# Southwire Bendstation



## Switched (Dec 23, 2012)

That is expensive, have to start just running PVC!:whistling2:

Might as well get a used 555 and build a cart.


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

If it makes the workload speed up then I say good investment. 

Does that price include multiple shoes or are those considered extra's?


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## cabletie (Feb 12, 2011)

Didn't know they made a ridged version. The two versions I saw was 1/2-3/4 EMT and 3/4-1" EMT. 

Personally an Evans bender would be more efficient.


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

cabletie said:


> Didn't know they made a ridged version. The two versions I saw was 1/2-3/4 EMT and 3/4-1" EMT.
> 
> Personally an Evans bender would be more efficient.


Aren't Evans benders pretty bulky?


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

I own a triple nickel but it is hard to transport to and fro. Usually for me that will require renting a vehicle with a dolly lift on back , and I only do it now for some job where I will be bending over a period of days. I like stuff you can break down and hand move into and out of my van. The 555 don't do that.


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

Too pricey -- and too prone to job site theft -- because of its price.

Greenlee also has an overpriced version.

You can cobble together a decent rig -- starting with a plain vanilla (Red Chinese import) Baker// Perry style scaffold.

Don't use it as a scaffold... us it as a plans table and materials cart ... a rolling office, if you will.

These can be had for about $200-250 depending where you are based.

( Older American classics were available in 8' and 10' lengths, too. )

They always come unpainted -- so slap on your logo// colors -- and paint the working board with polyurethane... 

With strut hardware, it's not too hard to cobble up a side-rail scheme. All that you really want is a sweet spot for your conventional one-shot Benefield bender... with a dry waller's rule -- say 48" stiff aluminum -- glued down to some firm flat maple// or some such -- backed up by strut and so forth.

You must use your imagination and skills.

This rig will hold FAR more EMT than the expensive brew -- and still have a deck for your plans// minor materials.

A battery powered run of LEDs wouldn't go wrong, either.

The above shop project should set you back about $300 or less... compare and contrast... :laughing:


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## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

Why not use a Chicago bender and toss it in the van at the end of the day.


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

Wirenuting said:


> Why not use a Chicago bender and toss it in the van at the end of the day.


The true classic was designed for RMC... and dang heavy... to boot.

This Southwire puppy is designed for 1/2" and 3/4" EMT.


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

I always wanted one. No place to keep it in my shop unless I hoist it up in the air though.


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## cabletie (Feb 12, 2011)

macmikeman said:


> cabletie said:
> 
> 
> > Didn't know they made a ridged version. The two versions I saw was 1/2-3/4 EMT and 3/4-1" EMT.
> ...



Yeah they are a bit. Can't do 90's, but you can do kicks. Much lighter than a 555. Takes two guys to move it between floors (stairs). 

Usually there are common size offsets for coming off of bar joists into boxes etc. Eventually the guys using it will have their common setups written on duct tape on the bender. 

For kicks, the measurement to the center of the bend for the different angles is written on the bender. A little math and the kicks will be dead on. All working up in the air instead of off the floor.


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## cabletie (Feb 12, 2011)

I would like it if my boss would buy an 1818 Chicago bender.


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## TGGT (Oct 28, 2012)

I was digging it until I saw the price. It is very expensive for what it is, but maybe for large scale jobs that will go on for months or years it'd be worth it. 

I was just thinking about (as worker), on a recent job (that'll easily go on for another 10 monts) we had a pallet that we'd load the pony and oil bucket, then the tri-stand, sometimes the chicago on there if we were short on hands, then we'd get our push carts, ladders and stop by the pipe rack for conduit. May not sound like a big deal except it was in a large high security building so you only wanted to process in one time instead of making multiple trips if you could help it.

Any rig that could condense the vise, oil bucket/pony, bender and pipe rack on to one would have been a time and labor saver. I had some ideas myself to make the process easier and cleaner, but since I wasn't the boss managing the time I never got to make it happen. A larger pallet that the tri stand could be bolted down to and place the oil bucket and pony underneath for transport (as well as any other tools) would have been a good alternative.


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## derit (Jul 26, 2015)

Whose chicago bender includes two pegs on the side opposite the shoe for removing dogs? I don't see that model too often but well remember the sting of a defective Southwire no-dog level one time working without one.


