Lacking creative title, (yet preserve continuity) "Wait, one more second......"

[Toolmaker51]

Dreamed this up in my sleep. Fitful? Yes, but productive.
(working title) Baling wire, thrust washer, and pipe flange walk into a bar-

dramatic pause, drumming fingers, Zzzzzzz's sound effect, people abandoning post... in droves!


Box truck contains least twice the normal quantity of E-track. Probably due to prior owners staging loads according to a route, they utilized the overhead area more than normal. Instead of load bars and E-Track brackets, simple DIY U of 1/8" hot rolled with a narrower U welded on. The narrower, once inverted just hooks onto the added E_Track, which stands away from walls of box. The other U, now facing up, receives one end a length tubing (unknown variety, about !/8" wall). See example, inset. Of course, supported equally at opposite wall.

Well, they must have just tossed loads on the tubes, all are bent in varied amounts, bearing weight too close to center.
Good example here of before and after. There's about 25 needing this, first 5 merely a test.
I want them straight. The press here has tonnage but not enough bed working on 8' (~244cm) long parts.
It was a puzzle until genie sneaks into dream, whispering "~~forklift, ~~~boom lift, ~~pipe jacks, ~~~2"x8" lumber,"; "though nooooo clue how to meaaaasure them" as he sails off.
So,

Forklift boom is the fulcrum, pipe jacks support area being worked (mostly closer together), the wire device saved some amount of sighting along edge, and setting high spot to press. Bent up the wire deal and leveled pipe, measuring at extreme ends. Put gauge inboard of the jacks and rotated tube, finding high or low. In a few tries, learned lever length to generate amount of pressure for deflection. Straightening always involves slight overbending, because metals have differing spring back. In terms common describing malformed sawn lumber, these are bowed, some also kinked, rather S shaped usually out of plane to each other. Reducing bow is simpler, while kink takes a degree of patience.
Use of the 2"x8" cut chances of denting and weakening the tube.

It must have worked.

May skip weld some 3/16" strip or rod to them as a strongback, more likely get a few pallet rack wire decks as shelf panels, light weight and plenty available.

I thank your indulgence. Mind the stairs exiting, the ushers disappeared 20 minutes ago.

[Altair]

Thanks Toolmaker51! We've added your Pipe Straightening Aid to our Miscellaneous category,
as well as to your builder page: Toolmaker51's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Pipe Straightening Aid by Toolmaker51

tags: straight, pipe

[mwmkravchenko]

A little desperation and a little perspiration. Can't argue with the outcome. The forklift certainly can produce force. I like it!

Mark

[Toolmaker51]

Yes Mark, and Thanks.
But only job of forklift was positioning boom to create fulcrum, just beyond center of tubes length being worked. A few tubes were swapped end for end, that had multiple bowing.
Didn't use mast or hydraulics at all.

Haven't examined all the tubes truck came with. Could be 30 or more. The first 5 has me thinking of a straightening bed centered under the big [7 ton] arbor press. A couple deep C-channel, an I-beam or wide flange is all it would take, with pair of Vee block saddles to slide into position. It'll probably wind up dual purpose, a bed for some other elongated process, maybe a circle shear, or in-feed of stomp shear etc. Not high enough for lathe bar feed, well suited otherwise.

[mdhatter3]

I have straightened pipe 10 foot long using just a hammer. Hit the pipe along the length from one end to the other on concrete floor. Just kept hitting until it was straight. Works for me.

[Toolmaker51]

I have straightened pipe 10 foot long using just a hammer. Hit the pipe along the length from one end to the other on concrete floor. Just kept hitting until it was straight. Works for me.

Tried that first, but length and bow made it real hard keeping the high side 'up'. Also tried between two heavy steel saw horses; don't weigh enough to push them down enough.

[piper184]

Reminds me of straightening steel T fence posts. Find something, anything where you can stuff one end into something that lets you get the center of the bend located on a fulcrum of some kind. Apply pressure. Keep moving the anchor and pivot points and vary the pressure until desired results. Leverage usually isn't an issue, but finding something to wedge it against in the right spots is.
When all you have is a nail, everything else starts to look like a hammer....

[Toolmaker51]

My final transport of property home trailer is full. Monday rented a little U-Haul for what stays in local storage, and wanted to try out new hitch.
Unlike the common variety that adjust height with pin and holes, this has a jackscrew with 8 inches (but lesser tongue weight) of travel. I screwed ball, lockwasher, and nut together by hand but had wrong wrench to fit that hex (1-1/16").
There seemed nothing I could wedge it into and seat the nut; apex of ladder rack, joint between building and block wall, a tire and board against the ground. Eyes fell on the laser cut safety chain loops in hitch.
Approaching with all the perception and stealth possible, found it not only exact size, even closer than open end wrench offers.
Naturally, put a real wrench to it before loading at home base. Not more than one extra turn possible.

[mwmkravchenko]

Yes Mark, and Thanks.
But only job of forklift was positioning boom to create fulcrum, just beyond center of tubes length being worked. A few tubes were swapped end for end, that had multiple bowing.
Didn't use mast or hydraulics at all.

Haven't examined all the tubes truck came with. Could be 30 or more. The first 5 has me thinking of a straightening bed centered under the big [7 ton] arbor press. A couple deep C-channel, an I-beam or wide flange is all it would take, with pair of Vee block saddles to slide into position. It'll probably wind up dual purpose, a bed for some other elongated process, maybe a circle shear, or in-feed of stomp shear etc. Not high enough for lathe bar feed, well suited otherwise.

7 ton arbor press? Mechanical?? Dang! The rest I understand.

[Toolmaker51]

7 ton arbor press? Mechanical?? Dang! The rest I understand.

Like so, brought from Illinois, by way of PA.

Worst object to ratchet down, ever.