# Tips on buying a hand bender



## Lhaimbhee (May 28, 2009)

Im currently going to a trade school to become an electrician and i want to buy my own hand bender so i can practice bending conduit at home. But i was wondering which one is really good for its money, ive seen some where they have a hole in the bender with teeth so you can cut your conduit with it but the ones at school dont have it, ive also heard there are some with levels built in it to help you and i figure i might as well spent a good amount now so in the future i wont have to buy another. So please any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!


----------



## Frasbee (Apr 7, 2008)

A level in the bender would be nice, but I'd still use a separate level anyway.

Get the bender with the hole, it's one of the best tools for cutting EMT.


----------



## electro916 (Jan 16, 2009)

Two words......Ideal Benders.:thumbsup:


----------



## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

Most electricians use a bender that produces a 30° bend when the handle is straight up. There are some that give you a 45° bend, so get one that does 30s.

Also, click here.

And, welcome to the forum!


----------



## manchestersparky (Mar 25, 2007)

I used an Ideal bender for many years, then I switched to the greenlee benders.
I hated Gardner benders (GB)
I would suggest using a few different brands before buying any. This way you will know for sure what works best for you.
I always found the built in levels were not worth a crap. They always broke or were just wrong due to the high amount of abuse a bender takes.


----------



## 76nemo (Aug 13, 2008)

GB is TRASH!!!!!! I take it you just want a 1/2" bender to practice with??????


----------



## ralpha494 (Oct 29, 2008)

I think a handle on the bender that fits over the size of pipe that is being bent is necessary. (to open an overbent stub) It seems that not all benders have a flat spot at the hook end to allow for a bend perpendicular to the floor. The casting seam leaves enough of a burr so it's wobbly. 

The level to me is useless because the floor has to be level to use it. 

I agree that the 30 degree bend with the handle straight up is more useful than the 45. 

Natually, the aluminum ones are lighter than steel, but watch for cracks in the aluminum ones so you don't land on yer dupa while bending a stick of rigid.

I used a new Gardner-Bender style a few years back that was really nice, but haven't seen one like it since. All the G-B's before and after were different. Klein, Ideal, Greenlee, all seem to work fine. 

I have an old Electrunite in the basement, which is what I learned on. It has inch marks down the side for offsets which no benders seem to do any more, and the star mark for back to back bends.

Don't ever let somebody bend rebar with your bender.


----------



## william1978 (Sep 21, 2008)

electro916 said:


> Two words......Ideal Benders.:thumbsup:


 I agree.:thumbsup:


----------



## william1978 (Sep 21, 2008)

Welcome to the forum.


----------



## 76nemo (Aug 13, 2008)

1-1&1/4" thinwall or 3/4-1" heavywall,.... Powr-Jack all the way:thumbsup::


http://www.mytoolstore.com/klein/51205.html


----------



## Mike_586 (Mar 24, 2009)

I've run into several styles of benders over the last couple years, though the ones I like the most have been the Greenlee and Ideal benders. Though I think much of my preference has to do with familiarity. Greenlee and Ideal are what the companies I've worked for primarily had, and what I've grown accustomed to using.


----------



## Buddha In Babylon (Mar 23, 2009)

ralpha494 said:


> The level to me is useless because the floor has to be level to use it.


I have never trusted those kinds of benders. Practice makes perfect. I have seen dudes try to bend offsets with two levels and one of those magnetic protractors all over the bender and the pipe and still mess up. You have to develop an eye man. Just buy an Ideal or Greenlee. Klein? meh....i guess any bender is good if it bends huh...i like to use ideals though.


----------



## paul d. (Jul 13, 2008)

" BENFIELD " style is the only way to go. site -rite type sucks. question; who was " benfield" ? ( you old farts already know )


----------



## amptech (Sep 21, 2007)

I had a set of Klein/Benfield benders that I liked a lot but I gave them to a kid I was teaching. I replaced them with the Ideal black ones. I really like the Ideals. The best thing you can do is pick a bender and stick with it. Every bender is a little different. If you stick with one and get to know it really well it will become an extension of your arm. 90s and offsets will come quicker and require less tweaking. Consistent results come from being consistent with your tools and technique.


----------



## NolaTigaBait (Oct 19, 2008)

paul d. said:


> " BENFIELD " style is the only way to go. site -rite type sucks. question; who was " benfield" ? ( you old farts already know )


he invented the shoe bender...i prefer the Ideal bender, but I have used the GB and didn't really have a problem with it.


