Blue Bend

A superior performing and environmentally friendly alternative to lead, pitch Cerrobend and many others for accurate and consistent thin wall tube bending.

Blue Bend is an innovative new material that I developed to fabricate complex and accurate 3D parts in thin wall brass and nickel silver. While I was trained in traditional methods of bending using pitch, the smell and mess associated with using it became unbearable when I moved to a smaller shop in 2020. After trying Cerrobend and Polybend and even newer resins and frozen mediums, I wasn’t able to find one that gave me the results I was looking for. So, I began my own research and finalized the first recipe in 2022 which I started using in my workshop. After sharing my discoveries with some collegues, the benefits were obvious and I began offering it more widely. Now, in addition to musical instrument makers and tinkerers, other industries that rely on bent tube have added Blue Bend to their workflows, many with great success.

Non- toxic

Blue Bend is made with all natural, non-toxic materials and when heated properly gives off little to no smoke or odor.

High performance

Hold tight tolerances for roundness and surface finish throughout a wide range of tube diameters and bending radii.

Water soluble

Residue inside tubes or on tools is 100% water soluble and cleans up easily.

In this part, the diameter changes drastically from one end to the other and Blue Bend handles both beautifully.

This small radius part will need some secondary forming, but Blue Bend can handle it.

Blue Bend is reusable many times

Blue Bend can be recovered and reused indefinitely! These bits are ready to be melted, strained, and stored for another day.

How to use:

Melt solid Blue Bend easily in the microwave, hot plate, or a variety of methods; many of which do not use industrial equipment.

Pour melted Blue Bend into prepared tubes; let cool and harden.

Bend using your technique of choice. Both freeform hand bending and tool/ die assisted bending are supported (pun intended).

Empty the bulk of the Blue Bend from the bent tube with a soft flame, heat gun, oven, or other heat source.

Remove any remaining residue from the finished part with water.

Additional articles and information:

Articles
Using Blue Bend (the long version).
Using Blue Bend (the long version).

A longer form how- to with some tips and tricks for getting the most out of bending with Blue Bend.

[Video] Introduction to Blue Bend.
[Video] Introduction to Blue Bend.

My wife let me make this in my kitchen, so you know it’s safe, easy to use and easy to clean.

We hand craft small batches of Blue Bend to order and would love to help you get set up with your own. We will add a way to buy directly from the website soon, but for now, use the form below to get started! We will check shipping options and help you choose the right amount of Blue Bend to meet your needs.