# Bending Conduit



## HARRY304E (Sep 15, 2010)

voltz said:


> Anyone needing a refresher or just learning how to bend conduit, this site is one of the best!!!
> 
> http://www.porcupinepress.com/_bending/ConduitBending.htm
> once on the site, put your arrow on the gray arrow on the left and it will list all types of bends



Good site:thumbup:

I tell my guys to get an ideal 3/4 bender and 100' of 3/4 emt and practice multible bends at home the bender comes with a handbook..

Sometimes you will go a long while without bending any pipe at all

So even i will buy 100' once in a while just to brush up:thumbup:


----------



## TOOL_5150 (Aug 27, 2007)

No matter how many times ive tried, I can never get a back to back bend perfect. 

~Matt


----------



## HARRY304E (Sep 15, 2010)

TOOL_5150 said:


> No matter how many times ive tried, I can never get a back to back bend perfect.
> 
> ~Matt


 
Its all in the bender thats why i like the ideal best:thumbup:

I have installed a ship load of pipe and to tell the truth not all of my back to backs are perfact there is allways somthing just a little off
Like my spelling


----------



## voltz (Jun 2, 2010)

TOOL_5150 said:


> No matter how many times ive tried, I can never get a back to back bend perfect.
> 
> ~Matt


Tool the best advice I can offer is to get ONE bender manufacture and stick with it. I prefer *Ideal*


----------



## TOOL_5150 (Aug 27, 2007)

HARRY304E said:


> Its all in the bender thats why i like the ideal best:thumbup:
> 
> I have installed a ship load of pipe and to tell the truth not all of my back to backs are perfact there is allways somthing just a little off
> Like my spelling





voltz said:


> Tool the best advice I can offer is to get ONE bender manufacture and stick with it. I prefer *Ideal*


Heres the thing guys... the bender I always use is an ideal. All other bends come out fine, but the B2B are always off... I dont get it.

~Matt


----------



## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

TOOL_5150 said:


> Heres the thing guys... the bender I always use is an ideal. All other bends come out fine, but the B2B are always off... I dont get it.


Like off by how much, 1/8", 1/2", 6", 6' what?


----------



## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

TOOL_5150 said:


> Heres the thing guys... the bender I always use is an ideal. All other bends come out fine, but the B2B are always off... I dont get it.
> 
> ~Matt


Are you consistently off the same amount? At least when bending the same size pipe..

How about a brief description of how you do it. Maybe we can see where the problem lies.


----------



## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

My one 555 bender I had to make my own chart for. The Greenlee chart was off for everything. The other 555 is dead nuts on with the Greenlee chart. I guess hand benders can be the same way, sometimes. Particularly if someone ever bent rebar with it, or dropped it on the hook.


----------



## uber stein (Aug 20, 2010)

I bought a 1/2" klein bender, it's alright in my limited experience with bending pipe. My b2b's are usually off about 1/4" but i think it's me in lining up my marks on the bender.


----------



## miller_elex (Jan 25, 2008)

uber stein said:


> I bought a 1/2" klein bender, it's alright in my limited experience with bending pipe. My b2b's are usually off about 1/4" but i think it's me in lining up my marks on the bender.


Step on the back of the pipe while bending, no doubt, the shoe is slipping a little bit in the turn.


----------



## brian john (Mar 11, 2007)

I found different benders from the same manufacture can work differently.


----------



## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

brian john said:


> I found different benders from the same manufacture can work differently.


Yeah, like if they came from a factory in Mexico, they work real hard. If they came from a factory in Puerto Rico, they barely work at all.


----------



## Frasbee (Apr 7, 2008)

Ideal are solid benders, I've had good results with 1/2'' to 1''.

I've never used Ideal's 1 1/4'' if they have one.


----------



## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

miller_elex said:


> Step on the back of the pipe while bending, no doubt, the shoe is slipping a little bit in the turn.


My Kleins and Ideals do that, the Klein 1" I have is the worst, but what ever, standing on the pipe is pretty much how I have always bent so it's all good.


