# Using greenlee 555 eletric bender for small offsets



## HertzHound (Jan 22, 2019)

The push through method is when the conduit bends are in consecutive order from the first bend to the last bend in one direction. In other words you don't take the conduit out of the bender to flip the conduit around. Mostly in reference to saddle bends. It is easier when you bend on the centers of the bend and not the benchmark. Although if you know the distance from the center of the bend to the benchmark you can certainly mark up the conduit for using the benchmark.

I would do whatever possible to *NOT* make small bends. So build your supports or equipment out to *not* require a 1" bend in 2" conduit. Straight conduit always looks better than unnecessary bends. Small bends are also unforgiving. Very easy to take out a little out of an 8" offset. Not so easy to take out 1/2" in a 2" offset. Bending conduit kills production. Adding an inch to a support that you already have to install takes no time at all. If you really must make small bends, use small degrees. Get the bends far apart. There probably is no tricks. Just the standard conduit bending that you will just need to perfect. With real small degrees a No-Dog level is probably essential because it will be hard to eye up the conduit. If it helps here is a screenshot of an Excel sheet for the EMT shoe group for that bender. The numbers could be off slightly. If I find that the take up or the gain is off slightly I change the number in that cell and the rest of the sheet will update. Print it, laminate it, and hang it on the bender.


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## vuuli312 (Jan 8, 2014)

Thanks for the reply hertzhound! I agree with you about avoiding making small offset bends in large pipe. But in this particular job ,i have to feed a panel mounted on shallow strut on a concrete wall. I would prefer to run the 2" emt on deep strut, no need for offset.But the foreman wants the conduit mounted on the wall using 1 hole straps ( hence the need for a small offset). Guess i'll use maybe 10 degrees, but how far apart would the 2 bends be? Trial and error i guess?


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## BluejacketBob (Nov 26, 2020)

Find a piece of scrap if you can and eyeball it. Too bad you don't have one of those smart benders. I worked for shops that would never use one holes for anything larger than 3/4. Do you think the boss would go for using minis as a compromise between one holes and strut? Strut would be the best way.


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## HertzHound (Jan 22, 2019)

vuuli312 said:


> Thanks for the reply hertzhound! I agree with you about avoiding making small offset bends in large pipe. But in this particular job ,i have to feed a panel mounted on shallow strut on a concrete wall. I would prefer to run the 2" emt on deep strut, no need for offset.But the foreman wants the conduit mounted on the wall using 1 hole straps ( hence the need for a small offset). Guess i'll use maybe 10 degrees, but how far apart would the 2 bends be? Trial and error i guess?


That’s crazy not to use deep strut.

in the chart above a ten degree bend has a multiplier of 5.7 so if you wanted a 1-5/8 offset it would be 5.7 x 1-5/8” = 9-1/4” apart. Looking at the chart, it looks like the bends would not be on top of each other and would be far enough apart. This is because the distance from the center of the bend to the bench Mark is 6-1/6 plusyou need to figure half the developed length to get to the end of the bend. That should allow enough room for the hook of the bender to be on a flat piece of conduit for the next bend. Maybe try a five degree bend? It might look better being even farther apart between the bends.


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## CMP (Oct 30, 2019)

I'm a little unconventional, I use a method that uses no math, but a couple of extra measuring devices. I do mostly equipment and machine work, so the tolerances required are usually much tighter than construction type work would require.

I currently use an 855 Smart Bender, and used to have a 555, but my method also works with hand benders as well.
Usually the only time I use the charts provided on the machine is for one shot 90's or standard even number offsets.

There are several types of conduit and manufactures, and normally there will be slight differences between each batch that will effect the accuracy, springback, stiffness, diameter. Having a math sheet for EMT, Rigid and IMC seems a bit much for me. I try to hold my tolerances to 1/16" and is usually readily achievable with close attention to layout, measurement, and bending details. 

For each project I start with a small cardboard sheet to draw the conduit layout and measurements required. This saves time and mistakes and gives you a place to record your degree choices, and allows you to remember what you did yesterday or last week, when you return to the project.

My standard layout method is to use the center of the bends. All of my shoes are marked with the center of the bends at 5, 10, 15, 30,45 degrees, right on the lip of the shoe, where they can be seen when loading the pipe. Even the hand benders are marked in this way and they can be used to practice with this method. That can save time and money over practicing with some 2" rigid or EMT.

