Good tube bender?

[Buckgnarly]

I've always wanted one but always had shops do my bending when needed. Neighbor needs new brush guards for his Tucker SnoCat, so think it's time to grab one.
Anyone have the JD32?....looking closely at that model. Also thinking Id like hydro.
Anyone got experience or advice?

 

[AA/FC]

I've only used Hossfeld tubing benders. Both of the ones I've used had custom made hydraulic setups on them. They worked great for my needs. The JD benders seem to be very common nowadays.... They seem like a copy of the Hossfeld to me.... so they should work great!

Once you own (or have access to) a bender you'll constantly be thinking of projects to that require bent tubing. lol. That's not a bad thing...

Whatever you buy, enjoy your new bender.

 

[rmack898]

I have a Pro Tools 105HD that is pretty much the same as a JD2 and they all are based off of the Hossfeld design.
I have bent a bunch of pipe with mine, all sch.40 anodized aluminum pipe done manually. I am quite happy with the bender and the results I get from it.

I have all the parts needed to convert it over to hydraulic but I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I highly recommend going the hydraulic route.

Dies are where the real costs of a tube/pipe bender come in. Tube and pipe require separate dies and you will need a separate die for each size of pipe or tube. Dies are not interchangeable between benders so if you think you will need a bunch of dies for your intended work, price out the dies before you select a bender as that will affect the total cost of the bender making the cheapest bender more expensive.

I don't recommend buying a 90* die, always buy 180* dies. You can bend 90* or any degree up to 180 on a 180* die, but if you try to bend past 90* by re-indexing the pipe an a 90* die you will not be happy with the results.

If money was no object I would go Hossfeld because it's built stronger and is much more versatile in what it can do besides just pipe and tube.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I have a JD32 (coincidentally used it today to bend some hoops) and I really like it. @rmack898 hit the nail on the head with his input. I went full hydraulic from JD Squared and I'm glad I did. It was expensive up front, but that money is long forgotten. I have 1"-2" dies in .25" increments, which does everything I need. I do want a .75" die, but keep forgetting to buy one. They do sales like twice a year for 10% off, so I waited for that when I bought my stuff years ago.

The other bender/style to read up on is the Rogue Fab stuff. People seem to like them from I have read on here.

 

[Pontiac787]

Does anyone have experience with this Eastwood bender? It appears to be on sale for $250 and is similar to the JD style.

 

[msharley]

You may be able to find a used GreenLee bender?

 

[b-dog]

I have the JD32 but I would also recommend the Rogue fab bender. Seems very comparable just horizontal vs vertical bending. I had to do some vertical bending so I just welded up another attachment to my table for the JD32 bender. I'll echo everything above.... I went with air/hydro from the start from Swag offroad so I can only imagine what cranking the bender by hand must be like. I have a standing search/alert on craigslist for 'bender' which has scored me a few sets of dies at a discount.

 

[danielbuck]

I just sold the JD2 (old model3) that I've had for 10+ years, started using a Rogue Fab. I like how the RF bender works with the clamp-on draw blocks, fairly easy to bend, remove the tube, check something, put the tube back in and continue bending. Also just seems alot easier to judge the bend angle when going vertical versus horizontal (you can simply use a digital level). I don't have their table, I made my own.

The dies are also aluminum instead of steel, some of my JD2 dies were heavy. I'm not sure if the aluminum dies will hold up over a long period of time as well as steel ones would, but we'll see.

I mainly bend 1" round and square tube (1/16" and 1/8" wall), and 1.5" and 1.75" HREW and DOM (1/8" wall)


I'd recommend the Rogue Fab, unless you find another bender and dies you need for cheap. Both styles have a learning curve, but to me the RF is easier.


This was my first real project (not just test bends) with the RF, making some connector pieces to slide long pieces of tube into for a structure to hang tomato plants from. My usual projects are vehicles, roll cages, crossmembers and what not.

 

[Mr.N]

Does anyone have experience with this Eastwood bender? It appears to be on sale for $250 and is similar to the JD style.

That is a nice price. Don't forget the die is going to cost more, add in the hydraulics plus clamps and your closing in on $750- $1,000.

There are many ways to measure on how to bend tube... I am a fan of Bend-tech if you are going to do more than several bends.

 

[dr_clyde]

I have a JD2 model 3 and a Hossfeld. I like both. The JD2 is a bit more user friendly but the Hossfeld is far more versatile.