need help with bending stainless steel tubing for deck rail

[jakruem]

Hello,<br /><br /> I am in the process of restoring a 1966 14ft McKee Craft. I want to put a new<br />stainless steel deck rail across the front of it. I would like to shape the<br />tubing myself to save money. Does anyone know a good/easy way to<br />bend stainless steel tubing. I know there are fitting available to create the<br />shape I need, but I don't think it looks as good. Please help.<br /><br />Thank you,<br /><br />Wayne

 

[steelespike]

Re: need help with bending stainless steel tubing for deck rail

Dont know what kind of radius you are bending or how heavy your rail is but how about a conduit bender.<br />Ive also heard that if you fill the tube with sand you can bend free hand without kinking.

 

[Bart Sr.]

Re: need help with bending stainless steel tubing for deck rail

RIGHT ON STEELESPIKE!! As a man who past and presently earns a living as a bender operator that would be your best bet. I don't know where you are geograohically but any help I can render through these posts you are welcome to. THANKFULLY AND RESPECTFULLY>>BART SR.

 

[Mumblerone]

Re: need help with bending stainless steel tubing for deck rail

I wouldn't get to excited about bending with sand. Hard to get it compacted vert tight and then get a cap on it. Tried this 30 years ago bending roll bars for cars, gave up. Call your local equipment rental; rent a tube (not pipe) bender. Tube is measured by O.D.; pipe is I.D. Try conduit bender first...S/S is very hard. Those various fittings might start to look good after a while. Good luck.

 

[wakruem]

Re: need help with bending stainless steel tubing for deck rail

Thanks for all the responses. The size of the tubing I will be working with is 7/8 x 20 ft.<br />Thanks,<br /><br />Wayne

 

[ob]

Re: need help with bending stainless steel tubing for deck rail

jakruem, Depending on the takeout of the bend you are performing ,as suggested above ,conduit benders work well if you have access to one or can have someone bend it for you per your specs.If the bend you are making is fairly wide you can also blank off one end ,fill the tube with dry sand ,pack tight with dowel rod ,cap off ,and bend.Remove sand by dumping and flushing.

 

[Boatist]

Re: need help with bending stainless steel tubing for deck rail

Saw it done on a TV show one time. The guy made all types of bow rails out of Stainless Steel. The way he did it was with a piece of plywood on the top of the plywood he glues and screwed down some wood jigs made with 2 by 4's. He had cut the 2 by 4's and 2 by 6es to different curves then put a block at the end to hold the tubing. He put tubing between the block and the curved 2 by 4 and pulled on the end. Then he would slide it up a little and bend another section. The very ends he was not able to bend so he cut that part off in some cases. Looked easy but then again never know how many times the did it to get it right.

 

[Captain ryan]

I have been working on a way to do this myself and after trying a few different tube pipe and conduit benders on some stainless steel tubing from old handrail and Bimini top parts, I have found a reasonably priced solution. I found that all the tubing I could find laying around was either 16 gauge (.065" wall thickness) or 20 gauge (.035"wall thickness). I successfully bent the 20 gauge tube with a conduit bender from home depot but it is difficult to get a real smooth looking radius. I have found a magical tool that works great on the 16 gauge stuff though. Rigid makes a 378 ratchet tubing bender that is designed for 7/8" tubing and it will bend a 180 degree radius( 7/8" x .065" tube on less than 4" radius if you can believe it). These benders are pricey if you get them new but I found one on ebay for about 75 bucks with shipping. It takes some strength to use the tool but I have gotten really excellent results. The ratchet bender put a kink in the lighter .035 wall stock though. I bet it would work fine if I took the time to fill with sand and plug with a couple of tapered wooden dowels though. I'm going to do all my work with the heavier .065 wall stock though and I found a local metal supplier who can get me 20' lengths of it for about $4.25 a foot.

 

[GA_Boater]

Fourteen years old!

Closed.