For additional tooling I use a stick of the same conduit your bending as a straight edge to measure from, a combination square to check angles and project at a perfect right angle from the straightedge to the conduit being laid out, and for getting height measurements from the floor or mounting surface. For larger conduit I also use a self fabricated large square made from 1-1/2" square thinwall tubing, about 16" x 24". The square must contact the outer radius of the conduit for the measurements to be accurate. A normal combination square will not register properly against a larger diameter conduit, and will give errors in measurement.
And for overhead drops a plumb bob with a long enough string to reach whatever height you may be working at, mine is about 20' for standard work.

I think it would be easier to demonstrate in a video than to try and put it into words, but let's try an example. In your case a 2" EMT with a 1-3/8" box offset on the end of the stick.

Put the stick in the bender, with a short amount past the hook, so as to not distort the end of the pipe. Mark the front of the hook for reference before you bend for reference. Bend a 5° angle, take the pipe out and lay it down. With your eye, bisect the center of the bend and mark it. Put the stick back in the machine and line it up with your previous front of the hook mark. Now use the mark on the pipe to make a 5° reference mark on your shoe.

Take the pipe back out and lay it in the floor. Place your straight edge against the short section you just bent, and make sure it's perfectly parallel mating. Now measure between your straight edge and your piece being bent to get your !-3/8". Your measuring tape or square must be exactly 90° to the straightedge, not the piece being bent. The 1-3/8" mark must be over the side of the pipe closest to the straight edge, sight down straight from above and slide the tape until the 1-3/8" mark is directly lined up with the side of the conduit, and mark it there.

Put your conduit back in the machine and line up your mark with the 5° mark you put on the shoe previously. Sight down the pipe lengthwise to ensure that the rotation is perfect so you don't bend a dog leg, and bend to the same 5° you did the first bend at. If you did it correctly and accurately you should end up with a nice 1-3/8" offset.

It may seem at first to be slow tedious process, but with some practice and once you get your shoes marked with the center of the various bends, you can become very quick and highly accurate, the first time and every time. You will be able to reduce your scrap pile to almost nothing on every job. It works with any one shot bender and any conduit type and accounts for variations in the pipe from batch to batch. And no calculator is required.

CMP Ω


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## vuuli312 (Jan 8, 2014)

Thanks to bluejacket bob and to cmp for the additional "Real World " tips and tricks.


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## 134sparky (Feb 27, 2014)

What, did the shop tell the foreman that 1 5/8" strut is too expensive? Haha. I get it though, I was once loaned out to another shop for a week and the foremen had us run two 2" emt on the deck to a junction box mounted on the deck and he wanted to attach it with one hole straps and just angle it into the box because there was no bender on the job site and he didn't want to order minis. They would bend generic 90s at the shop and send them out, oh and the 24"x24" jb was "used" with about 12 knock outs in it already . This work was going to be exposed on a painted deck.

If I told journeymen on my jobs to use one hole straps and bend a 2" offset on a 2" emt on an old triple nickle they would probably laugh at me and tell me to order some strut and a strut strap.

Anyway in your spot I would bend a 2" offset at 10 degrees and I'd use 6 as the multiplier( no need to get out the calculator to multiply by 5.7 I don't think you can control where the 555 stops accurately enough to have the .3 inches make a difference), so your first mark is 2" off the end and your next mark is 14" off the end. Trace all around the shoe before you bend so that if you have to put it back in to add more bend later you'll have an exact outline. Hopefully you have a 6" deep blank panel that you can make your own knock out in. Bend the pipe first then make your hole. If your trying to get it in a concentric knockout...good luck.


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

I make small degree offsets using my 555 all the time. I take time to mark the open end of the pipe to establish a definite top and bottom before bending , putting marks inside the pipe at the end . Then I eyeball those, flip the pipe around for the second bend, pull it to the bending mark I made prior and make sure to only bend the exact same degree as the first bend. A torpedo level and a black fine point sharpie is useful for making the inside the pipe markings.

Edit to add: when the shoe won't allow a close enough offset bend you just can double up the length of the bend markings and then half the bending degree. You get the small offset but the change is more gradual. I normally use 30 deg and put my marks two times the offset apart but use 15 deg and put the marks 4 times apart. The 4 is slightly off , but it is pretty close enough to not be considered unless its threaded pipe we are talking about , and for that you can use the cosign (I can't spell the proper coseq word with this damn spell changer in Safari ) It's not the cosign it's the ........... darn it.......


