thinking of buying tube bender
 

i am interested in purchasing a new or used tube bender.any recomendations on one that is good but reasonablely priced?

thanks

I bought the JD2 Model 32 manual bender. Price wasn't too hateful.

X2

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JD2 here too. Kind of the benchmark I guess.

I have a jd2 model 3... Works good but if I had to do it again I would have bought model 32 or model 4... The model 3 is great if your bending 1.5 x.12 all the time but 1.75x.12 really gives it a workout.. I had to beef up the mounts...

I started out with a model 3 for my first bender. It's the predecessor to the Model 32. We use a Model 4 at the shop, and now I can't imagine using anything less. The way they work is different as well. For small home shop projects, the 32 will do you just fine. The suckiest part about a manual bender is that it has to be mounted to the floor and limits what you can do with what kind of space you have.

The model 32 is built stronger than the 3 & 4. I know a guy that has a 4 and he borrowed my die from the 32, and everything about the 32 was bigger so he couldn't use it. You can spend the extra $400+ and get the hydraulics for the 32. The new one that's replacing the model 4 is going to be top notch. The biggest I've bent with mine is 2 1/8 x .188 DOM. It's a workout bending that manually. :sweatin:

Have you seen a 32 and a 4 side by side? The 4 is much beefier. Dies from the 32 won't work in a 4 anyway, unless you buy and extra shoe for them. And model 4 dies won't work at all in a model 32, as they don't have the extra leg coming off of them.

get the 3/32....it be great for what u need it for. the 4 just operates differently than those, in the way the die and the followers actually form the tube. on the 3/32 the tube clamps to the die and the followers do the bending. 4 is opposite...
32 is rated for thicker wall tube than 3 or 4 as was mentioned.;)

other than what was mentioned, spend some $ for a digital angle finder, digitall torpedo, and a tube clamp.tube bandit is good but i think out of buissness now. take care of ur dies, doont run rusty tube in them, don't let them rust. and only buy the 180 degree dies... not the 90s.....

do the math and the calibration exersizes, note that your springback changes after u get above 95 or 100 degrees.

that's all I got to add...
I'm lookin forward to see your tube work!

Sent from my LS670 using Tapatalk 2

You guys know alot about bending! I just slide some tube in and hope it comes out how I want it:D


KYrel69 or whatever his screen name is has a pro tool 105 he might sell ya

that's cause ur just that awesome:D....heck, I bet u even make ur own knuckles dontcha?

Sent from my LS670 using Tapatalk 2

thanks for all the great advice it is all very helpfull

:whistle:

I am in the market for one also...the price on that 105 looks good. Any used ones floating around? It does not matter which bender. I need to bend 1.5in .120 wall...

me too... :sweatin:

I just saw this and thought it might be worth a look...

http://forum.ih8mud.com/vendor-marke...e-die-set.html

Looks like it does the job..too pricey for me though...