Round tube wall thickness

I'm currently building a bender and I'm not sure what size die I should get. I know this isn't really suspension related necessarily but the guys that frequent this forum would probably have the best information.

I plan to make upper and lower control arms, possibly bend link bars, and overall mounts and such. I would really like to use just one size die so I don't have to drop another 200 on a different size. I'm think 1.25" od dom would be a pretty good bet in general. Part of my problem is that the dies only say the wall can be .134, and I'm really not sure if that wall would be sufficient especially for the lower control arms.

Opinions?

Also does anyone have any good sites to buy dies for pro-tools 105? That's the style die my bender will take.

thanks for your help

pro-tools.com

There are other places that make dies for their benders, just wasn't sure if the others are cheaper and who exactly they are.

Anyone with a lathe that is large enough to turn the stock should be able to make dies for you. There is a guy in my area who sells shop equiptment like benders, brakes, english wheels,notchers etc and he makes his own dies to go with the benders he sells. The guy that machined my Mazda hubs for me makes his own too. Ask around to your local circle track guys, they can probably hook you up with someone in your area to help you out.

I would suggest having an 1 1/4" and a 1 1/2" die. I couldn't imagine being without either.

I did all the work on my truck with 1 1/2 on a 4 1/4 Radius.

I have a 1" die with a 3" CLR, 1 1/2" with a 4 1/2" CLR, and am looking to get a 1 1/4" die with a 4" CLR soon.

I would say .134 wall tube is fine for control arms. Depending on the size of the tubing, I will use that wall thickness.

Also I have bent .188 wall tube several times with no issues. The bender itself flexes a bit, but the dies hold up fine, and mine are all Pro Tools.

That's really good to hear Seth since I'm building the same style bender as yours I believe