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Here's to a Happy and Successful New Year, Friends!

I can’t believe it is past mid-January already. Here at Huth Ben Pearson, we call November-December “Show Season”, as we attend SEMA and PRI in the performance automotive world, and FABTECH in the metal fabrication world. It is a wonderful opportunity to meet face to face with hundreds of leading fabricators.

Key themes we heard…

1. Business is pretty good for most of the fabricators we spoke with.

• In the automotive world, figuring out how to get more hp and going faster is as popular as ever. In the rest of the fabrication world, building frames out of tubing is getting more and more popular, along with quick, easy, cost effective solutions to reshaping and forming materials.
• More jobs require help bending square (we have tooling for that!).
• Lots of interest in exhaust header systems… we can help in many ways!
• Every year we find more of our machines being placed in work cells providing simple, inexpensive and quicker solutions for manufacturers.

2. The payback on a piece of equipment can be surprisingly short.

• 2-3 jobs per week in automotive can pay back a pipe bender in a few months!
• Integrating a small end forming machine into a work cell can lower operating cost, by saving labor, time and rework on jobs.
• You can save cash by bringing jobs in-house that previously were outsourced.
• We had similar “payback” conversations dozens of times…if you are getting customer requests, or are farming part of a job out, we can help you figure how quickly   you can get your money back by bringing the job in-house!

3. Lots of fabrication jobs are “non-traditional”, requiring something (tooling, etc) that may not be available… call us, we may be able to help! For example, last year we helped people make trailers, we helped them connect round HVAC tubes, and we created many custom tooling solutions that helped our customers make more money.

4. Yes, we know we need more stuff that helps people with jobs that are bigger than 3 inch… we are working on it, and hope to have some more useful tools this year!

Thanks for interacting with us last year. Let us help you have an even more successful 2017!

We invite you to visit our website often to check out What's New and Special Promotions.

UPSIZING YOUR EXHAUST TO INCREASE POWER!

 

We traveled to the awesome SEMA Show in Las Vegas the first week in November to show our equipment and have great conversations with the world-class fabricators working in the automotive market. After speaking with a few hundred people, I am pleased to report that there is an AMAZING amount of interest in exhaust work that makes cars perform better.

After coming back, I happened upon this Youtube video that I want to share with you. It lays out on the dyno the horsepower and torque gained by replacing 2 ½ inch exhaust pipes and muffler with 3” (with a 600+ horse engine). Over 13 Hp and 16 foot-pounds of torque gained!

It is not uncommon that exhaust systems are restricting the amount of power your engine can deliver. An increase (step up) in your exhaust system size can increase your performance! This applies to 2” to 2 ¼” or 2 ¼” to 2 ½”. And using/having/knowing someone with a tube bender and the best 2.5 to 3 inch tooling can be your ticket to realizing these power gains. Note that the quality of the larger tooling is important … many operators report trouble with foreign made large-size tooling. Benders and tooling from Huth Ben Pearson International are considered the best in the industry, and we proudly feature American-made quality.

Please check this out!

 

Please contact us at 800-558-7808 to help you get the power you have dreamed about!

 

At Huth, it is our goal to continue to build high-quality products to simplify your task. Please contact us to answer any questions.  Learn more at www.huthbenders.com.

 

We hope to see you at the PRI Show: 

 

PRI 

December 8 – 10, 2016

Booth # 5313     

Indianapolis Convention Center, Indianapolis, IN 

Do you have projects that require running repetitive parts?

Swaging Positioning System attachment makes running repeated parts quicker!

Huth Ben Pearson International recently introduced a new end-forming positioning system as an accessory to their machinery. The new Dead Stop makes swaging (expanding, reducing, forming) repeated tube and pipe-based parts quicker and easier than ever.

Using it is easy! An operator simply attaches it to the back end of the swage box on a Huth bender or 1673 expander-reducer machine. Then they set the stop location with the positioning pins, and use the adjustable screw thread to fine tune their set up. It stays in that position for all their parts, making the repeated operation quick and easy. And it also reduces collet marks!

The new Dead stop can be purchased with a Huth pipe bender or model 1673 expander reducer, or purchased to use with their existing Huth bender or swager. 

The Dead Stop Positioning System Kit is being offered in 3’ or 6’.

• Dead Stop Positioning system kit -6 ft. – Part Number 73DS-6
• Dead Stop Positioning system kit -3 ft. – Part Number 73DS-3
• Track add on kit (3 feet) – Part Number 73X
• Adjustable Stop – Part Number 73STOP

 

At Huth, it is our goal to continue to build high-quality products to simplify your task. Please contact us to learn more about the Dead Stop Positioning System, or to answer any questions. 800-558-7808 or learn more at www.huthbenders.com.

