MichaelP
Lieutenant Junior Grade
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2010
- Messages
- 1,190
I'm planning to replace the side hand rails on my Chieftain since the old ones are beyond restoring. I have all the SS fittings and 7/8 stainless tube and all I need to do is bend the tubes. 2 local companies graciously offered to make these bends (4 total) for a wopping $300! I have some back ground in metal fab but not with bending tubing. I understand you have to use the correct dies and so forth but being a diy type I can't bring myself to throw down that kind of coin for something that doesn't seem too difficult. The plan is to build some sort of wooden frame to bend them myself but I would like some pointers like - do I fill them with sand first? The bends aren't that sharp and I have a few ideas already but any input would be helpful. Some will probably want to say pay up if you want it done right and I know that's true, but we all have to overcome different problems here and throwing money at it isn't always the only answer.
In the pic the rails go from the gunwale to the side of the cuddy and are about 5' long.
In the pic the rails go from the gunwale to the side of the cuddy and are about 5' long.