Tube Benders

Just in case i need to get my tubes bent professionally - I called some.
I started with Barnshaws - as they came up first on a google search and ive always been impressed with the arch of railway line outside their factory in Tipton. Helpful as they were, my job is clearly too trivial for a company that has the "capacity to curve tubes up to - 1067mm o/d." So they put me onto Formbend who were also very helpful but only had one set of formers for my diameter of tube, so unless I wanted all my bends to be of 80mm radius, they couldnt help me. So they put me onto Accurate Section Benders who appear to be able to do whatever i want.
I shall send them a spec and see what thier prices are like

Bending pipes

I have been avoiding this for ages. I have been scared of bending the tubes for my frame. Why have I been scared though?
1. I was concerned that the pipe-bender wouldn't be up to it.
2. I was worried that I'd get it wrong and have to scrap some of that expensive pipe.
3. I didn't really have a fixed frame design
And so I simply kept avoiding the issue - and the trike project has stayed dormant
However, following through with my holiday resolution and bolstered by a renewed motivation and energy (that comes with a sunny Sunday morning) yesterday I bent some pipe :-)

I now see why so many trikes are made out of angle iron - bending pipe is not as simple as you'd like it to be.

I still didn't really have a fixed design for the frame, but I took an intuitive stab at what I thought 'looked nice' for the lower rails, plotted the curve on a piece of cardboard and just went for it. The pipe bender (12 tonnes) works a treat. I remember someone telling me that the secret was to bend the pipe in little bites, working round the curve - as opposed to simply pumping away in one bend.
I had spent some time a few months ago filing out one of the cast dies to suit my specific diameter of tube, So I was all set..... or so I thought.
You will see from the photos that although the pipe will bend, the pressure is such that the rollers are marking the tube (i don't think this is a 'dent' as such - ie not a significant structural weakness - it just looks horrid)
And so I made up a couple of wooden formers to spread the load a bit - and these worked well until they broke up (as you'd expect under 12 tonnes).
By this time it was "Happy Hour" (another bring-back from holiday) and so I packed up for the day.
And so I'm left with another predicament that if I'm not careful will turn into another barrier to making progress..... what to do about bending tubes? As I see it I have 4 options...
1. Just get on and bend the buggers - it might not look lovely but what the heck - you can probably linish out those marks - this is not my preferred option
2. Get some big rollers turned up that will suit my tube - expensive?
3. Get someone else to bend the pipe for me - but could i specify the design? this is something that I'm inventing on the fly
4. Get someone else to bend the curvy parts for me and then I weld them in between the straight bits - this seems like a bit of a fag and a risk to the integral strength of the frame, but my welding experience with CWB shows that I can make a good enough weld both structurally and cosmetically that this might be the simplest way to go - and it might give me more flexibility when it comes to working things out on tube that need to bend in more than one plane. I shall phone a bender this afternoon

Holiday resolution

Aren't holidays great? :-) I love the sense of freedom, both physically and mentally. I can spend ages sitting on a beach looking out to sea or balancing some rocks, enjoying all the conversations that rush around inside my head. I always have bright ideas when Im on holiday and I also get a good clarity on whats important in my world.
Forget New Year for making resolutions - Holiday time is when I make my resolutions. I invariably resolve to get on with something when I return, and this year was no exception.
And so on my return from holiday, I set about clearing the garage out so I could get some good access to the trike again. I chucked out the fridge freezer that we used for storing drinks in and I stripped the piano string frame to its bare minimum and moved it into the garden where it now sits as a bit of musical sculpture. And so the project can start again :-)