Buying exhaust tube ??
 

Over the last few months I have been giving some serious thought into buying a decent mandrel tube bender for fabricating exhaust parts.

As some of you know, decent tube benders don't come cheap but feel one would be a usefull investment for my humble workshop :)

One aspect that is nagging away in the back of my mind is, where the devil can I find a source of coated mild steel & stainless exhaust tube !!??
Guessing that full lengths would be the most cost effective way to buy tube.

Tried a few internet searches but all I keep turning up are those infernal directory search engines :rolleyes:

Living so far out into the sticks puts me at a real dissadvantage when it comes to buying materials

If anyone knows of any exhaust tube supliers I would be pleased to hear about them :)

Only one i can think of at the moment

https://www.europaspares.com/product...AUST_PIPE.html

Yell.com

Steel stockholders, Cornwall 13 hits.

Steel stockholders, Devon 18 hits.

Exhaust manufactures usually supply 2m lengths

Jetex ?

I got everything I need from Jetex

http://www.jetex.co.uk/

I use jetex too,

May not be cost effective for you plans though.

Good fast service though.

TT

Bonzo
give Toptubes a call or a google
they supply aluminised tube for exhausts
cheers les g

Bosal dealers sell pipe or powerflow dealers could bend all you need and as you say Ronnie megabucks for decent bender.

We have a huth bender in the workshop, but it does not produce a nice bend its more like the bend you get on a production aftermaket exhaust system. it tends to throat the pipe a bit. Its ok for trucks and plant but i think for a manifold or the like your better off buying your bends in. My mates got a mandrel bender and its about 20 feet long and needs about 10 feet left clear in the front of it, trouble is the tooling costs a fortune and he has none for exhaust pipes.

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...3B-MPrJzE3ZU_0

Bob

Thanks for all of the input guys :)

Some good sugestions there.

I can get ERW round tube localy but stainless & alu coated steel is a bit of a problem.

There is a stockist of stainless in Falmouth ( 20 miles'ish ) but his prices are steep to say the least :eek:

Not even sure what grade of stainless is commonly used for exhaust components :o

The whole idea might end up as pie in the sky but kinda thinking of taking a trip up to see Matt at Stakesy's for a demo of the Pro-tools tube bender.

Here's a linky for anyone interested in having a gander.

Pro-Tools Tube Bender

I have had a look at the video clip & it doesn't look to deform the tube too much.
Obviously if it deforms the tube badly then it will be no good for on show, exterior exhaust components ;)

I've looked into cheap tube benders for about 6 months and have come to these results. Manual type draw benders as found on ebay are around £600-700 due to being imported from the states , you need a strong back and it needs bolting to a good concreate floor the dies are around £200-300 each. How ever there is a company 30 miles up the road from me that makes the same bender as the one on ebay for £300 although the dies are still £200-300each.
Second hand powered machines come up at £4500-6000 but most are 3 phase. You'll either need a converter or replace the motor so thats more money on top. Some times it's cheaper just to buy a job lot of prebent tubes and a vertical bandsaw to trim them down and pass the cost on to the punter. Just my thoughts and alittle research of course but may be some thing to think about.

Stainless steel every time and don't bother with fancy tube benders, just buy bends even though it seems expensive at the time. tube benders that are worth having cost £1000's so will take forever and a day to recoup the investment.
You said it yourself, you are miles from anywhere so not ideal for folk to drop a car in to have an exhaust made, that's why MK scores as he is centrally based.....I thought about it a while back then dropped the idea on those grounds.:(

Phil & Mark

Thanks for you input chaps, as fellow fabricators it is much valued :)

Can't really argue with any of the points raised.

I guess there is not really a one size fits all when it comes to the world of kit car exhausts.

Probably grossly under estimated the amount of physical effort needed for manual bending :o

Been spoilt me, access to CNC Mandrel bending machines, quick bit of programing & press a button or Two .... Seems really effortless at the time, dead easy :D

Once again, thanks chaps, your input is most welcome :)