Bender

Has anyone used a model similar to this ? I onloy have to make a few bends ( for now )

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-12-Ton-Hydraulic-Tube-Rod-Pipe-Bender-Bending-/230929582746?_trksid=p3284.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D21%26pmod%3D330875554824%26ps%3D54

Thanks,
John

If you're gonna make just a few non-critical bends,...but be advised that the dies supplied will not be a good fit for most roll cage tubing sizes. And that thing doesn't "roll" the bend. It's gonna squash the bends some. You might help things a little by shifting the tube around on the die as you go slowly, but your bends will not look anything like a mandrel bend.

On the bright side, you can always use the bottle as a lifting jack.

I have read where some guys have some success bending tubing with a cheap pipe/conduit bender like that by filling/packing the tubing with sand first before bending to help reduce the amount the tubing tries to collapse/flatten during bending. But I have never owned that type pipe bender, or tried the sand trick to help a pipe bender bend tubing, so I don't know if it works or not.

If you need a "real" tubing bender spend a little more money & get a JD Squared (JD2) bender, best bang for the buck. There are other similar "low cost" tube bender company's out there in the same price range as JD2 that have tried to copy their die/shoe set designs. But the copy cats have never been able to quite make their benders as good/exactly the same as JD2's stuff.

John Myrick wrote:Has anyone used a model similar to this ? I onloy have to make a few bends ( for now )

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-12-Ton-Hydraulic-Tube-Rod-Pipe-Bender-Bending-/230929582746?_trksid=p3284.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D21%26pmod%3D330875554824%26ps%3D54

Thanks,
John

My father had one and we didn't much care fore it. It kinks the bends, but if your going to cover the rollbar or whatever your building no big deal. His friend has used it with packing it full of wet sand having a little better luck. I would really consider moving up to the JD2 if your bending an entire car. If you decide to stick with that one i would check out your local Harbor Freight as they always have sales and if you pick up a flyer in front can normally score an additional 20% off.

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-ton-hydraulic-pipe-bender-32888.html

JD2 is awesome. we have the model 32 with only a couple of dies and we have built a lot of cars. we don't have hydraulics but I probably never will because of how easy it is to operate.

but for only a few bends every now and again I might would just find someone in the area that has a good bender to borrow. it would be easier than making a cheap one work right.

I use a hossfeld bender. Great bender. Little pricey if you buy new though

John Myrick wrote:Has anyone used a model similar to this ? I onloy have to make a few bends ( for now )

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-12-Ton-Hydraulic-Tube-Rod-Pipe-Bender-Bending-/230929582746?_trksid=p3284.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D21%26pmod%3D330875554824%26ps%3D54o

Thanks,
John

I have that same bender it is ok for a small job but if you are going to make.a full cage I would op for a better bender as it is hard to make the same bend without wasting a bunch of tubing.

whatbumper wrote:JD2 is awesome. we have the model 32 with only a couple of dies and we have built a lot of cars. we don't have hydraulics but I probably never will because of how easy it is to operate.

but for only a few bends every now and again I might would just find someone in the area that has a good bender to borrow. it would be easier than making a cheap one work right.

this^^^ if you do buy a bender get a JD2.after your done you can get most of your money back.i have the model 32 hyd and realy like it. i dont think you'd be happy with the bends from anything less.

I'm looking at buying one myself, toss up between JD2 Model 32 and Pro-Tools MB-105HD. Good deal right now on the Pro-Tools @ Van Sant ( Trick Tools).

My ancient JD2 bender is probably around 28 years old, (bought it somewhere in the mid 1980's) it's always worked perfectly and never given me any trouble.

Another thing to remember is the cost of the dies you'll need.most benders are in the same price range but the bending dies will eat your ass up I looked at the mittler brs bender but the die cost was way higher than jd2.one more thing is some benders only go 90*,sometimes you need 180*.

Yes dies are pricey. If I bought all mine new. I would have 20,000 in my bender with hydraulic and all. I got lucky at an auction. I have 3 hossfelds now. 2 manual and one hydraulic. Makes it easier having multiple set ups. I have about 3,000 in mine. 5/8 to 2 inch. 180 degree dies. 1 inch square also. Plus angle, flat stock and other options.

Spending the extra money for a 180* die/shoe set is usually helpfull for the smaller cage/chassis tubing sizes, (say 1 1/4" OD tube and less) so you can make loop guards for small front mounted fuel cells, driveshaft loops, loop style battery mounts, etc, etc. But the 180* sets can sometimes be a waste of money for the larger OD tubing sizes (like 1 3/8" OD and larger) where you will be bending less than a 90* degree angle all most all of the time.

And the 90* die/shoe sets can usually be fudged/pushed a little farther than 90* if a little more angle is needed (well the JD2's sets I have can, not sure how far the other brand benders "90*" sets can be pushed past 90).

I wouldn't have all the dies I have if they wouldn't have come with the bender that's for sure. I hardly go past 90 degrees either

we cheated on a few dies. bent some tubing, split it and use it as a spacer for smaller tubing. works well, saves money