----------



## sparkyboys (May 3, 2009)

if you are going to buy a bender, then buy ideal. for beginners bending pipe, i recommend buying a 1/2" and a 3/4" ideal bender and a book on bending. practice with the 1/2" at home, cause 1/2" pipe is inexpensive. learn to bend three points, 90s, and offsets. when bending four points, learn 10, 22.5, 30, 45, and 60 degree bends, also learn all the multiplyers for bending those bends, which is 6, 3, 2, 1.4, and 1.2. then learn 90s with kicks, shepherd hooks and even complete circles. 
then you will be able to apply these factors and multipliers with pipe up to 1"

this stuff is way too easy for me. i can do it sleep walking.


----------



## Wireless (Jan 22, 2007)

Mike_586 said:


> I've run into several styles of benders over the last couple years, though the ones I like the most have been the Greenlee and Ideal benders. Though I think much of my preference has to do with familiarity. Greenlee and Ideal are what the companies I've worked for primarily had, and what I've grown accustomed to using.


 
Just for the fact that the companies you worked for have Greenlee and Ideal is a reason to get those. There is a good chance they purchased them because they are the best ones.


----------



## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

A good torpedo level a must.

I'd suggest something like Greenlee's L77.










Has 0, 30, 45, and 90° bubbles, as well as a No-Dog.


----------



## Rockyd (Apr 22, 2007)

Buy an ideal, it's not the best, but the most common one that you will use on most jobs. If you want the best, buy a Benfield, you'll like yor self a lot for it .


----------



## Lhaimbhee (May 28, 2009)

Wow im surprised by all the help im recieveing, thanks for all your help and advice im gonna review all your posts and decide from there. As of now i only plan on bending 1/2 inch cause that is what we do at school. By the way i have used a bender where the 30 degree bend, the handle wasnt perpendicular to the ground, so i do know one thing for sure, is that im gonna make sure that the one i get will be perpendicular to the ground when the bend is 30 degrees. and from what i can tell, the level built in isnt worth it, i should just use my own level since i have one. But that torpedo level above this called the "greenlee's L77" what does the no dog mean? Once again thanks for your time and help!


----------



## sparkyboys (May 3, 2009)

what does the no dog mean? Once again thanks for your time and help! [/quote]

it means the bend is crooked. you want all the bends to be uniform when looking down the end of the pipe. if it looks twisted, you got a dog in it. slide back in the bender and take the dog out. you want it to look "pretty". by a book, it will help a lot, it takes time and practice to become real good. but that is one thing you need to learn well, unless you you want to do resi all your life. 

i love commercial, hate resi, and indust-its ok-sort of


----------



## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

sparkyboys said:


> what does the no dog mean? Once again thanks for your time and help!


No-dog means there's a level built into it to keep you from dog-legging your offsets.

A dog-legged offset is one where the two bends are not parallel with each other......one is slightly off from the other. In a straight run of conduit with an offset, a dog-leg will act like a 'kick', and send you in the srong direction.

An offset that is not dog-legged will sit flat & flush on a flat surface. A dog-legged offset will not. I hope this makes sense.

No-Dog® is a registered trade name of Ron Aubrey, Inc. The website has instructions on how to use one.


I know tools because I are one.


----------



## sparkyboys (May 3, 2009)

No-Dog® is a registered trade name of Ron Aubrey, Inc. The website has instructions on how to use one.


I know tools because I are one.







[/quote]

oh ok, i thought he was talking about doglegging. i did not know the level was called a no-dog. sorry my mistake. i use a piece of crap level, bc i tend to drop too many of them. as for big pipe, i use a protractor


----------



## Rockyd (Apr 22, 2007)

Here is "The Book" on conduit bending -








 
It'll take you further than your thought there was conduit to bend ​


----------



## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

sparkyboys said:


> oh ok, i thought he was talking about doglegging. i did not know the level was called a no-dog. sorry my mistake. i use a piece of crap level, bc i tend to drop too many of them. as for big pipe, i use a protractor


We are talking about dog-legging. A No-Dog prevents it.


----------



## electricalperson (Jan 11, 2008)

no dogs are cheating :thumbup: but nothing works better. i havnt bent much 4 inch rigid conduit but i cant imagine the difficulty in removing a dogleg from a 4 inch RMC saddle. even 4 inch emt


----------



## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

electricalperson said:


> no dogs are cheating :thumbup: but nothing works better. i havnt bent much 4 inch rigid conduit but i cant imagine the difficulty in removing a dogleg from a 4 inch RMC saddle. even 4 inch emt


Simple answer... you ain't getting dogleg out of 4" anything. The trick is to not dogleg it in the first place. If you look for the weld seam and keep it at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock in the bender as you make your offsets, that does the same thing as using a no-dog. That's what I generally do. I've drawn tick marks on the end of the pipe at 12, 3, 6, and 9 already too. Same idea.


