tubing bender help

[6X6]

Race, I use Jimmy's Hausfeld, and it's just the cat's butt when it comes to bending. Tube Bending Machines | Metal Benders & Bending Dies | Hossfeld UNIVERSAL™ Bender, Winona, MNTubing (round or square), Pipe, conduit, flat the easy or hard way, angle, channel, square, round, plate (a heck of a lot more), you name it, it will do it, just name the angle, just have to buy the die. (as with everything, the tool isn't what kills you, it's all the tooling.)
Also, when his patents ran out and he did not renew, American bender started producing the same basic machine. Tube Bender,Iron Bender,Metal Bender,Bender Tooling,Tube Bending Machine,Iron Worker The tooling all interchanges, so you can get either machine and go with where-ever the die you need is in stock or cheaper. Both are great. I am not familiar with the ones you looked at and don't know what all you want it to do, but if you plan on trying to do a lot, look these two over also. If it's in your price range, you will definitely love it

[racerone3]

Finally sucked i up and bought a bender and notcher, went with the JD2 unit https://www.jd2.com/p-32-model-3-bender.aspx It just got here and I haven't had a chance to even put it together yet, but I will post again once I've done some test bends. I ended up picking this one over the pro tools based mostly on price. everyone I've asked who owns either loves the one they have. I still shelled out $1200, but got 3 dies with this one versus 2 dies with the pro tools version. I did not however spend the $135 for the stand. I should be able to build one for about $12 and it will fit the holes that I already have in my shop floor for the HF tire machine. while I'm at it, I'll build a stand for the HF tubing roller to fit the same pattern.

Now I want to build a new cage for something to test it out!!

[jerseybigfoot]

Nice choice. Check out this software that works well well with your bender. Maybe you can start a business building cages for maxes, attexes and hustlers.
Bend-Tech EZ
I have the Bend-Tech EZ and the 3D and you don't need to know about Autocad.

[racerone3]

I downloaded the Bend-Tech ez a few weeks ago and looked it over. I've never used much more than a tape measure and the eyecrometer for building my cages, but it sure looks like I could get a lot more technical with that program. My education in Autocad is antiquated at best, and I'd like to get a more up to date version of the software. I don't even think the version I have will run on a modern operation system.

I'm actually looking into going into business for myself doing restorations on various machines. I'm supposed to start on a pair of Rokon's next week for a guy. Hopefully that business will prove more lucrative than what I've got going on right now

[jerseybigfoot]

Once you have a bender that matches the software it does all the calculations and you mark off the bend points on a straight piece of tube. It also tells you the cut length for the straight tube. Duplicating pieces would be quick.

[number1cas]

I ended up picking this one over the pro tools based mostly on price. everyone I've asked who owns either loves the one they have. I still shelled out $1200, but got 3 dies with this one versus 2 dies with the pro tools version.

If you don't mind me asking how did it cost you $1200 ? I am looking to buy a bender too, and noticed the price is $295. What made it climb that high? It looks like a good unit for the light use I will give it, I already have a notcher that works okay.

[racerone3]

The bender was $295. Notcher was $215, and 3 sets of dies for the bender, $145- almost $300 each plus $70 for shipping. you have to buy individual die sets for the tubing diameter and the radius of bends that you want to make. the die sets are what get expensive.
this is a copy/paste from the invoice:
1 100155 Model 3 Bender 295.00 $295.00
1 100183 M3 Die Set - .75" (3.0-180) 3/4" Round Tube 145.00 $145.00
1 100241 M3 Die Set - 1.75" (6.5-90) 1 3/4" Round Tube 275.00 $275.00
1 100228 M3 Die Set - 1.5" (6.5-180) 1 1/2" Round Tube 290.00 $290.00
1 100477 TN-100 Tube Notcher 215.00 $215.00

[number1cas]

Ahhh, I see. Thanks for the info, I now have a better idea of the true cost. It's a long way off from $300 LOL! I would like to see some 90 bends when you have a chance to post them.

[racerone3]

will do. I didn't go get steel to build a stand because I didn't expect it to come in till next week. I'm going to try to pick some up this afternoon, but then I still have to come up with a 3/4 drill bit for the mounting holes. I should have it usable by Monday night at the latest. Any free time I get this weekend will probably go toward finishing the last few detail on my bigfoot build.

[racerone3]

So much for the best of plans. I'm within hours of done with the bigfoot, but just had to try out the bender. It seems to be a very well built piece, and assembly was a breeze. took about 25 min to put the machine together, and spent about another 40 building a stand. Dropped $20 at the local scrap yard and got enough to build stands for everything in my shop that needs one. The stand will still need to be torn down and welded on the insides of all the welds, and a few braces are needed to add some rotational stiffness. Then it will get a quick coat of paint and be good to go.

I did my first bend on a scrap of 1 1/2" 0.065 wall DOM tubing. One end was mangled from the HF pipe bender so any kinks you see in it are from that. First I did a 90* bend (roughly... didn't bother with the degree wheel for the first test). removed it for a pic, then put it back in and took the bend to (again roughly) 180*. the bender worked flawlessly and the bend quality is great. It took a medium amount of effort to bend the 0.065, so I would assume that 0.090 wall would take considerable effort. JD2 does condone and even recommend using a long chunk of pipe to make a longer handle for the thick wall stuff.
so far I'm very impressed. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get the notcher put together and try it out. I've been using a carbide bit in a die grinder to fit the joints on all my tubing for years, so it will most certainly be a huge improvement over that miserable process.

[number1cas]

Bend looks great, I think I know which unit I will be buying, Thanks. What notcher did you choose? any pics or links to it?

[racerone3]

This is the notcher I got https://www.jd2.com/p-62-tn-100.aspx I still haven't assembled it yet, but I will this afternoon. Spent a few hours this morning welding up stands for all the various other equipment that I've been vice griping to the wood stove for the last few years. Stands will get paint this afternoon and bolt it all together tomorrow.

[6X6]

Ahhh, I see. Thanks for the info, I now have a better idea of the true cost. It's a long way off from $300 LOL! I would like to see some 90 bends when you have a chance to post them.

#1, Tooling is almost always the cost. I've quickly learned that while a good lathe or mill or ironworker or whatever may not be cheap, the tooling is what'll put you in the poorhouse.

Brian, do they make any dies for angle iron, for things such as an angle iron belly band?

[racerone3]

I don't see any dies for angle iron. It would be pretty sweet to be able to bend it like that, but you would probably need a bunch of dies for all the different radius bends. I'm thinking an industrial strength shrinker/ stretcher would be the only possible way to avoid all the cutting and welding on a body band.

[6X6]

I don't see any dies for angle iron. It would be pretty sweet to be able to bend it like that, but you would probably need a bunch of dies for all the different radius bends. I'm thinking an industrial strength shrinker/ stretcher would be the only possible way to avoid all the cutting and welding on a body band.

OK, I'm not in the market yet, but am looking at Ideas. The Haasfeld from my first post does have these dies, it's just the only bender I have experience with, so I want to get an Idea what other machines will do all different types of bends in different steel stock.