Need advice on rolled tube for Lights

[Lucau]

Hi, I'm new to the forum so hello everyone. I am a metalworker and have been asked to make some chandeliers for someone. The problem I have is that I do not have the tools for the job to bend 8 or 10mm tubing. Anyone have any suggestions? I cant afford to buy a machine at the moment although this would be the best option. Is there anyone that sells the arms separately? Ive tried googling it but no joy. Thanks for any suggestions.

[John B]

Hi Lucau, you have not posted your location, different countries have different resources available to them, there also may be someone just around the corner from you who may be able to help.

what quantity are you talking about needing?

there are low cost tools available for bending tubes (plumbing and central heating type)

the shape and size of the bends required also have to be taken into consideration

tubing can be quite succesfully bent around pre made formers at a red heat, bending them cold will require more specialised tooling.

the main problem you will encounter will be the deforming and collapsing of the tube when bending, this can be overcome in various ways, filling the tube with DRY sand and crimping the ends, use lead or a low melting point alloy and work on them cold,

there are specialist companies that supply premade lighting components wheter or not you can access them is another problem

hope you are succesful in your quest, good luck with it,

[Frosty]

Welcome aboard Lucau, glad to have you.

If you'll put your general location in your header you might be delighted to find out how many metal heads live close to you.

Bending tubing can be a serious buggaboo without either the right equipment or some experience, sometimes both. There are lots of tricks but without experience it can be really hard to tell what's appropriate.

Is the 8-10mm dimension the tube diameter or wall thickness? This little detail makes a BIG difference. That's without even considering what the tubing is made from, if it were copper a plumber's tubing bender would be what you need and heck if it's thin wall they'll work on steel.

If 8-10mm is wall thickness you got yourself a serious task and need professional help. Subbing the bends out would be my suggestion.

Asking more specific questions really helps get good answers but don't worry, knowing what to ask comes with experience. Stick around, we'll get you lined out and running.

Frosty the Lucky.