sorry. i posted this thread by mistake on the newbie general 4x4 discission, so i bring it here, where it belongs:-

it is now more than 8 months, since i started taking the fab business seriously. by now, i already studied welding(Arc,
Mig and Tig), and i loved every minute of the welding jobs i did
and still do.
i got good welders(Cebora) including Arc, Mig and Tig.
i also work a lot with a plasma cutter(Cebora too). i got more experience doing some tin work which produced good results.
i also got a good drilling machine, steel saw and all the other
equipment a professional metal shop would need.

i'm doing all this because i decided that the next vehicle i build,
will be built completely by me using my own hands only.
besides, i simply love metal and processing it, and i would
be as happy as one can be while planning and building exactly
the vehicle i want and how i want it built.

it's time now to move to the next phase = tube bending.
for that, i need to get a good, accurate, powerful and professional bending machine, which will be able to bend
tough steels(including chrome-moly) in diameters up to 2".
i need advise from you tube benders - please share your experience and knowledge with me. what should i look for
in the tube bending market?

thanks for your help :)

i'd get a JD2 model 3 hydraulic set up or even the model 4. check out vansant enterprises. sounds like you have a nice set up over there...good luck!

greg

d00d, do a search, there have been two different threads on this subject in the past two weeks

I'm using a JD2 model 3 with the air over hydraulic set up and I couldn't be happier with it.

I 2nd the Jd2 model 3 with an air/hydro ram...cheap and powerfull;) However I have found that it is ALOT easier to use with two people. The second person helps with making more than one bend on a peice of tube(getting it in the correct plane).

I have the JD2 mod 3 with the air over hydro conversion, it does in fact work great, its a bit slow but it is a good entry level unit. If you looking to step up production you may want to go with a true hydro power unit for the JD2 to increase speed.

Check this out in the Vendor Showcase.

http://pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=157403


I have a Pro Tools 105 and love it.

I have a JD2 setup with an air/hydro ram.

barry, have you read this:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/bendin_tube/index.html

- jack

Frog,

Check this out

http://www.mtechsupply.com/img/1.gif

M-Tech Supply Model 1 Bender.

Features:

Large 2" O.D. Capacity
Single Shot Bends to approx 90 Degrees!
Fast Bend Times
Hand Jog Control
Fully Hydraulic
Powerful 1HP Pump
Operates on 110V (electrc/hydraulic).
Quiet Operation
Affordable Tooling
Easy Set-Up for Production

I use the PRO TOOLS M105, it can be purchaced relatively cheap and produces excellent bends I run all 240 deg dies just because you never know when you ll need it I also RUN bendtech 2.0 software and havent lost a pc. of tube to scrap yet..

I use a Williams Low-Buck Tools Hy-Bend hydraulic bender and love it to death! I have owned it for 6 years and never had a single problem from it. It does 180 bends in one sweep in about 15 seconds. Worth every penny. Comes on a roll around cart so it's fully transportable. Weighs about 200 lbs.