----------



## electricalperson (Jan 11, 2008)

MDShunk said:


> Simple answer... you ain't getting dogleg out of 4" anything. The trick is to not dogleg it in the first place. If you look for the weld seam and keep it at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock in the bender as you make your offsets, that does the same thing as using a no-dog. That's what I generally do. I've drawn tick marks on the end of the pipe at 12, 3, 6, and 9 already too. Same idea.


 what bender do you use? we have an old hydraulic bender at work. doesnt get much use


----------



## user4818 (Jan 15, 2009)

MDShunk said:


> Simple answer... you ain't getting dogleg out of 4" anything. The trick is to not dogleg it in the first place. If you look for the weld seam and keep it at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock in the bender as you make your offsets, that does the same thing as using a no-dog. That's what I generally do. I've drawn tick marks on the end of the pipe at 12, 3, 6, and 9 already too. Same idea.


I'm a master conduit bender. However, ask me to set up the pull and I'm lost. :laughing:


----------



## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

electricalperson said:


> what bender do you use? we have an old hydraulic bender at work. doesnt get much use


Depends on what's going on. The "old hydraulic bender" is perfect for a small job where you might just be making a very few offsets or bends. The shoes from those old benders are great for forming the warm PVC conduit in also. :thumbsup:


----------



## electricalperson (Jan 11, 2008)

Peter D said:


> I'm a master conduit bender. However, ask me to set up the pull and I'm lost. :laughing:


 work with me peter ill teach you:laughing: make sure you use pvc bushings even on PVC conduit. i was feeding in some 4/0 xhhw and the male adapter sliced a gash about 6 inches long clean down to the aluminum.


----------



## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

Peter D said:


> I'm a master conduit bender. However, ask me to set up the pull and I'm lost. :laughing:


How good you can set up a pull often depends on how many pieces your erector set has. :laughing:


----------



## user4818 (Jan 15, 2009)

electricalperson said:


> work with me peter ill teach you:laughing:



No thanks. I'd rather work by myself than work with you.  :laughing: :thumbsup:


----------



## user4818 (Jan 15, 2009)

MDShunk said:


> How good you can set up a pull often depends on how many pieces your erector set has. :laughing:


I suppose this is meant to be funny, but it's really going over my head. :blink:


----------



## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

Peter D said:


> I suppose this is meant to be funny, but it's really going over my head. :blink:


Some pulls can end up looking like some sort of Rube Goldberg rig up.


----------



## user4818 (Jan 15, 2009)

MDShunk said:


> Some pulls can end up looking like some sort of Rube Goldberg rig up.



Ah yes...now I understand. :laughing:


----------



## JohnJ0906 (Jan 22, 2007)

480sparky said:


> A good torpedo level a must.
> 
> I'd suggest something like Greenlee's L77.
> 
> ...


I have that level, and it is quite useful.

In case you lose the thumb screw, or it breaks, a 1/4-20 works fine.


----------



## JohnJ0906 (Jan 22, 2007)

Rockyd said:


> Here is "The Book" on conduit bending -
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I found this book quite helpful. I figured, might as well get the book from the guy who invented the bender.


----------



## Celtic (Nov 19, 2007)

MDShunk said:


> How good you can set up a pull often depends on how many pieces your erector set has. :laughing:



This set has quite a few pieces:


















Affectionately known as "The Contraption"



An "action" shot:


----------



## drsparky (Nov 13, 2008)

I use the universal no-dog. Snug the conduit in a Chicago, 555 or your favorite bender. Strap a short piece of strut to the end of conduit; use a torpedo to make the strut level. Make your first bend. Flip the conduit and for the next bend. The strut is now 180 degrees or upside down, confirm with your trusty magnetic torpedo level, make you next bend. I try to keep an assortment of strut straps near the bender and mark the piece of strut so it doesn’t get tossed during clean-up.:thumbsup:


----------



## electricalperson (Jan 11, 2008)

i have the regular no dog 6 inch level as my everyday level. its a little beat up but it works great. i also have the no dog offset level. great things to buy


----------



## Mike_586 (Mar 24, 2009)

480sparky said:


> A good torpedo level a must.
> 
> I'd suggest something like Greenlee's L77.
> 
> ...


Got one of those, and its my most used level 

I've also got a Checkpoint (they manufacture the Greenlee levels) 3D DMS that I got so cheap it felt like stealing. 35$ was the winning bid on ebay


----------



## Lhaimbhee (May 28, 2009)

oh ok thanks sparkyboys for explaining what no dog is, i was uncertain if it had any relations to a "dog leg" and now i know, a no dog feature sounds good to have cause i end up with dog legs and when ever i try to fix it i either dent the conduit or make the dog leg worse which is confusing. But not only to sparkyboys but everyone else i want to thank once again for being so helpful, i cant wait to get my own set of tools. Thanks!


----------

