Airburst

Not sure if this is the right forum for this, but here goes. I'm planning to build a rear rack for my old Raleigh, and since the bike is only made from mild steel, I figured I wouldn't bother with a fancy lightweight rack. My plan is to use fairly thin mild steel bar stock (maybe 1/8", depending what I can get hold of), but I have a few questions.

I'm planning on making the two legs that join onto the frame out of a single piece of bar, avoid too many joints and keep things simple, and this requires bending the metal. My plan was to bend it in a vice, using a piece of 3/4" steel plumbing pipe to radius the bends. Will that be sufficient diameter, or should I use a larger pipe?

Also, should I heat the metal before I bend it? If so, how hot? (I've got a plumber's torch which can get steel red hot pretty quick, so I figure I can go pretty high with the temperature)

Finally, after I've bent it, will the metal require annealing or something?

Thanks in advance