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

Cosecant


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## LGLS (Nov 10, 2007)

vuuli312 said:


> Thanks for the reply hertzhound! I agree with you about avoiding making small offset bends in large pipe. But in this particular job ,i have to feed a panel mounted on shallow strut on a concrete wall. I would prefer to run the 2" emt on deep strut, no need for offset.But the foreman wants the conduit mounted on the wall using 1 hole straps ( hence the need for a small offset). Guess i'll use maybe 10 degrees, but how far apart would the 2 bends be? Trial and error i guess?


I realize you have to live in the world you're in, but a foreman asking for 2" offsets on 2" EMT is inexperienced and applying the same logic to big conduit as 1/2 & 3/4 conduit. In your situation it's likely the labor is cheaper than the "ooof" cost of 1.5" strut. Minneralac and one-hole straps on a construction project have less of a practical use with every increase in conduit size.


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## varmit (Apr 19, 2009)

In general, when laying out offsets, your bend center to center needs to be about the same as the minimum stub length of the pipe you are running.

Example: Say you are running one inch with a bender that has a 10 inch minimum 90 degree stub length. Your offset center to center marks will, in 
this case, need to be about 10 inches apart minimum to allow the pipe to fit in the bender.

With a powered bender I prefer to use the cosecant method. Also, to avoid doglegs if hopefully the bender is level, strap a 12 inch piece of strut to 
the pipe to place your level. Make the first bend of the offset. Roll the pipe over until the strut is level again and line up the second mark. Bend 
second bend. DO NOT USE THE STRUT AS A LEVER TO TURN THE PIPE, this ruins the whole purpose of the strut if it slips . 

The strait edge method described above in post 6 works really well with hand benders. Yes, the strait edge method will work with any bender, but 
does required removing the pipe from the bender in order to make measurements.


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## TGGT (Oct 28, 2012)

varmit said:


> In general, when laying out offsets, your bend center to center needs to be about the same as the minimum stub length of the pipe you are running.
> 
> Example: Say you are running one inch with a bender that has a 10 inch minimum 90 degree stub length. Your offset center to center marks will, in
> this case, need to be about 10 inches apart minimum to allow the pipe to fit in the bender.


Unless I'm misunderstanding you I don't think that's true. I've done 1" offsets on 1" emt @10* for easy math and plenty room to work with.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk


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## MotoGP1199 (Aug 11, 2014)

TGGT said:


> Unless I'm misunderstanding you I don't think that's true. I've done 1" offsets on 1" emt @10* for easy math and plenty room to work with.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk


I think you might be misunderstanding him. I think he means the distance between the marks on the conduit(for center of bend) for the two bends generally needs to be what the 90* take-up is or larger. I think this rule gets you pretty close and you will be safe 100% of the time following this, I would bet the actual number is indeed smaller but his rule is a quick rule to keep it simple. However for an offset using 10* bends you can definitely shorten that length. On your example of 1" conduit using 10* bends you would need 5 3/4" distance between your two bends to get a 1" offset/rise. I think that 5 3/4" is the number he was referring to and not the 1" offset number. If you were trying to do a 1" offset with 30* bends you would only need 1 15/16" between bends and that will not work. Now if you were doing a bend with 45* or 90* bends near each other you would most likely need more than 5 3/4" in between your two bend start points(or center of bends) or the front of the shoe might not be on straight conduit.


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## HertzHound (Jan 22, 2019)

I’ve never heard of this rule of thumb before, but I like it. Varmit did say “minimum stub length” not take-up though. There’s probably a 2” difference between the two. Either way though, a one inch offset using ten degrees should be doable. Even on the 555. Going by the chart above you would need a minimum of 4-7/16 between the bends. That’s going by 1” conduit 10 degrees center of bend to benchmark (3-13/16”) plus half the developed length to get to the end of the bend (5/8”). So if a 1” offset is 5-3/4” between the bends that’s greater than the minimum of 4-7/16”. 

As far as taking the conduit out of the bender and using straight edges, doing a little math is far quicker, and just as accurate. Either way just takes some practice.


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## Yankee77 (Oct 5, 2020)

vuuli312 said:


> Hello all.I need to learn , improve my skills with this bender. Is there a tried and true method for using this bender for making small offsets on 1.25" through 2" conduit ( emt)? I've heard of the "push pull through" method, but im not sure what it is.im talking bends from 1" to 4".Thanks


Also, buy a ‘No Dog’ level for larger size conduit bending.


