Oh yeah, well my homemade metal twister is better! :-0 Just kidding, of course........Check out my "Intro" post to see what I'm talking about. OK, you know I'm going to need some close-ups and details of this right?! That's awesome! I've looked at the "Hossfelds" (sp?), but don't have the cash for one right now, and I thought about making my own.

Seriously, when I get to this project would you be able to provide some close-ups to help me out if needed? I (and wife) would appreciate it. Currently I've got to make a propane forge, land rake for tractor, redoing the fence on the table saw, and hook up an electric actuator to the hitch on the tractor, and now a bender! Not a moment to spare, and now there's another forum to surf!

Hey, you're located in an anvil rich part of the county, according to my research, you don't know anyone that wants to part with one do you? My wife and I are looking........

Thanks, David

I bought my bender from Harbor Freight at half price. I don't have to spend the time on all the dies. It works great. I bought a table mount one and mounted it to a stand then I bolted it to the floor.

I want one. I have some buddies that have the HF model and their stuff looks real good. On the other hand, the homemade equipment like David and Kevin made is really hard to beat. I just need to create some free time to do this stuff. Most of my welding is fabing up things in short order and no time for a fancy bend or scroll here and there. I'll have to post some pictures of how the welder helps me get things done. Nothing fancy but a realy help around here.

Kurt

I had two HS benders that I got at auctions... Resold them both... I like the one I made so much better... I can bend 1/2" X 2" hot roll cold in this unit... Sometimes I bust a pin not heating the metal but I got a bucket full of pins..
I will take better pictures today and repost...
I also made a few other metal working tools the I will post later...

How do you bend angle iron.
Say 1/2 x 1/2 angle 1/8thick.
Want to take an 8ft piece and make a circle.
Put steel mesh in the circle and make a table top.
But how to bend the angle iron without it kinking up.

Pooh Bear

The proper way is to have two rollers side by side with the angle in between. You then place another roller on the flat of the angle to sandwich it all together. A third roller will give you the radius bend you need. It takes a lot of force to bend plus the force to keep the leg smooth between the rollers. One leg is compressing the other stretching. I have never formed one using just heat. I can be done but you have a lot of straighting to do after you bend it. The straight leg is compressed and becomes very wavy.

I have made a machine to bend angle and flat in a circle... I will take pictures when I get home and post them for you to see...

More pictures....
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Most excellent kbeitz! That looks like pretty sturdy construction, what size stock is it? 1/2"x1-1/2"? I've got a question about the circular ring that would look to be about 9" or so in diameter.......what function does it serve? I see that it could potentially provide a surface for the "arm" section to ride on, if you had a spacer block under it. There are holes drilled in it too, does it act as a form of a stop for repetitive tasks?

Thanks a bunch, I will be using this as a basis for a bender in the future.

David

The circle is my stop... I've made quite a few of these benders... Size of the plate is not important... Hint on building... Spot weld all four plates in one chunk and drill all four at the same time... This way your pins will line up... Just grind the spot weld off when finished drilling... I use bearing pin stock for my pins...
The handle is just black water pipe stepped down with smaller and smaller sizes... The circle is the flange off industrial smoke stack... Use the heavest bar stock you have... The bigger the better...

I can see why you can bend 1/2 thick bar. The vice you have to hold the bender must have a good sturdy base to hold all that force you are applying. I only need to bend up to 1/4 stock at this time. Have you made dies for different radius you may need or that is not a requirement for what you have to bend.

Yes I made a few dies... Really all you need is a chunk of round steel like a wheel for dies...
I also made an another attachment to bend metal at very sharp angles...

Dear Kbeitz,
I know you posted pics of this bender in 2004. Is it possible that you still have them. Could you post them again, or email them to me.
regards
CF
conniferns@gmail.com

Hi, being new to the forum, how to I access the photos for your metal bender? thanks.

Hi ,I am new to the forum and would like to see the info.posted for the above item if possible ,with a view to making it .
thankyou
coldte