----------



## Big John (May 23, 2010)

Frasbee said:


> I've never used Ideal's 1 1/4'' if they have one.


 It's as good as the rest of their stuff. The 1 1/4" I have now is a Greenlee, and while I'm not partial to their smaller benders, that thing is nice.

Neat site, I never thought of using that torpedo level trick to find the center of bends. I'm gonna remember that one.

-John


----------



## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

Frasbee said:


> ...........I've never used Ideal's 1 1/4'' if they have one.



If you get one, you need to be a lard-ass to use it. :laughing:


----------



## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

480sparky said:


> If you get one, you need to be a lard-ass to use it. :laughing:


I don't know. I'm 175 lbs., and I can hand bend 1-1/4" (but I'd rather not). I think it's more about balance than actual weight. I can't bend a 90, but I can turn out kicks and offsets. The two-position footpedal is the key to the whole situation.


----------



## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

MDShunk said:


> I don't know. I'm 175 lbs., and I can hand bend 1-1/4" (but I'd rather not). I think it's more about balance than actual weight. I can't bend a 90, but I can turn out kicks and offsets. The two-position footpedal is the key to the whole situation.


I use the Ideal version with the 2-stage pedal, and I still have to apply all my weight to the pedal to keep from kinking a 90. And the last 20 or so are a beeatch.


----------



## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

480sparky said:


> I use the Ideal version with the 2-stage pedal, and I still have to apply all my weight to the pedal to keep from kinking a 90. And the last 20 or so are a beeatch.


Yeah, I've never been able to make a 90 with a hand bender, but the hand bender is the fastest way to make an offset in 1-1/4, I feel. Well, unless you had a 555 set up pretty close to where you were working when you needed to make the offset. :laughing:


----------



## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

MDShunk said:


> Yeah, I've never been able to make a 90 with a hand bender, but the hand bender is the fastest way to make an offset in 1-1/4, I feel. Well, unless you had a 555 set up pretty close to where you were working when you needed to make the offset. :laughing:


I rarely work with 1¼ to begin with. I think it's been 5 years since I even used the thing.


----------



## slickvic277 (Feb 5, 2009)

I forget which brand hand bender it is, but I like the one that has the center of bends marked on it.


----------



## brian john (Mar 11, 2007)

480sparky said:


> I rarely work with 1¼ to begin with. I think it's been 5 years since I even used the thing.


I did two jobs for two different contractors requiring me to run 1000's of feet of 1-1/4 EMT hand bent every bend.


----------



## Frasbee (Apr 7, 2008)

480sparky said:


> I use the Ideal version with the 2-stage pedal, and I still have to apply all my weight to the pedal to keep from kinking a 90. And the last 20 or so are a beeatch.


I could _not_ bend a full 90 in the winter time. I kinked the pipes every time.

Summer time, when the EMT is more malleable, all I need is a wall to keep me steady.


----------



## Control Freak (Mar 8, 2008)

I hate prefab 90s and a coupling betwen the 90s because whoever ran it couldnt make a back to back bend!!!!
drives me nuts


----------



## brian john (Mar 11, 2007)

Frasbee said:


> I could _not_ bend a full 90 in the winter time. I kinked the pipes every time.
> 
> Summer time, when the EMT is more malleable, all I need is a wall to keep me steady.


On those jobs I did, I had a bunch of EMT, that kinked with every 90, I bent, no matter what I did.


----------



## brian john (Mar 11, 2007)

Control Freak said:


> I hate prefab 90s and a coupling betwen the 90s because whoever ran it couldnt make a back to back bend!!!!
> drives me nuts


Or the 90's come and they are 87's or 91's


----------



## Frasbee (Apr 7, 2008)

Control Freak said:


> I hate prefab 90s and a coupling betwen the 90s because whoever ran it couldnt make a back to back bend!!!!
> drives me nuts


I was on a job not too long ago. Every bend and offset was prefabbed. I felt like such a n00b running pipe like that. In some cases it would have been easier to bend the 1 1/4, but they didn't even have a bender on hand!