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## bill39 (Sep 4, 2009)

When using a Chicago bender or Greenlee 555-style bender for the first time I always bend an exact 90 and carefully measure the amount of travel for it (the 90). Record that measurement. A 45 will be 1/2 that travel, a 30 will be 1/3, etc. This method makes it easy to bend small offsets with 5 or 10 degree bends.

Of course, you still need to use the cosecant multiplier to mark the distance btw. bends.


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## TGGT (Oct 28, 2012)

MotoGP1199 said:


> I think you might be misunderstanding him. I think he means the distance between the marks on the conduit(for center of bend) for the two bends generally needs to be what the 90* take-up is or larger. I think this rule gets you pretty close and you will be safe 100% of the time following this, I would bet the actual number is indeed smaller but his rule is a quick rule to keep it simple. However for an offset using 10* bends you can definitely shorten that length. On your example of 1" conduit using 10* bends you would need 5 3/4" distance between your two bends to get a 1" offset/rise. I think that 5 3/4" is the number he was referring to and not the 1" offset number. If you were trying to do a 1" offset with 30* bends you would only need 1 15/16" between bends and that will not work. Now if you were doing a bend with 45* or 90* bends near each other you would most likely need more than 5 3/4" in between your two bend start points(or center of bends) or the front of the shoe might not be on straight conduit.


Yeah...but the minimum stub on 1" is like 10" with about 1.5" you might be able to chop off and still get a fitting on. I must be missing something here because 6" center to center is below the 8" take up, and much less than a minimum stub up. But maybe it's a decent enough starting point if you're bending larger conduit on an unfamiliar bender.

Just realized you guys are using that greenlee chart. I just use the x6 mulitplier for hand bending little offsets like that.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

CMP said:


> Take the pipe back out and lay it in the floor. Place your straight edge against the short section you just bent, and make sure it's perfectly parallel mating. Now measure between your straight edge and your piece being bent to get your !-3/8". Your measuring tape or square must be exactly 90° to the straightedge, not the piece being bent. The 1-3/8" mark must be over the side of the pipe closest to the straight edge, sight down straight from above and slide the tape until the 1-3/8" mark is directly lined up with the side of the conduit, and mark it there.


I will give this a try. If I follow you're using the carpenter's rule, it's better to go direct when possible rather than measure, calculate, mark the calculation on the material.


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## HertzHound (Jan 22, 2019)

splatz said:


> I will give this a try. If I follow you're using the carpenter's rule, it's better to go direct when possible rather than measure, calculate, mark the calculation on the material.


I like the Seefits method. Just bend it and see if it fits


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## CMP (Oct 30, 2019)

HertzHound said:


> I like the Seefits method. Just bend it and see if it fits


Aha yes, that brings back memories of the master that I started under, best teacher ever, learned everything *NOT* to do...many valuable lessons learned during those times.

That's how I came to use the straightedge method with hand benders, going up and down ladders and lift's to "Seefits"
is slow and tiring. Much easier on the body and faster, to spend time in the floor getting it right the first time. Two trips is enough, one to accurately layout and measure, and the second to install and fasten.

When teaching new help "how to bend conduit" I find that the bigger challenge for them is to envision the actual layout, especially suspended overhead runs and drops. It's hard for them to visualize the layout in free space, where there is little to measure from and get an accurate layout. Teaching to visualize, layout and measure seems more problematic than teaching to bend.

They always seem to believe that bending is the bigger mystery. The pipe hangers, straightedge, level and plumb-bob is the key here too. If the layout and measuring is poor or inaccurate, it doesn't matter how good your bending skills are, your still a "Seefit" and that means your slow. The cardboard cheat sheet and marker in your toolbag is one of the best tools to have with you.

I can recall the first job years ago, where I needed a bunch of four point saddle bends to go over block pilasters on a 100' long wall for some 2" EMT control runs. The pilasters were about 12' apart and the wall was constructed out of glazed ceramic block. I had never seen close up a powered bender, let alone used one before. I laid out the runs with the straight edge method just like I would if I would be using a hand bender. The four point saddles had to be approximated where they would need to be placed in each successive stick.

