Pipe Bending Video

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celtic said:
I "learned" how to "bend" pipe on the job....what a mistake that was!

The guy who was "teaching" me had no training in the art of pipe bending (yes, it is an art). Eventually, I had formal training and some top-notch JW show me more than a book ever could....but these guys also had formal training and years and miles of pipe under thier belts.


I was talking to someone about bending just today....
He says: 4" RMC is easy
I said: Yup...even easier han 1/2" EMT

...at that point a helper walked by and started laughing (at me)....the helper says: "You guys are right...I watched Celtic bend 3 bend saddles in some big pipe w/no problem....and also saw him mangle a stick of 1/2" EMT" :D

LOL
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Bending pipe is an art. The best pipe bending electrician I've ever known was a Journeyman Pipefitter before he became an electrician. He didn't do anything "by eye" . He was extremely precise in his measuring and his work was beautiful. It also took forever and no one liked working with him.:smile:
 
iaov said:
Bending pipe is an art. The best pipe bending electrician I've ever known was a Journeyman Pipefitter before he became an electrician. He didn't do anything "by eye" . He was extremely precise in his measuring and his work was beautiful. It also took forever and no one liked working with him.:smile:
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that makes him not the best pipe bending electrician...given an infinite amount of time, a monkey can make the perfect bend...the guys that I know who are good, may take longer per bend (with measuring and formulating), but at the end of the day, they will get more installed (due to less rework) than a guy like me...
 
emahler said:
that makes him not the best pipe bending electrician...
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I agree. Efficiency is brought about by knowing when dead-nuts accuracy is needed, and when you can just eye the situation up. If I get an offset within a 1/4 inch or don't have a few dog legs above a drop ceiling or in concealed spaces, that's good enough, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.
 
Book? I didnt know they had a book!
I was on 100% conduit jobs for many years until I took a service truck, then I discovered Romex.
We couldnt use MC cable in Dade County until recently.
If you ever run into someone from Miami on the road, you can be sure they can bend pipe.
 
iaov said:
It also took forever and no one liked working with him.
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Neither would I - time is money even if it not my money... And if you're on a crew under me - it is my pride and reputation if nothing else. Fantastic and slow doesn't cut it - good at a moderate pace is the minimum. Real good - real fast is optimum.

Some time back I had some guys that would take forever to do what you see below. Not complicated or big pipe or anything, they would just get stuck by over thinking it.... I bent and cut all of that in under two hours with only a few measurements - numbered it all, and literally threw it in the room for two of them to install. Done by lunch...
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e57 said:
Neither would I - time is money even if it not my money... And if you're on a crew under me - it is my pride and reputation if nothing else. Fantastic and slow doesn't cut it - good at a moderate pace is the minimum. Real good - real fast is optimum.

Some time back I had some guys that would take forever to do what you see below. Not complicated or big pipe or anything, they would just get stuck by over thinking it.... I bent and cut all of that in under two hours with only a few measurements - numbered it all, and literally threw it in the room for two of them to install. Done by lunch...
bare.jpg
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Two 90s and a kick. Looks like it could be done really fast. Nothing complicated. Mix together a few different pipe sizes and 6 different directions with a demand for concentric bends, then ya got something.
 
Pipe Bending Video

I'd rather bend large pipe than small because then you have to have the tools and equipment to do it right rather than being expected to just slop in 1/2" EMT or even worse, 1/2" PVC.

To me, getting an accurate bend is usually easier than getting an accurate measurement.

By the way, the best two books I've ever seen are the one by Richard Cox (already listed somewhere in this thread) and this book: http://www.conduitbending.com/Home.htm
 
mdshunk said:
I agree. Efficiency is brought about by knowing when dead-nuts accuracy is needed, and when you can just eye the situation up. If I get an offset within a 1/4 inch or don't have a few dog legs above a drop ceiling or in concealed spaces, that's good enough, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.
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I couldn't agree more Marc. :smile:
 
jrannis said:
Two 90s and a kick. Looks like it could be done really fast. Nothing complicated. Mix together a few different pipe sizes and 6 different directions with a demand for concentric bends, then ya got something.
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Yes exactly! Really easy - but I keep coming across guys who re-invent the wheel doing simple pipe work - they think about each pipe individually. Fail to 'see the forest', so to speak. Even in the example of a few different sizes and a few locations - just come up with a plan - go for, and stick to it.
 
;) It's threads like this one that make me feel so much better as a learning electrician. Pipe bending is my weakness right now because I have not done enough of it. I've got a really good eye for estimating distances etc. and I'm pretty quick and accurate (lucky) with the jobs I've been on. But, there are few things to me that seem more stressful than having the boss walk by, stop and watch as I'm starting that 1" EMT 4 point bend. . . Pretty hard to hunch over your work and hide what your doing when your working a fresh 10' stick and dont know for sure. Gotta love it! :grin:
 
TwinCitySparky said:
... there are few things to me that seem more stressful than having the boss walk by, stop and watch as I'm starting that 1" EMT 4 point bend. . . Pretty hard to hunch over your work and hide what your doing when your working a fresh 10' stick and dont know for sure. Gotta love it! :grin:
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I'll be the guy yelling "THE OTHER WAY!!!" at you while the boss is watching you .....it doesn't matter to me that you have the pipe and bender in the right configuration, I'll always say "The other way..." ....it's amazing how many people fall for that :grin:
 
celtic said:
I'll be the guy yelling "THE OTHER WAY!!!" at you while the boss is watching you .....it doesn't matter to me that you have the pipe and bender in the right configuration, I'll always say "The other way..." ....it's amazing how many people fall for that :grin:
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That was you? :grin:
 
nice pipe work

nice pipe work

jrannis said:
Two 90s and a kick. Looks like it could be done really fast. Nothing complicated. Mix together a few different pipe sizes and 6 different directions with a demand for concentric bends, then ya got something.
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but why not just run the trough to the box rather than 25 pipes??
 
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