 

We hope to see you at one or more of the upcoming 2016 Fall and Winter Trade shows:  

 

FABTECH

November 16 – 18, 2016

Booth # 7308

Las Vegas Convention Center – Las Vegas, NV

 

PRI 

December 8 – 10, 2016

Booth # 5313     

Indianapolis Convention Center, Indianapolis, IN 

Because we get so many calls from customers needing ways to work on larger diameter tubing more easily, we decided to introduce a machine that makes large expansions really quick and easy! Our new 1674V gives you amazing expansion range, 1½” to 12”, and makes expansions easier than ever

The new 1674V Expander has two expanding cylinders mounted vertically. This orientation has two sets of benefits. One, many fabricators like working this way, in essence using gravity to hold the part against the expander head. The second benefit is that you can use larger segment sets, and get wider expansions. We have made this as a custom machine for the last few years, and we have customers expanding up to 12 inches this way!

In addition, this model comes with a new, larger oil tank. The 4 gallon capacity lets you work harder and longer by running cool throughout your production day.

As with all Huth Expander machines, it is easy to use! It comes with Huth’s Accu-Sizer™ system for quick, precise expanding. Other features include: A sturdy design with a built-in tool tray, and a large cylinder that has 49,000 plus lbs. of Expanding Power.

While tooling is sold separately, expander tooling through 6 “ is readily available from stock. The 1674V can expand to 12” with appropriate custom tooling. We can create custom tooling for nearly any end forming application, and a broad range of expansions and end form shapes.

With Huth, we strive to give you flexible, creative, affordable end forming and tube connecting, so you can expand your customer satisfaction along with your bottom line!

We know there is a lot of demand for working on larger diameter tubing. We will keep working to make useful tools and methods to help fabricators and shops doing this work. We would love to discuss your project! Call us at 800-558-7808!

 

We hope to see you at one or more of the upcoming 2016 Fall and Winter Trade shows:  

 

FABTECH

November 16 – 18, 2016

Booth # 7308

Las Vegas Convention Center – Las Vegas, NV

 

PRI 

December 8 – 10, 2016

Booth # 5313     

Indianapolis Convention Center, Indianapolis, IN 

We often speak with operators who want to know economical ways to work with larger tubing … 3.5 inch, 4 inch, 5 inch etc. They’ve seen the price of a large mandrel bender (wow!), or purchased pre-bent components, and would love a cost efficient way to do things themselves.

Well, you might be surprised how much work can be accomplished and how much you can save with an expander making large size expansions to connect your large OD systems.

So how do you do it? Well, you can buy the large diameter elbows from many fine sources, and then use the expander to create the connection to whatever size tubing you are working with. It is just that easy.

Our 1674 dual head expander comes with 2 standard cylinders, one that can handle up to 6 inch expansions. We also have a cylinder upgrade for our benders that allows you to get this expander cylinder added to your bender.

If you really need to “go big”, we are now introducing a new 1674V version which mounts the cylinders vertically. We have made this as a custom machine for years. This orientation has two sets of benefits. One, many fabricators like working this way, in essence using gravity to hold the part against the expander head. The second benefit is that you can use larger segment sets, and get wider expansions. We have customers expanding to 12 inches this way!

We know there is a lot of demand for working on larger diameter tubing. We will keep working to make useful tools and methods to help fabricators and shops doing this work. If you have any thoughts on this, please call us at 800-558-7808!

 

We hope to see you at one or more of the upcoming 2016 Fall and Winter Trade shows:  

 

SEMA

November 1 – 4, 2016

Booth # 15722       (Westgate booth area) 

Las Vegas Convention Center – Las Vegas, NV

 

FABTECH

November 16 – 18, 2016

Booth # 7308

Las Vegas Convention Center – Las Vegas, NV

 

PRI 

December 8 – 10, 2016

Booth # 5313     

Indianapolis Convention Center, Indianapolis, IN 

The Performance Automotive Opportunity for Fabricators is hot!

You may know Huth got its start in automotive, as the original Huth pipe bender was designed for the exhaust shop. Since OE exhaust systems don’t rust out anymore, our business growth today is coming primarily from performance automotive and manufacturers in tube and pipe fabrication. Both segments seem to appreciate our end forming equipment and ability to help them with cool tooling (including some amazing custom tooling) … maybe even more than our pipe benders.

We are a SEMA member, and the SEMA annual report just came out. There were some interesting facts I would like to share. The Performance automotive market is growing at a rate of 8% per year, which is pretty darn good. Within this, “Street performance”, guys enhancing performance characteristics of the vehicle for use on the street, (and by the way, a segment that makes great use of Huth benders to do exhaust upgrades without breaking the bank) is growing at an an eye popping 13%. 13%!!! Show me a market growing 13%, and I’ll show you a great market to get into! Also note that the racing segment is growing 11.9%.

