How to bend aluminum i beams?

[Steve W]

Bingo, thats the ticket, i could build something like that which does both flanges in concert.That is a great little bender btw. Its the same principle as the ones sold by Northern Tool for pipe bending in the US except they use a hydraulic jack so much slower,also im sure ,much cheaper. I looked at the 18000lb trailer again yesterday and the bend area is about 2ft.
I may be able to start with 2 of the Northern or Harbor Freight benders and stack them,have custom formers made by a local machinist to suit the flanges and probably be into it for less than a grand.
Thanks murdomack for that youtube clip,ill be saving that.
Steve.

[murdomack]

Make sure you make it extremely strong. I think that the rams on the pipe benders go to 16 tons force.
The problem with stacking two off the shelf benders is that these often have the pump built into the ram like a car jack. unless you change this ram set-up you may end up with uneven forces that may twist your frame or even damage the rams.
You could buy suitable rams from Northern tools and have them fed from a remote hydraulic pump for safety. Try Ebay for the pump, you might even find an electric one if you are lucky.

[Steve W]

Murdomack,I think you are right,i looked at the northern benders today at the local store and came to the conclusion that i would be better off starting from scratch
Steve.

[PAR]

For the cost of a suitable set of dies, rollers, rams and pumps, you could have a set of bent I beams cut and welded up or even bent at a fab shop.

[murdomack]

Originally Posted by PAR

For the cost of a suitable set of dies, rollers, rams and pumps, you could have a set of bent I beams cut and welded up or even bent at a fab shop.

That's what I said as well, but I think, reading between the lines, that Steve W is planning more than one trailer. He has a creative spirit.

[Steve W]

I am indeed planning to build more than one trailer as murdomack suggests,but if i can find a fab shop in the twin cities area that has the capability of performing the bend at a reasonable price i would do it,unfortunatly so far i have drawn a blank.these are large beams an i cant go shipping the things all over the place.
I do believe i can build a bender for maybe $1000.I use a very talented machinist who does side work from home who has helped me build a lot of industrial machinery which i have designed in the past,this bender can be fairly simple machine.I will however continue my search for a fab shop.I find it hard to believe there isnt one in the twin cities,i just havnt found one yet.
Steve.