How to Bend Aluminum Pipe

Last Updated: October 15, 2019 References

Aluminum pipe is much easier to bend than aluminum tubing, due to the greater wall thickness, since it is less likely to collapse or deform when you bend it. The thicker material will also require more muscle or the use of a power bender.

Steps

1
Use a manual pipe bender or a hydraulic bender if you have one. You can bend 1 1/4" aluminum conduit by hand, but a manual pipe bender will make it easier. It doesn't matter what you use to bend the pipe, the main thing is how you keep it from collapsing.^{[1]
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2
Fill the pipe with sand or other material, and secure three layers of window screening, with double hose clamps on the ends.^{[2]
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3
Bend the pipe slowly so that you can watch to make sure it bends evenly and doesn't collapse or deform, and watch for cracks that may occur if the pipe is bent too sharply.^{[3]
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4
Use whatever means you have to bend the pipe. The pipe will not collapse, but remember that there is a radius to wall thickness / diameter formula that must be observed. A loose rule of thumb is a maximum 3 1/2" radius to 1" diameter ratio.^{[4]
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5
Consider building dies to bend your pipe if you have the equipment, you can machine your own bending dies for bending the pipe, or you can rent a manual or hydraulic bender for this purpose.^{[5]
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Warnings

Check the back set or distance from the beginning of the radius to the centerline of the bend to make sure the finished pipe is the right length.

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Aluminum pipe may crack if you are using an alloy that doesn't have sufficient give for that purpose.^{[7]
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