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## freeagnt54 (Aug 6, 2008)

TGGT said:


> I was digging it until I saw the price. It is very expensive for what it is, but maybe for large scale jobs that will go on for months or years it'd be worth it.
> 
> I was just thinking about (as worker), on a recent job (that'll easily go on for another 10 monts) we had a pallet that we'd load the pony and oil bucket, then the tri-stand, sometimes the chicago on there if we were short on hands, then we'd get our push carts, ladders and stop by the pipe rack for conduit. May not sound like a big deal except it was in a large high security building so you only wanted to process in one time instead of making multiple trips if you could help it.
> 
> Any rig that could condense the vise, oil bucket/pony, bender and pipe rack on to one would have been a time and labor saver. I had some ideas myself to make the process easier and cleaner, but since I wasn't the boss managing the time I never got to make it happen. A larger pallet that the tri stand could be bolted down to and place the oil bucket and pony underneath for transport (as well as any other tools) would have been a good alternative.


The only place I can see it being benificial would be prefab. On jobs big or small nothing beats a plastic cart and a handbender. How can you ask your guys to run 200 ft a day as you chain that anchor to their leg? On bigger jobs I cant imagine having 10-20 on-site.


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## TGGT (Oct 28, 2012)

freeagnt54 said:


> The only place I can see it being benificial would be prefab. On jobs big or small nothing beats a plastic cart and a handbender. How can you ask your guys to run 200 ft a day as you chain that anchor to their leg? On bigger jobs I cant imagine having 10-20 on-site.


I almost never hand bend rigid.


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## ponyboy (Nov 18, 2012)

Who would buy a bending table for 1/2-3/4 emt? 


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

Biscuits said:


> Who would buy a bending table for 1/2-3/4 emt?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Not so many...

:blink:


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## dawgs (Dec 1, 2007)

Our benders consist of:

881ct
855
555 three of them
1801 two of them
1800 five of them

Multitude of hand benders and hickeys. Mostly ideal hand benders. They are the best. The 1800 Chicago benders get the most use.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

Just another toy that would be nice if the price didn't seem more appropriate for buying a whole store.


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## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

It looks like it would bew great on larger jobs but that thing is only worth about $500-$600 in my book. 
Mac you would like a 1818. I have one and it gets more use than my smart bender because 1 guy can load it.


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

It's a nice idea but like was mentioned, you could take the bender off of the factory stand that comes with a Chicago bender and make a plate that mounts onto a baker scaffold.
You might have to get the outrigger wheels for the bender side but, would come in under $1000 for sure.
If you had a good fabricator/ welder on the job and about $300 in steel and wheels in your budget, you could setup a nice Tijuana Taxi and have drink holders ice bucket, microwave, fold out seating and everything.


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## don_resqcapt19 (Jul 18, 2010)

We have built a couple of







. A 535 threader on the top and a 1/2-1" Chicago bender on the end.


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## dawgs (Dec 1, 2007)

don_resqcapt19 said:


> We have built a couple of . A 535 threader on the top and a 1/2-1" Chicago bender on the end.


I want to do the same as that. Mount our 535 on a knaack war wagon. I would also add a vice yoke. Works great out on plant floors.


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## don_resqcapt19 (Jul 18, 2010)

dawgs said:


> I want to do the same as that. Mount our 535 on a knaack war wagon. I would also add a vice yoke. Works great out on plant floors.


We have one with just the bender and the vise for use in the Class I, Division 2 areas where we can't use the power threader version, but a vise would be a nice addition to the one with the 535.

You can't see it well, but there is angle iron on the top that is installed square for checking and measuring 90°s


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## freeagnt54 (Aug 6, 2008)

TGGT said:


> I almost never hand bend rigid.


I was more or less talking about the emt version. We use triple nickels for rigid, and this might be okay for that if it were at a better price point, although I can bend up to 2 inch emt, rigid and rob Roy on the 555


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

freeagnt54 said:


> I was more or less talking about the emt version. We use triple nickels for rigid, and this might be okay for that if it were at a better price point, although I can bend up to 2 inch emt, rigid and rob Roy on the 555


Works on IMC also. 


I used to use a Chicago bender a long long long time ago . I thought it was great cause anybody can count clicks, even me.


