Conduit bending, tricks of the trade.

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If you are really serious about becoming an expert conduit man then here are the absolute best books I've found (forget the Benfield book, it's awful compared to these). Most of the info overlaps but each book contains important methods that the other does not have:

Simplified Conduit Bending
http://www.conduitbending.com/Home.htm

Electrician's Guide to Conduit Bending by Richard Cox (his website wasn't working today but here's the link anyway http://www.coxco.cc/). Check Amazon.com

By the way, I do not have a financial interest in either of these books, just like to see pretty conduit runs.
 
Chicago benders are awesome....like masterinbama implied - even with NO indication of angle on the bender, you can count the "clicks" and make any angle ~ repeatedly! That makes for an easy job :)

There are so many ways to use a Chicago...I learned how to use one w/o ever seeing a manualfor it. They are just that simple and reliable.
 
bdarnell said:
Jack Benfield authored several books and pamphlets on conduit bending.
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Used to have a tape where Jack was demonstrating bending 1 1/4" EMT. Jack was a small man. He was up on the foot pedal jumping around and having a good time. When he finally put some a** into the bend the pipe started to move up. Then he readjusted the foot pedal and started jumping again and the pipe finally bent.

Hilarious!!

Truly informative
 
bend conduit on hard level surface bending conduit in sand does not work well
keep conduit in contact with surface you are bending on do not let conduit ride up it crinkles pipe
use foot pressure not handle to bend conduit you can bend the handle before you bend the conduit by not using foot pressure makes it hard to make accurate bends latter
mark a center line down the center of a length of pipe with a pencil to keep the dogs from barking
mark your conduit with pencil it wipes off easier and then conduit looks better when job is done
on measurements less then five feet let tape measure extend past end of conduit for length of take up put end of conduit on five inch mark for half inch conduit six inch mark for three quarter conduit etc.
 
Brad,
I have only good things to say about the benfield benders and Jack's method's. I have one of his books somewhere in my mess of a desk.

I just don't particularly like Gardner Bender benders. I bought one years ago and never could get it to make good bends. (flat spots, hard to keep the pipe straight in the slot, etc.) I have all Ideal benders now and have used the benfield methods for years.
 
RE:
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Chicago benders are awesome....like masterinbama implied - even with NO indication of angle on the bender, you can count the "clicks" and make any angle ~ repeatedly! That makes for an easy job
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He's right, it's easy to make repeatable bends on Chicago benders but the trick is to determine what angle that is and how far apart to put your bend marks. That is where using the "amount of travel" method or a protractor comes in handy.

Almost anyone can horse around and get EMT bent but being able to bend rigid conduit correctly (the first time) is what makes someone a good conduit person. Very little gives me more satisfaction that installing a rack of rigid pipe with matching bends.
 
If you are talking accurate production work then the Greenlee 555 speed benders is truly awesome. But take it from me, that sucker is hard to transport by myself. This is one time a helper would be a really welcome addition.
 
wireman said:
RE:
Very little gives me more satisfaction that installing a rack of rigid pipe with matching bends.
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Amen....2nd most satisfing job ~ a nice MV splice in a crappy hole :)


macmikeman said:
If you are talking accurate production work then the Greenlee 555 speed benders is truly awesome.
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I never had much luck with the 555 - maybe too many ppl dropped the shoes and warped them....an A-frame(884) or a table/tuning fork(888) no problems.
 
I would get side scrunching issues until I took the time to read the manual really carefully about the adjustment for squeeze. Once I adjusted it I never had any problems afterward. I like the new models like you mentioned. But they are out of the current budget.
 
How do you compensate for springback with the 555/Sidewinder type benders? The ratchet-type Chicago benders release the tension on the pipe when you raise the handle.
 
Lst time me used a Sidewinder 555 we had to overshoot a few degrees to compensate for springback, watching the protractor and poking the button carefully. Sounds like the Chicago type benders are easier.
 
brother said:
never knew they had a bender that would bend 3 different sizes of conduit with just one bender. Learn something new everyday. :)
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When I was an apprentice I was taught how to bend steel conduit with a bender that could be used on all sizes - a length of 4"x 2" with a hole in it.
We did all the conduit work for a prison block that way.
 
Compensating for spring back is the same with ALL benders ~ trial and error.
Yes, it seems rather neantherthal...but not all conduit is created equally. You may even find some differences from stick to stick within the same bundle! The spring back is not as noticable in 1/2" EMT compared to 4" RMC (or 6" RMC for the real "he-men" here :) )

Next time you have some factory 90's laying about, lay them on top of each other - some will be shorter/longer than others, some will be open/closed, etc.
You might even find different length sticks straight out of a master bundle.
 
briselec said:
..I was taught how to bend steel conduit with a bender that could be used on all sizes - a length of 4"x 2" with a hole in it. We did all the conduit work for a prison block that way.
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Get Out, as my relatives in Jersey might say. How do we fashion one of those? Must be using it like a hicky, to do segment bending, but how does wood bend rigid steel?
 
ramsy said:
Get Out, as my relatives in Jersey might say. How do we fashion one of those? Must be using it like a hicky, to do segment bending, but how does wood bend rigid steel?
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With a bit of muscle and a lot of leverage. Not a method I would ever recommend but it can be done.
 
You would be amazed with what you do when "you hafta do it!" comes into the equation...not necessarily "right" or "perfect", but "acceptable".
 
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