In any case, they weren't concerned about aesthetics, it was above the ceiling, they just wanted it to get there.


----------



## John Valdes (May 17, 2007)

HARRY304E said:


> Good site:thumbup:
> 
> I tell my guys to get an ideal 3/4 bender and 100' of 3/4 emt and practice multible bends at home the bender comes with a handbook..
> 
> ...


Do you really. I have always just brushed up when I got on another pipe job. Which was 90% of every job.



Frasbee said:


> Ideal are solid benders, I've had good results with 1/2'' to 1''.
> 
> I've never used Ideal's 1 1/4'' if they have one.


They do. Solid heavy steel. Just like the smaller ones.



480sparky said:


> If you get one, you need to be a lard-ass to use it. :laughing:


Naw. A wall is all you need or any other object to push against. Bending larger pipe requires some creativity, or a Chicago bender. 1.25" is/was the maximum for me with a hand bender and EMT.



MDShunk said:


> I don't know. I'm 175 lbs., and I can hand bend 1-1/4" (but I'd rather not). I think it's more about balance than actual weight. I can't bend a 90, but I can turn out kicks and offsets. The two-position footpedal is the key to the whole situation.


The wall behind me is the key. Or the post. Or the shear wall. Anything strong enough to push real hard against. I watched my foreman on one job bending 1-1/4" on a slab, on top of rebar with no wall, no nothing and he was getting it done. He could not have weighed more than 150 Lbs. Little short skinny guy. He knew what he was doing. 



480sparky said:


> I use the Ideal version with the 2-stage pedal, and I still have to apply all my weight to the pedal to keep from kinking a 90. And the last 20 or so are a beeatch.


Is the pipe that bad today? I only kinked the first few pipes I bent when I first started my apprenticeship. After that, I never, ever kinked a pipe.



brian john said:


> I did two jobs for two different contractors requiring me to run 1000's of feet of 1-1/4 EMT hand bent every bend.


I never did that much at once, but your point is well taken. 



Frasbee said:


> all I need is a wall to keep me steady.


Theres the key to big pipe and hand benders. Creativity. 



Frasbee said:


> I was on a job not too long ago. Every bend and offset was prefabbed. I felt like such a n00b running pipe like that. In some cases it would have been easier to bend the 1 1/4, but they didn't even have a bender on hand!
> In any case, they weren't concerned about aesthetics, it was above the ceiling, they just wanted it to get there.


If prefabbed bends are available on the job site and that's what we are using FINE! Lots of cutting though. Too much cutting for me. But saves your ass on the bending.


----------



## Dave loco 11 (Dec 18, 2010)

*555 and table bender*

I'm tellin you, the thing to do when you're about to use a bender you haven't used yet is what? Bend a 90 and an offset on a piece of scrap. Get to know the machine. You just met for crissake.


----------



## vasparky27 (Sep 3, 2010)

now in order too use the website I have too brush up on my math lol


----------



## HARRY304E (Sep 15, 2010)

John Valdes said:


> Do you really. .



Yes Really:laughing::laughing:


----------



## GEORGE D (Apr 2, 2009)

HARRY304E said:


> Its all in the bender thats why i like the ideal best:thumbup:
> 
> I have installed a ship load of pipe and to tell the truth not all of my back to backs are perfact there is allways somthing just a little off
> Like my spelling





Big John said:


> It's as good as the rest of their stuff. The 1 1/4" I have now is a Greenlee, and while I'm not partial to their smaller benders, that thing is nice.
> 
> Neat site, I never thought of using that torpedo level trick to find the center of bends. I'm gonna remember that one.
> 
> -John


What trick do you speak of?


----------



## HARRY304E (Sep 15, 2010)

GEORGE D said:


> What trick do you speak of?


 He is talking about something he found on this link...http://www.porcupinepress.com/_bending/ConduitBending.htm


----------

