Conduit bending help

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davidbananas999

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Minnesota
He guys i have a question about how to position a bend. I tried to upload pictures but it kept failing.

Situation:

1/2" conduit exits the top of my panel.
About 6 feet up I put a 90° bend pointing left on the same wall.
14" from the back of the 90°, there is a concrete beam that intersects the wall at about a 40° angle.

So im trying to bend my pipe about 40°, away from the wall, in order to ride along the concrete beam.

Like i said the 40° angle starts 14" from the back of my 90°, so where do i mark my pipe and what mark on the bender do i use in order to get the bend in the right spot?

Thanks
 
There are numerous books you can buy or borrow from a library to bend EMT.

Here's a few quickie articles:

http://www.elliottelectric.com/StaticPages/ElectricalReferences/Guides/EMT_coduit_bending_guide.aspx

http://www.gridalternatives.org/sites/default/files/assets/Team Leader docs/ConduitBenderGuide.pdf

http://www.browntechnical.org/content/Resourcs/Hand_bending_conduit_and_tubing_by_Bill_Bamford.pdf

You can always do trial and error, or make the 90* and 40* bends in separate pieces and join them together.
 
the 40° angle starts 14" from the back of my 90°, so where do i mark my pipe and what mark on the bender do i use in order to get the bend in the right spot?
Click to expand...

Well, if I read you correctly you would use the star mark 14" from the back of the first 90. If the bend were a 90 that would put the back of it on the beam. But since this is 40* the shrink is going to be slightly less making it too long. Unless you are real used to eyeballing there is no shame in making a test 40* bend in a piece of scrap. Make a mark on a length of scrap say 18 inches from the right end. Line the star up with the mark and make a 40* bend. Place it against the beam, measure then use that measurement to put the star 14" from the back of your 90.

-Hal
 
hbiss said:
Well, if I read you correctly you would use the star mark 14" from the back of the first 90. If the bend were a 90 that would put the back of it on the beam. But since this is 40* the shrink is going to be slightly less making it too long. Unless you are real used to eyeballing there is no shame in making a test 40* bend in a piece of scrap. Make a mark on a length of scrap say 18 inches from the right end. Line the star up with the mark and make a 40* bend. Place it against the beam, measure then use that measurement to put the star 14" from the back of your 90.

-Hal
Click to expand...

Or the old reliable fail safe method of cut and couple.....
As one old journeyman told me that's why they sell couplings
 
davidbananas999 said:
...so where do i mark my pipe and what mark on the bender do i use in order to get the bend in the right spot?
Click to expand...
Bend mark formula:
14" to vertex of bend angle – [5" outside bend radius] x tan [40 degree bend angle ÷ 2]
14 – 5tan(20°)
14 – 1.82 = 12.18" measured from back of 90

Align bender like you are doing back to back 90's, only stop short of 90° bend at 40° (approximately).
 
qcroanoke said:
Or the old reliable fail safe method of cut and couple.....
As one old journeyman told me that's why they sell couplings
Click to expand...

I don't know how much you need on that beam, but if you have at least 9' just put the 40 on the end of a full stick then couple it in that horizontal run. That way if anybody looks at it they will think you were working from the other direction. :thumbsup:

-Hal
 
davidbananas999 said:
1/2" conduit exits the top of my panel.
About 6 feet up I put a 90° bend pointing left on the same wall.
14" from the back of the 90°, there is a concrete beam that intersects the wall at about a 40° angle.

So im trying to bend my pipe about 40°, away from the wall, in order to ride along the concrete beam.

Like i said the 40° angle starts 14" from the back of my 90°, so where do i mark my pipe and what mark on the bender do i use in order to get the bend in the right spot?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Work backwards. Bend your 40 at 7' and strap to wall. Level up from outside of PNL KO and mark, use star for 90 and cut off excess. You only lose a few inches off pipe but you end up with a pro looking pipe.
 
Smart $ said:
Bend mark formula:
14" to vertex of bend angle – [5" outside bend radius] x tan [40 degree bend angle ÷ 2]
14 – 5tan(20°)
14 – 1.82 = 12.18" measured from back of 90

Align bender like you are doing back to back 90's, only stop short of 90° bend at 40° (approximately).
Click to expand...
Arrange like you are doing consecutive 90's
 
hbiss said:
I stopped watching after that offset...

-Hal
Click to expand...

Too funny LOL! Also looks like he bent his right pointer finger during one of his practice bends.

One of my co-workers spent an hour carefully bending three 90's and an offset in a single 10 foot piece of 1/2" EMT then we laughed as he could not put it in place without cutting it because it was on an assembly line and had to go over some stuff and under other stuff. Prob. spent another 10 min. trying to get it in but our chants of "CUT it...just CUT it already" saw him give up kinda angrily.

Fun times for a bunch of young Journeymen and helpers...we learned a lot the trial and error way. And we trash-talked each other and laughed a lot.

In your case I would bend a kick in the end of a 10 footer, hold it up and then add a little or take out a little of the bend, then make the piece from there to the panel.
 
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