Manufacturers today realize nearly $40B in specialty equipment sales (yes, B=billion)… just think what the installers and services of these segments are pulling in.

Here are some of the other attractive market niches, according to the report.

In addition to STREET PERFORMANCE, whose growth over the past several years continues to drive the industry’s overall expansion, there are potentially profitable businesses in:

OFF-ROAD, LIGHT-TRUCK, RESTORATION, COMPACT PERFORMACE, STREET ROD AND CUSTOM, RESTYLING and RACING.

So, if you have ideas for how to grow in these niches … or even if you haven’t thought of how you can build business in these growing areas and want some ideas, call us at 800-558-7808.

 

Did you know you can get one FREE expander tool with purchase of our Mitey Mate Jr. 1685S expander with our summer expander – ganza until September 2,2016?

We have talked previously about our entrepreneurial customers who have created great businesses building structural frameworks out of tubing with Huth benders and end forming equipment. We mentioned customers who built:

• Fencing , fence gate sections, Pole barns and car port

• Sporting equipment (think batting cages, blocking sleds, soccer goal posts etc.

• Segmented sign posts that are easily shippable to their customers

• Tents, and display exhibits for trade shows

• Furniture frames, Tree stands and blinds

More! 

The ingenuity of our clever fab customers is ceaseless when it comes to great ideas we see for marketable products using tubing and our equipment and tooling:

• We actually have a number of customers who use our benders in a manufacturing environment to build trailers out of square and rectangular tubing. I am amazed at the variety of shapes and structures they form, and they have been extremely successful!

• We have customers specializing in Aerospace Frames and Intake Paths

• We have customers that build Farm Structures (Feed rings, Arena Panels, Gates, Saddle Racks)

• We also have customers who build and sell the following cool products:

• Boat Accessories (Ladders, Railing, Sub Frame, Boat Lifts)

• Angle Iron Bending(Picnic Tables, Very Economic Structures)

• Collapsible (or permanent) Structures, like Projector Screens and Tents

• Industrial/commercial Racking

• Connectors for cylindrical HVAC ducting

Oh, yeah…we should mention pole barns and car ports again, as this is killer application

 

Our Compression Benders and end forming equipment are amazingly versatile. When we go to the FABTECH show (this year in Las Vegas in October), we love speaking with the brilliant manufacturers who come up with all this. We can even customize our machinery and tooling to make your idea even easier to build!

 

Call us at 800-558-7808 to let us know how we can help you create new business!

We just returned from visiting our distributor in the UK, the venerable Top Gear Ltd. Top Gear has franchisees across the UK that specialize in custom performance exhaust. Building custom systems (or as they say, “bespoke systems”) out of 100% 304 stainless, their artisan fabricators make happy owners of Porsches, Mercedes, Mustangs, motorcycles, or motorhomes. You name it, they make it go with more fuel efficiency, more speed, and more fun for the driver!

I asked many of these experts how they designed their systems. Brett in Doncaster, England explained how he just starts from the front and works his way back underneath the car, caressing each bend, choosing each performance component along the way., And he added, “I’m damn good at it”. Tony from Leeds worked similarly- he had recently done an exhaust for his wife’s jet Black Beamer 7 series (business has been good). My-oh-my did that baby purr!

Peter from Cardiff (Wales) explained to me that the process was different for “petrol” (gasoline) cars vs. diesel. With diesel, you need to stay fairly close to the original tube diameters or you can actually lose mileage performance. With gas engines, there is more freedom. But of course it is hard to achieve the 70 mpg that some of the European diesel engines get!

Business was booming in all the shops we visited. The English are crazy about their customized 304 stainless steel exhausts from Top Gear.

Later, when our trip was ending and I was speaking with the airline agent who was checking my passport at Heathrow Airport (asking what I had been doing in the UK), he remarked that, in his single days, he had loved his Top Gear custom exhaust on his favorite car. I remarked that was probably what had attracted his wife to him. He smiled and said “Yes, actually, I think it was.”

Want to learn some of Top Gear’s secrets for a booming custom exhaust business, call us at 800-558-7808.

 

 

Promo news: Ends June 24! Tube forming Tool Treasure Event!

Get 20% off Huth and Ben Pearson tools !

(not including die packages or tool packages or custom tooling)

20% off individual tooling pieces ordered for prompt shipment between now and June 24th 2016.

Simply place your order with your distributor, who will pass on the discount to you. Not good in conjunction with other promotions.

Huth and Ben Pearson benders and end-forming equipment last a long time. A really long time.  

