Bending tubing

The lever or plier style tubing benders that T_Bone mentions work very, very nicely. I am assuming you are talking 5/8" OD hard copper tubing as used in the plumbing trades. Ridgid is a prominent manufacturer to this industry. Their lever style bender for this tubing bends to a 3" centerline radius for this size. The lever style benders bend only one tubing size...and be prepared to spend some $$$ for this animal! 1988 price was $118.00. I have a commercial bender for this size tubing that is not the lever style but works on the same principle by another manufacturer. The bend radius for mine is also 3".

The spring style benders are really only for soft copper tubing...the kind that comes in rolls, not straight lengths. I have never had much luck with them for any type of bends beyond about 45 deg.

If you need to go with something sharper than a 3" radius, or don't want to spent a lot, I recommend the fabricated elbows as T_Bone suggests.

Rod

Ah, that opens up the possibility of the spring type bender mentioned before. That is what these things are made for...soft copper tubing. Certainly not as good as the lever style but the price is right...only a few dollars each. I don’t use mine any more simply because I have the lever style. The problem I have had in the past with the spring type is trying to bend too much of an angle for a fairly tight radius. The tube doesn’t kink but it does go slightly oval...enough to bind against the ID of the spring and make it hard to remove. If you keep to fairly long radius bends, especially for the larger angles (say over 45 deg) these should work just fine for you. The photo shows one end of a spring type bender. This one happens to be for 1/2" OD soft copper and is about a foot long overall. The bell shaped end is to facilitate slipping over the tube and to provide a surface for your hand to come up against in sliding it along the tube. They are available at any plumbing supply outlet. Good hardware stores or even places like Home Depot should also carry them especially in the smaller sizes. Ridgid makes ‘em for up to 7/8" OD.

Rod

I have never been a fan of Harbor Freight...however, if the product works fairly well, I certainly can't complain. The price can't be beat, that's for sure. Another option for Kev to consider. Thanks for bringing it up.

Here's the link to their lever bender for 5/8". I am not sure it's the same one that you mention though since the price is not the same.

Rod

• Harbor Lever Bender

The tighest tube bender 90 would be 4 times the pipe diameter would equal radius.

You can also buy preformed 5/8" Cu 90's and sweat the joints and that would be the smallest 90 possible but also has the greatest CV(resistance) rating.

T_Bone

The only commercial type spring benders I have seen are those sized to go over the OD of the tubing, at least those common to the plumbing trades. Were the springs you used specially sized or something to go in the ID and without the typical bell on one end? You must be limited to bends only near the end of tubing aren't you...otherwise how would you get the spring out, say from a 90 deg bend in the middle of a relatively long length of tube?

Rod

Rod

I never heard of them either. Sounds like something to try. Thanks!

How small of tubing size do they come in?
That gave me an idea of what to use my used wire feeder liners for!

T_Bone