We contacted another contractor that had a bender that was willing to make some bends for a fee. We had to take the pipe to his job site 50 miles away to get it done. His bender was an Enerpac hydraulic push type shoe bender. We had some discussion on how to do the layout, he seemed to be a Seefit and was unsure of how to layout the many bends on his equipment. I laid them out the only way I knew how at the time, just like the hand bender. I was not allowed to use the bender, just the layout and the degree choices. He did complain when I wanted to put some reference marks on his shoes, so they were done in pencil to be wiped off afterwards.

After the bundles of 2" EMT was bent up and all the pieces matched the sketches and measurements, he was amazed and wanted me to explain again how to do the layout. There were no scrap pieces or ones that needed manual adjustment, and all that was needed across town was some slight trimming on the ends, to match up the saddles with the pilasters.

It was at this point that I realized that this layout method works with any bending machine, One shot rotary, hydraulic push, Chicago bender or hand bender. This is why it became my primary method, it always works on any equipment and I don't have to rely on different tables or multipliers for each different type of equipment or conduit used. I'm not trying to say it's the best or fastest, but I will say I think it's the most versatile and accurate for whatever work your required to carry out.

There are many other methods and they may be just as accurate as well as faster and suitiable for the job at hand. If you do the same type work everyday with the same equipment, one of the other methods may be well suited to your use. I was just trying to share here since the greenhorn vuuli312 was asking for tricks. Seems the thread brought on some good discussion and that is favorable to the boards collective knowledge, so for that I am happy.

One last point. After leaving a partner and loosing a early model 555SBC bender and upgrading to the 855 smart bender, things got even easier. Having a machine that you can stand, load and operate is a body and time saver. The ability to rotate the machine for tabletop use, and have all the conduit type shoes on the spindle at the same time, makes it more versatile. You can do kicked 90's in directions not possible with a 555. You can work any conduit type or size without changing shoes or setups. It also eliminated much of the pain of loading the conduit twice, with the straightedge method.
It paid for itself many years ago, and has been a body saver and moneymaker for many years now.

CMP Ω


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## CMP (Oct 30, 2019)

splatz said:


> I will give this a try. If I follow you're using the carpenter's rule, it's better to go direct when possible rather than measure, calculate, mark the calculation on the material.


You got it. Actual versus calculated.


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## F-Dawg (9 mo ago)

HertzHound said:


> The push through method is when the conduit bends are in consecutive order from the first bend to the last bend in one direction. In other words you don't take the conduit out of the bender to flip the conduit around. Mostly in reference to saddle bends. It is easier when you bend on the centers of the bend and not the benchmark. Although if you know the distance from the center of the bend to the benchmark you can certainly mark up the conduit for using the benchmark.
> 
> I would do whatever possible to *NOT* make small bends. So build your supports or equipment out to *not* require a 1" bend in 2" conduit. Straight conduit always looks better than unnecessary bends. Small bends are also unforgiving. Very easy to take out a little out of an 8" offset. Not so easy to take out 1/2" in a 2" offset. Bending conduit kills production. Adding an inch to a support that you already have to install takes no time at all. If you really must make small bends, use small degrees. Get the bends far apart. There probably is no tricks. Just the standard conduit bending that you will just need to perfect. With real small degrees a No-Dog level is probably essential because it will be hard to eye up the conduit. If it helps here is a screenshot of an Excel sheet for the EMT shoe group for that bender. The numbers could be off slightly. If I find that the take up or the gain is off slightly I change the number in that cell and the rest of the sheet will update. Print it, laminate it, and hang it on the bender.
> View attachment 152310



Do you have the calculations for PVC coated pipe?


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## backstay (Feb 3, 2011)

F-Dawg said:


> Do you have the calculations for PVC coated pipe?


Like this
@HertzHound


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## HertzHound (Jan 22, 2019)

F-Dawg said:


> Do you have the calculations for PVC coated pipe?


I didn't, but I do now.

I am in a rush, so I don't have time to change the fraction format of the cells. It's 3:30 AM and I have to get ready for work. 6:00 AM start at a job an hour away. Ill get back to it later. Also, this is going by the take-up and radius listed at Greenlee's site. If a test bend has a different take-up or gain, then these numbers will be off a little.


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## Slay301 (Apr 23, 2018)

Look into the 2” method or triangulation method if your not worried about matching other bends


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## HertzHound (Jan 22, 2019)

I’m having problems try ting to update the fraction format. I have a new work computer at home. They never activated excel on it, although I’m sure they paid for it. I’ll have to contact their IT guy.

