not sure if you have access to one, but the tool i found to make pipe bending easy was a vice.



simply sit the non movable part of the pipe bender in that, and this allows you to easily set the pipe up and bend it with 2 hands... also buying the right sized pipe bending would have saved you all the heart ache in the world



another tool i found great was the "flapper" style sand sand paper disc's that go in a drill. you file down the chamfer on the end of the tube, then run it over with the sand paper to really smooth out and rough edges



also that lighter would have done next to nothing for heating that tube, you need a proper propane style torch to really sink some heat into in over the whole bend radius, other wise like what happened you end up with one warm bit which bends easy then goes to the cold harder bit which just tears.

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