Tubing Bender
- Thread starter sasquach
- Start date
FNG
SPEED...The Ultimate Frontier
Well personally I think all three of those are junk. Just my opinion though I do know of people actually making them work decent. I started checking online classifieds and on craigslist 300 miles away I got found a JD Squared www.jd2.com Model 4 bender. New they are about $3,500 with all the parts I have but got one used from someone going out of business for $1000. Might be something to get a few guys to go in on together but I can bend tubing for bumpers, roll cages, dune buggies and this fall I will do my first bike frame. Next to my Eastwood welder and plasma cutter best tool in my garage.
joeyputt
The green flag sets me free
Brother I have the orange one in the first photo, when I first bought it a lot of members here said that they did not like it when they used one but I have had very good results with mine and have used it for framing bends and even bent some very heavy flat steel with it for a transmission loop on a drag car.
famousseajay
Been Around the Block
FNG said:
Judging by The Squach's avatar (awesome bike stand!) this phrase may be foreign to him. I know it is to me!
I have used one similar to the middle at work before. Takes a few bends to figure out where and what is going to bend. But it works. And if its good enough for industrial factory use, its good enough for me. 8)
[/size](edited for horable spelling)
A buddy of mine has one similar to the second one pictured in his shop. He does restomod and racecar fabrication and uses it all the time. Never heard him complain about it. I don't know the brand, but I highly doubt it's Harbor Freight. It's been in his shop since I was 16'ish... over 25 years.
dakine_surf
"Stay Thirsty my Friends"
Yeah I really don't like those orange ones... Seem to pinch more than bend, but I have used ones similar to the bottom two before and got decent results.
If money was no object, I would have one of these sweet "toob poppers" in my garage!
tube bending
If money was no object, I would have one of these sweet "toob poppers" in my garage!
tube bending
MotorbikeBruno
Over 1,000 Posts
I've got the JD Squared www.jd2.com Model 32 Bender. Paid a decent amount after a few dies and what not, near 800 or so. I guess you really have to think of what you are doing and how much bending you will actually be doing. I know I like to make all sorts of things and needed to bend tube/pipe. But if I were to have bought it for a few motorcycles, bending tube maybe 10 times or so per bike.....well thats 800/20...so far 40 bucks a bend! So I'd say think about how much you are going to use it before you spend the money.
One thing is, the bender I have will work well forever....not sure of the others....just my .02
One thing is, the bender I have will work well forever....not sure of the others....just my .02
RedPlastic
make it rain bitches
I have a jd2 model 4...if your serious about bending "tube" buy a "tubing" bender... what you have depicted in your 1st post are shit "pipe" kinkers, and arent worth their weight in scrap metal.
Basement rat
Over 1,000 Posts
Orange one is garbage.
I have the orange one. It is a pipe bender. It wont bend tubing unless you re-shape the dyes and learn how to use it. Also, there are some tricks like packing the tubing with liquid sand. There is an art to using it. Believe me you can bend tubing with it. I just built my last bike with it. For all you young bucks, "Its all in how you use it." haha
I could never justify the price of a real tubing bender.
I could never justify the price of a real tubing bender.
joeyputt
The green flag sets me free
Almost everyone here on DTT says that the orange bender in the first photo does not work well however I agree with Brother troybilt as the one that I have makes beautiful bends that are as nice if not nicer than factory bends and I have a local Brother that uses one to build roll cages in stock cars.
Mine works better than any bender I have ever used. I have it mounted on a table now but you can see it in this photo.
A lot of you already know but I built this chassis with that bender.
Mine works better than any bender I have ever used. I have it mounted on a table now but you can see it in this photo.
A lot of you already know but I built this chassis with that bender.
The orange bender does work, it just takes great care to get it right. The biggest issue with it, as Troy stated, is that it is a PIPE bender. PIPE and TUBING are different OD measurements. Pipe is measured as the inside diameter, so a 1" pipe is more like 1.5" OD. Tubing is measured from the outside. The pipe bender will work, but you have to be slow, and you have to shim the dies to fit the tubing rather than just popping it in and going. Technically, if you went to Lowe's and bought black iron pipe, it would work in the bender. I wouldn't do that, because pipe is designed for fluid traffic where tubing is designed for structure. Different strokes. So yes, if you're creative, they work well. I bent Gretta's swing arm with one before I got the JD2.
sasquach
Coast to Coast
Going by what some of you are saying I think I might go with the orange one . I am not in anyway gonna try to do any kind of business with this . I know it is cheap but I need it for my project then after that it will probably sit in a corner until my next . Thanks guys all the info is great . I knew I could post on here and get honest results .
Sas
Sas
Basement rat
Over 1,000 Posts
Joey, care to share your setup?
There is nowhere for a refrence point to start your bend, there is nowhere to measure (outside of the work piece its self), The dies are spaces so far apart, you need 4' of pipe/ tube to make anything, smaller and your SOL. You cant start a second bend from a different direction within the space of the dies on the rig, How do you measure the consumption of material when you make bends to account for your next bend? Oh, Whats your max bend angle? 75, 80*?... Mandrill FTW.
Perhaps I'm spoiled by good tools at work, Maybe I want a little more from the tool, but why mess around and try to make something work LIKE THIS when you can buy one that works right? Yes, I understand Spring compressor tools, pulling tools and basic home made tools. The difference, this tool matters. Unless all you need/ want is one angle in 5' of tube/ pipe.
Win me over (please), Show me how to copy a Featherbed frame with one.
There is nowhere for a refrence point to start your bend, there is nowhere to measure (outside of the work piece its self), The dies are spaces so far apart, you need 4' of pipe/ tube to make anything, smaller and your SOL. You cant start a second bend from a different direction within the space of the dies on the rig, How do you measure the consumption of material when you make bends to account for your next bend? Oh, Whats your max bend angle? 75, 80*?... Mandrill FTW.
Perhaps I'm spoiled by good tools at work, Maybe I want a little more from the tool, but why mess around and try to make something work LIKE THIS when you can buy one that works right? Yes, I understand Spring compressor tools, pulling tools and basic home made tools. The difference, this tool matters. Unless all you need/ want is one angle in 5' of tube/ pipe.
Win me over (please), Show me how to copy a Featherbed frame with one.
sasquach said:
The bender is not user friendly at all. In fact it took me a lot of failures before I was able to use it. Like Kanticoy pointed out tubing will not fit in the dies. It rides on top. I spent a considerable amount of time reshaping the dies with a grinder so tubing would fit. The tubing has to fit perfectly. That in itself is not easy. Even then you are not going to stick tubing in, start pumping the handle and end up with anything that resembles a quality bend. Even after learning some tricks, it takes considerable time, patience, and willingness to learn because its more of an art then science.
There is a good reason most have a negative opinion toward it.
If you want pm me
i need to find access to a good bender... wish we had more use for one to justify buying one... i used ot use 2 rotors that was made into a bender. worked ok... then the orange HF one... now i am not sure if it is in the shop or in my attic at home somewhere! hahaha have to find it though i need to build an undercarrage like Kanticoy did for gretta, that looks balls man!
