# Do you Star or Arrow?



## Aegis (Mar 18, 2011)

So I found that I usually make 90s with a bender using the Star, no take back. I use the arrow when my 90s are shorter then 24".

Other guys use the arrow all the time and when their measurements are longer like 100" for a 90, they then use the Star.

We started talking about what the trade norm is, what do you guys use for a regular 90, like a 60" 90 on a 10ft stick.


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## cdnelectrician (Mar 14, 2008)

Anything over 60" I use the star. I also use the notch for all bends on a saddle, you don't need to turn the pipe around to make the last bend and it looks much neater. Also use 15/30/15 degrees instead of 22.5/45/22.5


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

Aegis said:


> So I found that I usually make 90s with a bender using the Star, no take back. I use the arrow when my 90s are shorter then 24".
> 
> Other guys use the arrow all the time and when their measurements are longer like 100" for a 90, they then use the Star.
> 
> We started talking about what the trade norm is, what do you guys use for a regular 90, like a 60" 90 on a 10ft stick.


Beware: Greenlee's Site Rite II has its star pointing the wrong way in the 1" for EMT size. ( IIRC it's the 842. ) 

This can be best seen by comparing it to the 840 and 841. [ 1/2" and 3/4" ]

Ooops. :blink:

As for arrow vs star -- the arrow wins hands down. 

Stubs are just more common than 'going-away' bends. 

I'd shift gears entirely if I were bending EMT for a rack.


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## Black Dog (Oct 16, 2011)

Aegis said:


> So I found that I usually make 90s with a bender using the Star, no take back. I use the arrow when my 90s are shorter then 24".
> 
> Other guys use the arrow all the time and when their measurements are longer like 100" for a 90, they then use the Star.
> 
> We started talking about what the trade norm is, what do you guys use for a regular 90, like a 60" 90 on a 10ft stick.


Arrow for the first 90 and star for back to back.


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## cdnelectrician (Mar 14, 2008)

Greenlee benders suck!


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## Bird dog (Oct 27, 2015)

cdnelectrician said:


> Anything over 60" I use the star. I also use the notch for all bends on a saddle, you don't need to turn the pipe around to make the last bend and it looks much neater. Also use 15/30/15 degrees instead of 22.5/45/22.5


That's the way I do it. Why bend over 5' of pipe into the air when you don't have to. Wire pulling is easier with 30 degree saddles and offsets. It is good to know all of this stuff though. One time the only way I was able to pipe out of a box was a 60 degree offset(depth times 1.25).


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## Helmut (May 7, 2014)

I use the star for back of conduit bends, and arrow for stubs.


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## ponyboy (Nov 18, 2012)

Arrow for stubs under 60" and star for stubs greater than 60". It's called ergonomics. 


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## RePhase277 (Feb 5, 2008)

It depends on which direction you pull you measurement from. If you face away from your measuring end, use the star with no deduct. If you face your measuring end, deduct and use the arrow.


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## JW Splicer (Mar 15, 2014)

This site is lagging hard tonight. Just wrecked my typing. Gist of it- know the bender and each reference point on it and when and where to use them for accurate and consistent pipe work. Know the formulas, shrink, gain, etc.

just bending 90°s and putting couplings everywhere shows every electrician that comes after that you're a hack. I can't stand bad pipe work. No box offsets, HUGE rolling offsets, and open/closed offsets and 90°s are the bane of my existence.


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## JW Splicer (Mar 15, 2014)

Also random coupling placement on a set of 2 or more parallel runs bugs the hell out of me. If you're gonna do it at all, do it right, line em up or stagger.

Also any piece smaller than 2' crammed between to 10' sticks looks hack. Like the coupling to coupling with a 2" piece of conduit between? Yeah... Shakes me up, absolutely unsettling.


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## gryczewskip (Oct 27, 2015)

I like the coupled back to backs

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## Aegis (Mar 18, 2011)

JW Splicer said:


> This site is lagging hard tonight. Just wrecked my typing. Gist of it- know the bender and each reference point on it and when and where to use them for accurate and consistent pipe work. Know the formulas, shrink, gain, etc. just bending 90°s and putting couplings everywhere shows every electrician that comes after that you're a hack. I can't stand bad pipe work. No box offsets, HUGE rolling offsets, and open/closed offsets and 90°s are the bane of my existence.