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## TGGT (Oct 28, 2012)

freeagnt54 said:


> I was more or less talking about the emt version. We use triple nickels for rigid, and this might be okay for that if it were at a better price point, although I can bend up to 2 inch emt, rigid and rob Roy on the 555


Yeah, the place I had in mind it was actually more convenient to load, or roll in the chicago bender but I'll take a 555 over it if given the choice. As far as the EMT version I'm with you, I didn't even glance at it. But this thread has been cool in seeing people's custom rigs.


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## 360max (Jun 10, 2011)

...all the wheels should be inflatable (not just 2), making it easier to transport around typical job site. Waste of money IMO


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## don_resqcapt19 (Jul 18, 2010)

For rigid 1" and smaller with a lot of detail bends like I find on my industrial jobs, I will take the Chicago bender over a 555 every time.


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## cabletie (Feb 12, 2011)

derit said:


> Whose chicago bender includes two pegs on the side opposite the shoe for removing dogs? I don't see that model too often but well remember the sting of a defective Southwire no-dog level one time working without one.


That must have been the Current model Chicago bender. 

http://www.currenttools.com/images/downloads/manuals/750_RV4.pdf


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## varmit (Apr 19, 2009)

Why would you need or want a 1/2 and 3/4 EMT hand bender mounted to anything? That would seem really awkward (slow) to me.


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

varmit said:


> Why would you need or want a 1/2 and 3/4 EMT hand bender mounted to anything? That would seem really awkward (slow) to me.


Your knees are shot. 

That's why. :blink:


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

I see that Hoppy has adopted my 'trick' of using a SS coupling cut in half as a measuring aid... so as to take the marks and get them all the way around the EMT -- perfectly true.


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## ponyboy (Nov 18, 2012)

telsa said:


> I see that Hoppy has adopted my 'trick' of using a SS coupling cut in half as a measuring aid... so as to take the marks and get them all the way around the EMT -- perfectly true.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF0lSP8TcmA




What a ridiculously unnecessary device. I just can't believe someone would actually need help making a mark on a piece of pipe


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

Biscuits said:


> What a ridiculously unnecessary device.* I just can't believe someone would actually need help making a mark on a piece of pipe
> *
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Actually, from field experience with apprentices, they DO need it.

And, as the video shows, for mere seconds of 'extra' effort -- the Hoppy bender cranks out flawless saddles and off-sets.

Without this training aid, the bone yard does pile high. :whistling2:

Your comment makes me assume that you've scarcely trained newbies to bend EMT....

&&&&

As for myself, I can whip them out by eye with blazing speed. 

The 'ring marker' tool is especially helpful with larger, machine bent EMT.

Getting your marks PERFECTLY on register makes the final product flawless.

Slipping it on and off -- takes a trivial amount of time.


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## Cow (Jan 16, 2008)

I disagree Telsa. 

Any one who has spent any real time bending conduit knows there is a far larger margin of error getting the conduit bent to the same degree each time than there is in the slight variation that may come from circling the conduit with a mark freehand. If this is such an issue in your mind with apprentices marking freehand, how do you expect them to get better if you're supplying them with a crutch to help them draw circles?

I read a post once from a guy who thought it was necessary to mark the conduit with a plumbers pipe cutter before cutting it with his sawzall. He maintained it was necessary to have a perfectly straight mark to follow when cutting. 

Like yours, it was just another unnecessary step for running conduit.

A person would be far better off spending more time bending conduit and getting repeatable consistent bends than worrying about the tolerances of their marks.


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## ponyboy (Nov 18, 2012)

telsa said:


> Actually, from field experience with apprentices, they DO need it.
> 
> And, as the video shows, for mere seconds of 'extra' effort -- the Hoppy bender cranks out flawless saddles and off-sets.
> 
> ...




No you are simply wrong on all points. It's been a while since I've ran thinwall but I could write your name in cursive with rigid and so could my old apprentices. If you were trained by professionals you could too. This product is a pointless gimmick that says a lot about the people that would flock to it. 


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

Cow said:


> I disagree Telsa.
> 
> Any one who has spent any real time bending conduit knows there is a far larger margin of error getting the conduit bent to the same degree each time than there is in the slight variation that may come from circling the conduit with a mark freehand. If this is such an issue in your mind with apprentices marking freehand, how do you expect them to get better if you're supplying them with a crutch to help them draw circles?
> 
> ...


From your post I MUST gather that you didn't watch the Hoppy bender video.

To repeat, to a seasoned veteran of the task, these props seem wholly unnecessary.