Yesterday I used google sheets to add the extra tab for the PVC coated shoe. Google doesn’t do fractions without custom formatting from what I can tell. With Excel I have to change all the fractions to 1/16” precision, then change the precision of the cells so it doesn’t read 4/16 etc…so in the above picture, when you see 1/2”, it could be locked in at 1/2” precision, when the true number is not 1/2”. I never found a way that excel will do it automatically, so that’s why I change them all to 1/16, and then go through and change the individual cells that need tweaking.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

HertzHound said:


> I’m having problems try ting to update the fraction format. I have a new work computer at home. They never activated excel on it, although I’m sure they paid for it. I’ll have to contact their IT guy.
> 
> Yesterday I used google sheets to add the extra tab for the PVC coated shoe. Google doesn’t do fractions without custom formatting from what I can tell. With Excel I have to change all the fractions to 1/16” precision, then change the precision of the cells so it doesn’t read 4/16 etc…so in the above picture, when you see 1/2”, it could be locked in at 1/2” precision, when the true number is not 1/2”. I never found a way that excel will do it automatically, so that’s why I change them all to 1/16, and then go through and change the individual cells that need tweaking.


I don't know if it's the best way and it's a bit of a mess but take the decimal portion of the number, multiply it by 16, and round, that gives you your 16ths. 
Then use the GCD and LCM functions to reduce the fraction,
then convert the numerator and denominator to text, and concatenate with a "/" between. 

This is such a mess it's a good case for a user-defined function.


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## HertzHound (Jan 22, 2019)

splatz said:


> I don't know if it's the best way and it's a bit of a mess but take the decimal portion of the number, multiply it by 16, and round, that gives you your 16ths.
> Then use the GCD and LCM functions to reduce the fraction,
> then convert the numerator and denominator to text, and concatenate with a "/" between.
> 
> This is such a mess it's a good case for a user-defined function.


<Mind blown>🔥

I have no idea how to do that. I guess it wouldn’t matter that the cells that need to be tweaked have formulas in them already? Before I responded earlier, I looked up how to display fractions in google sheets. The custom formatting looked like it might mess up the formula in the cell? That’s when I tried to get Excel registered. Then I gave up.

I’m going in late today. Which means I’ll be frustrated enough with traffic.😆


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## Slay301 (Apr 23, 2018)

also fyi I bend pipe pretty much all day everyday the quick bend app will do anything you need


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## glen1971 (Oct 10, 2012)

splatz said:


> I don't know if it's the best way and it's a bit of a mess but take the decimal portion of the number, multiply it by 16, and round, that gives you your 16ths.
> Then use the GCD and LCM functions to reduce the fraction,
> then convert the numerator and denominator to text, and concatenate with a "/" between.
> 
> This is such a mess it's a good case for a user-defined function.


@HertzHound 
What if in the calculated cell, right click it, or Ctrl+1, under "Number", select "Fractions", then click how accurate you want it to be - halves, quarters, eighths, sixteenths, etc.?


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

HertzHound said:


> <Mind blown>🔥
> 
> I have no idea how to do that. I guess it wouldn’t matter that the cells that need to be tweaked have formulas in them already? Before I responded earlier, I looked up how to display fractions in google sheets. The custom formatting looked like it might mess up the formula in the cell? That’s when I tried to get Excel registered. Then I gave up.
> 
> I’m going in late today. Which means I’ll be frustrated enough with traffic.😆


Here's the google sheets version. Put any number in A1, like 14.123213213 and put this in another cell 


```
=concatenate(text(rounddown($A$1),0),"-",text(Round((mod($A$1,1)*16),0)/gcd((Round((mod($A$1,1)*16),0)),16),0),"/",text(16/gcd((Round((mod($A$1,1)*16),0)),16),0))
```


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## HertzHound (Jan 22, 2019)

glen1971 said:


> @HertzHound
> What if in the calculated cell, right click it, or Ctrl+1, under "Number", select "Fractions", then click how accurate you want it to be - halves, quarters, eighths, sixteenths, etc.?


That’s exactly what I do. If Excel was working, I would highlight all the cells in the center field and change them to 1/16 using your method. Then go down the rows looking for the odd fractions and change the the precision to 1/8, 1/4, or 1/2 depending on what the original fraction was. It’s a little work and it sucks that Excel can’t use the 1/16” precision while reducing it to its simplest form.


