who makes the best Tubing bender?

[BigValveTurbo]

ok so i own my own sheetmetal shop so home owner benders are out of the question for me as once i have a bender i will make money with it but i am not willing to spend 10g...so i am leaning toward the model 4 bender http://www.medfordtools.com/mb4.html
any one else got any ideas?
another option
www.tubeshark.com

[RedNeckRea]

ok so i own my own sheetmetal shop so home owner benders are out of the question for me as once i have a bender i will make money with it but i am not willing to spend 10g...so i am leaning toward the model 4 bender http://www.medfordtools.com/mb4.html
any one else got any ideas?
another option
www.tubeshark.com
you know...lance should really put a "tool/shop talk" forum so that the general 4X4 forum doesn't get cluttered with people asking about tools.


oh wait, he already did :shaking:

[BigValveTurbo]

sorry my bad...moderator feel free to delete

[AV8OR]

If you want to bend more than tubing I would look at the Hossfeld Bender. (http://www.hossfeldbender.com/)

There is a clone of the Hossfeld bender made by American Bender. (http://www.americanbender.com/)

I don't know as much about the American Bender as the Hossfeld but the Hossfeld is what I'm shooting for but it's dies are what will kill you.

[camo]

ok so i own my own sheetmetal shop so home owner benders are out of the question for me as once i have a bender i will make money with it but i am not willing to spend 10g...so i am leaning toward the model 4 bender http://www.medfordtools.com/mb4.html
any one else got any ideas?
another option
www.tubeshark.com

the model 3 is pretty much the industry standard for the home shop or small fab shop.

the model 4 is a step up from that. I know several people who have them and they are nice benders for the $$. If I ever purchase another bender I will get a model 4 instaed of the 3.

also when you order it make sure you tell them you saw it on pirate4x4 :D gotta keep our vendors happy

[bronco75]

personally I like my hossfeld but I couldn't beat the deal I got on it
150$ with new 1 5/8 dies then I added hydraulic

[Jeepnford]

I was told the Hossfeld dies will work on the model 4 if you drill the mounting pin holes on the dies out another 1/8 inch. Haven't seen it myself but that's what I heard.

[mgfabpd]

If you are serious about making money w/ your bender, the previously mentioned benders probably wont do. Dont get me wrong, they are great for one offs, or 2 to 3 part runs, but if you want the ability to do production runs w/ accuracy, nothing beats a programable machine. I know that sounds expensive, but they can be had for less than 10G, and if you cant make one of these machines pay for themselfs, and them some within a couple of months, you need to be worried about your marketing, not your equipment!
I scored an Ercolina Megabender w/ a 2 axis positioner from an auction for $8350 which also included 7 sets of dies. That was way more than we wanted to spend at the time, but it only took us 3 weeks to find a job building sailboat lifting cradles for a local marina that made us three times the purchase price, and we had all the parts bent in about 3 days!
Thats all it takes is one good job to pay for one of these things, after that it is pure profit - you gotta love that!
By the way, the 2 axis positioner is not a must, but it speeds things way up, and w/ unmatched repeatability. And dont go looking for your "one big job" in the automotive industry, unless you plan on designing bumpers, or rock rails, or something like that - cages should be made to the specific vehicle.

[camo]

no doubt the model 4 is not a production bender but for one off work they are they standard machine in the field. most of the production shops I know of that have a programable ercolina ( or similiar ) still have a hand bender like the model 3 or 4 for building on off and pre production work.

[BigValveTurbo]

mgfabpd
thanks for the info, i dont think i am looking for a production machine because first off 90% of my work is all one offs any way and second if i score a big enough job that i need to step up a production type mac i will buy one then with the cusomers down payment! ;) (thats how i got my big brake)

[TRD]

JMR Tube Bender.

Electric over hydraulic.
Plugs into the wall and is much quiter than air over hydraulic

Bends up to .25 wall 4130 Tube
Uses bushings at pin locations that can be replaced.

Comes with a stand and 3 dies.

http://www.jmrmanufacturing.com/images/bender_big.jpg

[camo]

looking at the pic that TRD posted brings up another thing to consider when buying a bender....Dies, I recomend buying the 180 degree dies in the tightest radius offered for the size. while bending past 90 is not common it is worth the few extra bucks to have the die. also the smaller radius makes cleaner looking bends and will fit in more spots than the larger radius bends

[GOAT1]

looking at the pic that TRD posted brings up another thing to consider when buying a bender....Dies, I recomend buying the 180 degree dies in the tightest radius offered for the size. while bending past 90 is not common it is worth the few extra bucks to have the die. also the smaller radius makes cleaner looking bends and will fit in more spots than the larger radius bends

Good point, but be carefull, we have a hossfield at my work and it has way to small bend radii (1 1/2 x 3), my boss bought them for the same reasons you mentioned but on the hossfield they bend like crap, they end up looking like you bent them on a muffler tubing bender and it wont even bend DOM without breaking the tubing. Also, in general the thinner the wall thickness, the larger bend radius you need without a mandrel. For one off custom work and small production I vote for the JMR, but the model 4 is also good, if you are doing any kind of production work, get an ercolina or something similar.

[camo]

good point. I have never seen a 3' radius die for a hossfield bender, for 1.5" tube the 5.5" radius is the smallest standard die I have seen.

hendrix uses a 3" radius die on his mandrel bender and it makes bitchen bends but now way would it work without the mandrel.

[MAD MAC]

If you want to bend more than tubing I would look at the Hossfeld Bender. (http://www.hossfeldbender.com/)

There is a clone of the Hossfeld bender made by American Bender. (http://www.americanbender.com/)

I don't know as much about the American Bender as the Hossfeld but the Hossfeld is what I'm shooting for but it's dies are what will kill you.

I don't know what your planning on bending but the hossfeld needs alot of room for tube to swing I have owned 2 of them the manual and the full hydro series 2 with hundreds of different dies. Its ok for one of stuff but very cumbersome to use. I just would look into it alot before you spend the cash.

[Proeliator]

I'm surprised nobodies mentioned the pro-tools benders. I'm currently in a toss up between the medford and the one-shot. Anyways, something else to consider.

[JUSTPARTS]

I would like to know where to get the JMR, it looks like what I want.

[Proeliator]

http://tricktools.resultspage.com/tools/tube%20bender

[LittleBlackSambo]

i'm surprised nobody here has seen the baileigh/rmd model 1. imho, the best manual bender setup out there. it is a rotary draw bender, so the tail doesn't swing through the bend, and the dies are top notch. you don't have to pull any pins or partially disassemble the forming die assy for insertion and removal, and the top is open, so there is nothing to get in the way. the bender is a bit more than some of the ones listed above, but the die packages cost less, so in the end the baileigh/rmd is better!
http://www.bii1.com/benders.htm

[Fab]

I use a Pro Tool and have had very good luck with it. I am in the process of converting it to electric over hydralic.