Harbor and freight bender? worth it?

I was thinking about picking up Harbor and freights 16 ton pipe bender. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=35336 after my 20% off coupon (thanks seth) I figure it would be about 130$. My question is, is it going to be worth it? It comes with 7 dies that bend 1/2'' through 3'' at up to 90 degrees. I figure i might have to toss some gussets on the frame of the bender and maybe strengthen it up a bit but im fine with that. so what do you guys think?

I used one on my wagon, bends pretty good..but you get what you pay for, its not a JD2 or anything but it works for bends up to 90 degrees, maybe a little over if you got some thick wall DOM. I used a pneumatic pump but the hand pump works too. If your going to use it alot you may want to pay a little more a build it like the one Seth did.

I say spend an additional 170 on a jd2...I fuckin love mine. Dies can get expensive, but worth it for 180 bends with zero kinks!My brother had one of those harbor freight benders back in the day...kinked everything and ended up in the trash!

Edited: 12/20/2007 12:03:28 PM by Ice

theres a difference between PIPE and TUBING .. most people use tubing on rides ... the pipe bender your talking about will kink the pipes or tubing and leave nasty flat spots... waste of money ... you can break down and by a good hand Manuel bender with a die for a reasonable price and get alot better bends on tub'n ..or make your own .. just use google to search for it .. theres alot of how to's on this...like this one.. http://www.metalwebnews.com/howto/tube-bender/tube-bender.html...../

Ya im not gonna get that shit. Ill just stick with my plan of getting a JD model 3 bender. thanks for the help guys!

Originally posted by Ice



Edited: 12/20/2007 12:03:28 PM by Ice

theres a difference between PIPE and TUBING .. most people use tubing on rides ...

I know there is a difference but what is it? is it in wall thickness or something?

Originally posted by skip1100



Originally posted by Ice



Edited: 12/20/2007 12:03:28 PM by Ice

theres a difference between PIPE and TUBING .. most people use tubing on rides ...

I know there is a difference but what is it? is it in wall thickness or something?



Yea pipe is made for water and poo, tubing is for building things! HAHA

that thing is junk, period. my dad bought one and the next day we ordered a real tubing bender. 'nuf said.

Edited: 12/20/2007 12:44:35 PM by skip1100

Ill answer my own question, I searched google this is what i got

A pipe is a vessel. A tube is structural.A pipe is measured ID "Inside Diameter". A tube is measured OD "Outside Diameter".

How they are measured... Pipes are measured ID or inside diameter because they are vessels. Tubes are measured OD or outside diameter because they are structural.

Pipes have a consistent ID regardless of wall thickness. In other words, a 1/2" high pressure pipe may need a 2" thick wall, but the ID will still only be 1/2" even tho the OD is 4.5".

Generally speaking, a tube will have a consistent OD and it's ID will change. Engineers see tubes and pipes with different eyes. A tube is structural.By having a consistent OD they can vary wall thickness, changing the ID, to increase strength. Because they are consistent OD, they have predictable characteristics.

Again, the difference is simple, it's how they are measured and what their intended uses are.

Don't get one. They suck. Only way to get a "bend" out of one is to use thick tube. And using thick tube is dangerous in them. I was trying to bend some 1.25" .188 wall tube in that about a year ago, and the base snapped and let the top loose at however many tons and sprung against my hand that was resting on top to keep ti from falling over. The force split my hand open and fractured my wrist. If you're serious about building shit, get a real bender, or build one. You will be much happier.