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#1 |
Member
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Kilgore TX
Posts: 448
Likes: 5
Liked 88 Times in 43 Posts
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Racers,
For those of you who bend your roll bars and other tubing, what tools are you using? I want something that will bend up to 1 5/8 mild steel tubing. Because it will be for occasional use, I think a manual bender is what I want. |
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#2 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Fulton County, PA
Posts: 551
Likes: 10
Liked 774 Times in 217 Posts
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J D Squared Model 3. Does a nice, smooth job. Some of the bigger machines are not as handy.
US made. Quality piece. Put hydraulics on it. Or you will wish you had. |
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#3 |
Member
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Kilgore TX
Posts: 448
Likes: 5
Liked 88 Times in 43 Posts
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Thank you, sounds like a voice of experience about the power-assisted model.
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#4 |
VIP Member
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Allentown,PA
Posts: 2,444
Likes: 805
Liked 723 Times in 212 Posts
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JD2 bender with BendTechEZ software. X2 on hydraulics ,I bent manually till I hit 70, ordered the hydraulics for it !
__________________
Tom Goldman 1500 SG , 1506 STK |
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#5 |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Italy, Texas
Posts: 143
Likes: 224
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I use a bender from Affordable Bender.
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#6 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Fulton County, PA
Posts: 551
Likes: 10
Liked 774 Times in 217 Posts
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Manual bending requires the machine to be substantially mounted, typically to the floor on a stand.
We went with hydraulics from the beginning. Electric motor, pump, reservoir, log splitter type valve, all mounted on a heavy cart on wheels that we fabricated, with the bender mounted at a good working height. 1.75" 4130 with ease. Easily moved and used anywhere in the shop, even outside if need be. Easy to accommodate long lengths, wide sweeps, whatever and wherever we need, without making room or moving stuff around to do the job. Put it in a corner when not being used, rather than stuck in the middle of the floor. Maybe a 2' x 2' footprint. Heavy enough that it is stable regardless what we have in it and it doesn't want to scoot around when using it. |
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#7 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Clemmons, NC
Posts: 33
Likes: 0
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I also have a JD2 bender but they don't make a Model 3 anymore and the Model 32 is the replacement. But I'm cheap so I used an 8-ton, air over hydraulic jack ram from Harbor Freight to power it (~$120) and I built a roll around stand for the whole thing and it seems to work pretty well so far. If you're interested in that option there are lots of comments, pictures and videos on the internet for how to do it.
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#8 |
Member
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Kilgore TX
Posts: 448
Likes: 5
Liked 88 Times in 43 Posts
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Thanks to all for the information. The deal is, that I am age 77 and most likely building my last roll cage system. Because the freight cost is so much, I considered buying a bender rather than purchasing a pre-bent kit.
After more pondering, the pre-bent kit, ordered through the wholesale side of Summit and picked up at the Arlington TX location is my best option. In hindsight, about 20 years and 10 builds ago would have been the best time to buy a bender ![]() |
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