool you need to do the following:

  1. The required bending angle is selected: the parameters are indicated on the surface of the levers.
  2. One end of the workpiece is fixed.
  3. Bending is in progress.

Modern instrument will help in a matter of time to make the necessary form of copper

This method is suitable for bending thin copper pipes, so if you have to work with a large diameter, it is better to use a hydraulic pipe bender. With large scale and industrial work use electrical tools.

Faced with flexible copper for the first time, any person at home can have difficulties. Masters advise to adhere to the rules:

  • use springs for bending copper thin pipes 6 mm of foreign production;
  • if the coil is bent by hand, it is worthwhile to exercise special care and smoothness of movements: sharp maneuvers will lead to severe deformation of the heated product;
  • if the pipe being bent is made of annealed copper, it will take less time to bend it;
  • it is allowed to reheat the product during the initial incorrect execution turn;
  • it is impossible to bend large-sized elements at home: an industrial tool is needed here.

Some masters recommend using lubricant when bending. This option is not suitable for beginners, as there is a risk of heating when high temperature. To avoid difficulties, it is worth exercising extreme care and caution when working.

The technique of bending copper pipes is useful for self-arrangement of communications. Graceful turns and bends will prevent the loss of integrity of products, as well as protect against leaks. The application of the proposed methods will help in short terms make a smooth and beautiful bend.