Who said we're putting 90s everywhere? This is a question about what method you personally use on a regular basis.


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## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

JW Splicer said:


> This site is lagging hard tonight. Just wrecked my typing. Gist of it- know the bender and each reference point on it and when and where to use them for accurate and consistent pipe work. Know the formulas, shrink, gain, etc.
> 
> just bending 90°s and putting couplings everywhere shows every electrician that comes after that you're a hack. I can't stand bad pipe work. No box offsets, HUGE rolling offsets, and open/closed offsets and 90°s are the bane of my existence.


Don't do much bid work do ya?
I don't mind a rolling offset if it is above a ceiling or hidden. better than a couple 90's or two offsets.


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## JW Splicer (Mar 15, 2014)

Aegis said:


> Who said we're putting 90s everywhere? This is a question about what method you personally use on a regular basis.


Yeah sorry, It wasn't aimed at anyone, I was just rambling after the site refreshed and deleted everything I'd written.


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## JW Splicer (Mar 15, 2014)

I personally use both, just depends on what I need to bend.


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## B-Nabs (Jun 4, 2014)

JW Splicer said:


> This site is lagging hard tonight. Just wrecked my typing. Gist of it- know the bender and each reference point on it and when and where to use them for accurate and consistent pipe work. Know the formulas, shrink, gain, etc.
> 
> just bending 90°s and putting couplings everywhere shows every electrician that comes after that you're a hack. I can't stand bad pipe work. No box offsets, HUGE rolling offsets, and open/closed offsets and 90°s are the bane of my existence.


Can't say as I've ever had a pipe gain length on me before...

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## ponyboy (Nov 18, 2012)

JW Splicer said:


> Also any piece smaller than 2' crammed between to 10' sticks looks hack. Like the coupling to coupling with a 2" piece of conduit between? Yeah... Shakes me up, absolutely unsettling.



I call those dog bones and I hate them. If you can't tell you're going to be a foot short before you get to that point there is no hope for you. I like rolling offsets though. Parallel rolling offsets are pretty much the only thing that takes a little brain power when it comes to pipe. 


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## JW Splicer (Mar 15, 2014)

I don't mind rolling offsets, I don't like them when they span a large distance and block an entire rack.


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## JW Splicer (Mar 15, 2014)

B-Nabs said:


> Can't say as I've ever had a pipe gain length on me before...
> 
> Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk


Take a 60" piece and bend a 90 in it. Measure both legs and add them and subtract 60". That is the gain. It's different for each size of pipe and brand of bender.


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## JW Splicer (Mar 15, 2014)

sbrn33 said:


> Don't do much bid work do ya?
> I don't mind a rolling offset if it is above a ceiling or hidden. better than a couple 90's or two offsets.


My career has been about 1/2 hard money and 1/2 T&M. Honestly I've never had a customer or employer unhappy with the end result. A good looking product gives the customer confidence.

I may spend 45-50 hours on a job that other guys spend 40 hours on. Takes a little longer but everyone is happier with the end result.

It takes all kinds in this trade though. Some guys are straight businessmen, some are artists, and some are just collecting a paycheck...


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## nbb (Jul 12, 2014)

Helmut said:


> I use the star for back of conduit bends, and arrow for stubs.


Same. Star for 3 point saddles as well, but I don't get to do too many of those any more.


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## derit (Jul 26, 2015)

cdnelectrician said:


> Greenlee benders suck!


The Site Rite has a neat hook, whose conspicuous arrow design allows for alignment with pipe marks while standing directly above the handle-up bender.

I'll use both indicators--but the star only when I'm not too concerned about dog legs.


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## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

JW Splicer said:


> Also any piece smaller than 2' crammed between to 10' sticks looks hack. Like the coupling to coupling with a 2" piece of conduit between? Yeah... Shakes me up, absolutely unsettling.



Glad to see I'm not the only that's a little OCD about seeing that.. 


Using the arrow or star for me is dependent on what I'm trying to do. I never give it much thought, I just measure and go.. 

Oh ya, trim screws are all vertical.


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## JW Splicer (Mar 15, 2014)

Always vertical!


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## LightsOn81 (Jan 6, 2012)

I just asked my buddy this the other day. I'm an arrow bender. Notch only for the center of my 3 pointers. The star is only there for decoration


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