There is a real reason that kids need training wheels for their bikes.

The Hoppy bender is -- to my mind -- a great training aid.

It's of little help to me -- or to you -- or to any seasoned veteran.

AGAIN, by your comment, I rather doubt you've trained a lot of newbies.

Their bone piles do astound.

But, your opinion is important -- and now stands digitally recorded for all time.

Thanks. :whistling2:

BTW, if your apprentices are writing names in cursive in GRC -- then by what standards are they newbies ?


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## Cow (Jan 16, 2008)

telsa said:


> From your post I MUST gather that you didn't watch the Hoppy bender video.
> 
> To repeat, to a seasoned veteran of the task, these props seem wholly unnecessary.
> 
> ...


Telsa, you make a lot of assumptions.

I could spend a bunch of time on here debating what I think are useless crutches not necessary to learn proper conduit bending, but I'm not interested in reading your half page replies. 

In my opinion, all a person needs is a bender and a level with degree'd dials.


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## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

telsa said:


> From your post I MUST gather that you didn't watch the Hoppy bender video.
> 
> To repeat, to a seasoned veteran of the task, these props seem wholly unnecessary.
> 
> ...



If you supply the training aids for your people, that's great. 
But at what point do you take the training wheels off the bike?

On the rare occasion that I have to mark around the pipe, I just use my folding ruler. No extra gaget to carry.


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

Wirenuting said:


> If you supply the training aids for your people, that's great.
> But at what point do you take the training wheels off the bike?
> 
> On the rare occasion that I have to mark around the pipe, I just use my folding ruler. No extra gaget to carry.


The transition from rank ditz to decent execution usually takes less than a week -- usually less than three days.

Once the newbies 'get it' -- they don't need or want the Hoppy's 'stop.'

After a week, most stop even measuring and marking. -- in my commercial world -- offsets are MUCH more forgiving than any NECA/IBEW job -- which is usually busy with lots of parallel runs.

As for a total newbie -- I've seen 200 feet of 1/2" EMT consumed to NOT produce a single proper offset. 

Like an old Stooge's flick, that bone pile was stuffed all over the job. The only puzzle: where did all of my 1/2" EMT go ? Yes, a dufus 'seasoned' apprentice thought he could instruct in the ways of the one-shot bender. :laughing::laughing:

Ultimately, I had to can both. 

See: Dunning-Kruger Effect.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning–Kruger_effect

&&&&&

Having trained more fellas than I can remember or count -- it's a FACT that any regular Joe MUCH prefers to learn by doing. 

That the 'doing' is excessively S L O W is perfectly fine. Once the noob's brain 'clicks' -- he's delighted to show that he does not need training wheels any more.

Which is double plus good.

Half of the art is developing confidence in one's hands, eyes and 'touch.'

I well remember freaking out during MY first EMT bends. Everything was alien.

Now, EMT is like wet noodles to me... as it is to any seasoned hand.

In my world, practically nothing is even marked. 

&&&&&&&

Once I gained the reputation for teaching proper technique -- I was punished by every firm I ever worked for -- by the office routing every dunce my way.

Sergeant Hulka has my sympathy. :thumbsup:


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

Cow said:


> Telsa, you make a lot of assumptions.
> 
> I could spend a bunch of time on here debating what I think are useless crutches not necessary to learn proper conduit bending, *but I'm not interested in reading your half page replies. *
> 
> In my opinion, all a person needs is a bender and a level with degree'd dials.



I feel your pain.

I really do. :whistling2:

BTW, you really ought to straighten out the fools marketing the Hoppy bender.

For, plainly, your insights have never occurred to them. 

One last query...

Why do Boeing, NASA, and the USAF run pilots through trainers that never fly ?

Good golly those trainers are SLOW... anchored to the floor, they are. 

All three need to hear from you. :thumbsup:


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## Jarp Habib (May 18, 2014)

I would not mind the EMT version one bit because every time I have to flip a foot bender onto it's handle for an offset annoys me. You have to get that right angle of the shaft so you can brace it with your foot without banging the free end of the conduit into the ceiling grid or a light fixture. We all deal with it, it's what we know, we accept it but it's the kind of thing we shouldn't *have* to bother with. I don't think it would be reasonable to try and equipment every pair in the crew with one of these, but certainly the guys building out the electrical closet would be a great start.


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