We often speak with customers that have used them profitably and successfully for 25 plus years. We were in a manufacturing facility last month, and they had our benders from the late 1980’s … still running well!

There is not really that much you have to do for maintenance and long equipment life. We provide a laminated maintenance checklist of simple stuff, checking your tooling, keeping it clean –have you changed your oil in the last 1000 hours?  Do you still have all your pressure gauges (which are the typical items that should be replaced due to bumps and grinds in the shop).

And you should know that we are always working on ways to make our equipment even more useful. New end forms for better connections (like v-band tooling), new capabilities (like bending square tubing), bigger (expanding to 12 inches with custom tooling) and better ( better stainless bending with wrinkle-control dies ). So Huth bending and end forming equipment is the kind of investment that pays you back over decades.

As always, let us help you with your tube fabricating issues (800-558-7808)! We keep replacement parts in stock.

 

Here is a classic on bending stainless steel!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LMKb0TGAgo&feature=youtu.be

Compression  Bending for Performance Enhancement:  The Practical Choice

Mandrel bends for performance exhaust are really nice. Providers of mandrel bends would tell you this is the only possible way to go for performance enhancement.  But pre-bent mandrel bends can also be really expensive! And to buy a machine to do it yourself? Really, really expensive!!

Trade offs: Performance experts agree that you have to make trade-offs when putting together your performance system. Long tube headers? What if you don’t have the room available … then they might use short tubes. What rpm range do you optimize the configuration for? Mid-range? Top end? Everything is a trade-off.

Cost: Mandrel benders are nearly 10 times as costly as compression benders, so producers of mandrel bends have to charge more to pay off their machinery. Most people interested in a better performing car are not world-renown Formula One drivers, racing for million dollar prizes. Getting better performance by putting larger pipes can work really well, regardless of what type of bending machine is used!  Increasing from 2 inch to exhaust to 2.5 inch will increase the internal pipe cross-sectional area by 47%, even if you get a slight compression in the bend area (6%, according to our testing).Some industry experts tell us that in most cases, this doesn’t even matter, as flow interference from a bend occurs downstream from the bend, where you have no compression, making the result even better. This, in turn, allows you (or your customer) to get a big performance boost without killing their pocket book!

If you are a Formula One driver, you can afford the mandrel bender. We can still help you with your end forming to make great connections between your tubes. There is a huge market of people wanting better performance at a reasonable cost … we would love to help you access that market. Call us at 800-558-7808 to learn more.

Compression benders are easy to use, but many don't appreciate just how broad the potential applications are.  We typically work with fabricators and operators working with tubes that range from 1 to 3″ OD, and are producing bends with radii of 3 to 5 inches.  When we attend the Fabtech show, we love hearing  from successful fabricators working in smaller diameters, who usually want to make bends tighter.

There is a great little device we recommend for tighter bends.  Using a “V-Block”,  we  have  helped customers bend tubing as small as 3/8 inch OD,  with as tight as 1 1/2 inch radius bends.

The V-Block helps change the geometry of the bending system so a tight radius can be achieved with a depth of bend up to approximately 130 degrees, all on a compression bender.  Essentially, the V-Block is mounted to the bending die pusher plate, and a small-radius round die  (typically custom to your application) nestles comfortably in the V.  Additionally, you will need a spacer behind the back shoes to achieve the proper bending action.

This means a compression bender can successfully work on 3/8 to 3 inch  diameter tubing, making bends with radii of 1 1/2 to 5 inches!

If you want to speak further with us about your potential  application, call us at 800-558-7808!

I was travelling last week with my family on Florida's Central “Space Coast” near NASA, and two days of tours highlighted how vibrant engineering exploration in aeronautics and space travel are these days … a manned mission to Mars is a daily topic of conversation there.

 

We have many customers in this field, including one of the two primary government contractors for implementing NASA's space travel plans in the future. These customers are advocates of our expanding equipment for end forming to make excellent connections between tubes and pipes. They have tough and exacting requirements, and successfully meet them.

 

The NASA folks have always liked to talk about all the great spin-off technologies (think LED's and artificial limbs) … well, our aeronautic customers have pioneered or refined the development many tube connecting joints like v-bands and Marman clamps. Today, these are used in performance automotive and car racing as well. 

 

Aerospace is a very tough environment, and exacting on the technologies applied. Tube expanders are very useful in creating the end forms that make extremely secure connections possible. 

 

Do you have a tough application environment for your tube connections? Call us at 800-558-7808!

 

Did you know that we make “Muffler Stands”?  Huth Part Number 986 safely supports components during installation. It extends to 79 inches, rotates 360 degrees and is self locking. 70 lb capacity.