Trying to twist square tubing

You'll need a LOT of torque!

I haven't twisted tube, just flat or massive square. The trick to use some tube to keep the thing straight is right. In your case, I'd put just some round inside of your square tube. No sand, no caps. If you weld on caps, you need much more force and the twist won't be even. You could also slip some round tube over your square tube if you haven't something that fits inside. Doesn't make a difference.

HTH, Nick

I would try it with just the pipe inside the square tubing first. If it works it will be a lot less work. And I think it will work.

Dan

Shoot, every time I try to bend one of those straight it gets twisted! :-)

GWE

And mebbe heat it up w/ a rosebud O/A tip. Sposedly yer not sposed to use rosebuds on B tanks, but if you have a flash suppressor in line, doing it on a full tank should be OK. I've done it. Or preheat some other way.

I've done it with smaller thinwall steel by putting a bolt through holes in either end and mounting one set firmly to my work table, then taking the burner out of my forge and giving it a couple of passes with that, but it has a tendency to spiral at the same time. I think that if I were able to put it under tension as suggested above that that might not happen. You could probably wind up doing just as well by fitting a round pipe down the middle and putting the bolt through just beyond it. If it begins to scrape too much, heat the whole thing up and stretch it out a little, let it cool some and try again. Can't promise all that much for strength, but it would probably do for decorative work, which, since you haven't mentioned concerns about the seams weakening, I guess is what you're up to. Just dont heat

it too much, and turn slowly. GCC

Can't be too hard. Every time I loan my post hole digger, it comes home with a twisted PTO shaft. :)

--Andy Asberry recommends NewsGuy--

And I'd cut it to length *after* I twisted it...