I need to heat and bend some steel

[dzickii]

Nothing in particular.

Occasionally I need to do something and wish I could heat it up. Sometimes it's some 10mm rod that I want to curve. Or some 40 x 5mm flat bar. A corner of my welding table is bent, so I want to fix that. It's just that sort of thing.

I'm just a hobbyist and will only need heat once a month or so. What would you blokes recommend.

Scott

I've gotten by with MAPP gas for many small projects requiring bending as you describe (and silver soldering/brazing too) but found a B tank of acetylene not only to be more economical but hotter and quicker. Add a Harris Inferno Torch and you've got the 'hot' setup! It was a little more of an investment but worth it, especially since MAPP gas has become somewhat less available and pricy in the past few years.

[Willie B]

Oxygen & acetylene was my first welder at age 13. I used a lot of fuel in those days. I did everything with those. Must have been something wrong with them, cutting was messy.
Second set a few years later worked very well.

Extraction rate of acetylene is reduced by very small tanks. I'd favor bigger tanks. They don't need to be filled as often, cost less per BTU, & do more.
For purposes like preheating before welding, or weed control, propane with a weed burner torch work better. I use 30 LB cylinders. Works like a charm to break up boulders, best

[Insaneride]

I've gotten by with MAPP gas for many small projects requiring bending as you describe (and silver soldering/brazing too) but found a B tank of acetylene not only to be more economical but hotter and quicker. Add a Harris Inferno Torch and you've got the 'hot' setup! It was a little more of an investment but worth it, especially since MAPP gas has become somewhat less available and pricy in the past few years.

MAPP works with silvaloy for me so does acety and TIG. Never could get propane hot enough to melt silver. For bending, I used TIG yesterday to bend Titanium. Turned amps down and post flow all the way up. Worked good for bending but when I TIG cut the part I needed, it made a pop when cut and left me a barely usable piece of Ti. Plasma works good for cutting but air oxidizes Ti and post flow of air keeps cutting without an arc. Exothermic cutting. Argon shields and cools Ti better , I just need to get a technique to use TIG to cut Ti. Ti doesnt cut easy.

[smithdoor]

I agree 👍
It what I use today.

But that is $1,000 investment.
A simple home made forge using a a old old BBQ and a old Vacuum for air supply is low cost way the heat the metal.

Dave

If you dont have a real torch get one, get the biggest bottles you can and you can use LP if you want to cheapen this a bit. Torch equipment new is rather modestly priced, the med duty stuff is absolutely fine.
I bought that at a sale for 150 as I recall with bottle about 1/2 full, I wanted another set. I reg was good, a ranger class, a 100 torch came with it I think. I have 3 or 4 gas and 4 or 5 oxy I am going to toss the reg that went south, its a Cman of some kind and I already have some Vics to fix. I might have stole the gauges already.

[Insaneride]

Edit for pic

[Insaneride]

Bended this Ti but can’t remember hoh I forgot
To include pics


If. I can get it to gether. I have pics of CP Ti. Gmmy

[Insaneride]

Time to lay down

Its just art tho

[SweetMK]

If you want to heat some steel CHEAP,,,,,,, look on YouTube, and Google for "Forge Burner"

Some of them are fueled by used engine oil, you can not get much cheaper,, and you get CRAZY high numbers of BTU's.

An Oxy-acetylene rose bud with owner size tanks could not come close to some of those forge burner DIYs,,

Some of them (most of them,,,) can be fueled with propane,, and an air compressor.
They make a weed burner look like a spark ignitor in comparison.

These forge burners are what many people use when melting metal for casting.
They even sell completed forge burners on eBay for as little as $35,, with free shipping,, not the biggest, but, not $1,000 either.

Another common use is to heat a BIG drafty shop,, CHEAP!!
Direct the flame into a big drum, and connect a chimney.

[Sberry]

The heating here that has been described is simple and rudimentary. A decent shop has a torch, it's on the short list. All the rest of this crap is distracting and gets away from a fundamental tool I would be lost without while not having any of the rest of that stuff.
Torch, welder, grinder, drill.
Torch cuts, can weld and braze but it's a tool you havnt even come up with uses for yet, heat nuts and bolts. Not that the other stuff doesn't have a place but geez,,, but while not really brain facts they are poor substitutes for this basic essential tool.
This is someting we want fast, want to cut, not foing to fire a forge to heat a nut, often want it localized.

[426hemi]

I agree a proper oxy/acetylene torch is an absolute must have for anyone even it you don’t weld! In fact I’d say I’d get a torch long before I bought any other tool. If your not going to use it much buy the cylinders and then there won’t be any rental bill coming every year, but personally I’d recommend renting the cylinders as the customer owned ones are just way to small and the rental fee around here is only $75 a year for per cylinder. You get a much better price on the gas if you get the biggest cylinders and the rental fee is the same. If you seriously don’t need the torches just return the cylinders until you do, but be aware most welding supply places aren’t open on the weekends and generally that’s when you will desperately need the torches! Maybe you live in the desert or something but up here in New England we have salt on our roads, salt in the ocean and I can’t imagine how one could get by without torches, seems every other bolt has to be heated or cut with a torch, on everything from your car to your boat! Hell I have a set of torches on my boat also!