After changing the numbers in the upper cells, the rest of the sheet re-calculates. In this case I copied the previous tab. Then I changed the O.D. To match PVC coated O.D. From the Calbond website. Then I changed the take-up and radius from the specs at Greenlee’s site. The spreadsheet is set up to calculate the radius from the gain, because I think the gain is easier to find than the radius when out in the field. So that part I had to manually do the math for the gain based on the radius from the website. When I type in the gain dimension, the radius updated to the correct radius from the website. If the take-up or gain is off after the first stick is bent, I would change them in the spreadsheet so all the other numbers will update. The sheets are saved on my cloud, so I always have them handy on my phone. I also share them through google drive with co-workers that might find them useful. Just last week I printed out ten of them for the Chicago bender, and had them laminated. I gave them out to the guys on the job, although a much bigger one is laminated and hanging on the bender. Theses are smaller to fit in a tool box. They would also fit under a hard hat. When I started, an old timer I worked with, would keep his hand written cheat sheet under his hard hat when running a lot of rigid.


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## HertzHound (Jan 22, 2019)

splatz said:


> Here's the google sheets version. Put any number in A1, like 14.123213213 and put this in another cell
> 
> 
> ```
> ...


I never called the shop Friday to get excel activated. Thanks for looking this up, but I don’t think I’m going to go down this rabbit hole.

Thanks again for your time.


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## HertzHound (Jan 22, 2019)

Slay301 said:


> also fyi I bend pipe pretty much all day everyday the quick bend app will do anything you need


I think I have every app that Bret Hardman made. I like that quick bend added the”multiple bend” bend. It’s similar to his RIGIDpro app. I use his RIGIDpro app more than Quick Bend. I pretty much use it for the multiplier card. Tap on any degree and it adds the multiplier to the apps calculator, then just type in the height, and you have your answer. The same multiplier card has shrink, O.D., I.D., and KO diameter. I use it for laying out panels, JBs, and for sleeves that don’t use link seals. I use it more for layout work in AMEP for shop drawings than in the field.

I also have his math flash cards. I put it on mine and my daughters phone when she was younger. I probably use his workman’s calculator the most.

As far as using an app for bending conduit, I still like running the numbers manually. If I was running larger than 2”, I would use the app. But we use manufactured bends for anything larger than 2”….


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## Slay301 (Apr 23, 2018)

HertzHound said:


> I think I have every app that Bret Hardman made. I like that quick bend added the”multiple bend” bend. It’s similar to his RIGIDpro app. I use his RIGIDpro app more than Quick Bend. I pretty much use it for the multiplier card. Tap on any degree and it adds the multiplier to the apps calculator, then just type in the height, and you have your answer. The same multiplier card has shrink, O.D., I.D., and KO diameter. I use it for laying out panels, JBs, and for sleeves that don’t use link seals. I use it more for layout work in AMEP for shop drawings than in the field.
> 
> I also have his math flash cards. I put it on mine and my daughters phone when she was younger. I probably use his workman’s calculator the most.
> 
> As far as using an app for bending conduit, I still like running the numbers manually. If I was running larger than 2”, I would use the app. But we use manufactured bends for anything larger than 2”….


We don’t we just send it in and prefab it looks better less waste. But ya for little pipe I just use multipliers on large diameter pipe it all becomes more critical


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## F-Dawg (9 mo ago)

HertzHound said:


> I didn't, but I do now.
> 
> I am in a rush, so I don't have time to change the fraction format of the cells. It's 3:30 AM and I have to get ready for work. 6:00 AM start at a job an hour away. Ill get back to it later. Also, this is going by the take-up and radius listed at Greenlee's site. If a test bend has a different take-up or gain, then these numbers will be off a little.
> View attachment 164135


@HertzHound 
Sorry for the noob question. Is the "center to benchmark" column for marking your shoe for the center of bend radius for kicked 90's? 
I got a new triple nickle and want to pre-mark the shoe for the center of bend radius for all common degrees. 
For 1" @ 45 degree, would I measure and mark from the start of the hook to 6-2/8" and that would be my center of bend mark ?


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## HertzHound (Jan 22, 2019)

Yes.
Keep in mind that I never fixed the precision in that PVC coated sheet. So the cell is locked in at 1/8” precision. So it is displaying 2/8”. It could be 3/16, 1/4” or 5/16.


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