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Originally Posted by jaydee
Yeah sand is ok. Try to get the sand as fine as possible. Sand with clay in it seems to pack a little better. You can use a kitchen sifter to sift the sand or screen.
Also if you anneal (heat dull red hot and let cool) the copper first it makes it easier to bend.
Another method is to fill the copper pipe with molten solder and then let is cool hard then bend. Then heat back up and the solder will flow out. Not recommended for water cooler though as solder will remain on the walls of the pipe.
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If you heat the pipe with the sand inside, do make absolutley sure the sand is dry before you cap the pipe, or it can "explode" like a mini pipe bomb due to water vapour building pressure inside the pipe and splitting it open. I witnessed this on a friends race car, when they were bending up a rollcage for it. The welder who was doing the heating had some shrapnel in his chest and nasty sandblasting done to his face. Fortunately, he was wearing safety glasses, so he wasn't blinded. Has a pretty scarred/weathered face now though. Granted the tubing was 1 1/2" so it held a lot more sand but I still wouldn't want a small copper pipe bursting in my face and scaldin g me with steam
