What do Y'all use to bend large wire?

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I guess I should respond to the OP. Back when I was a helper, I carried 1' pieces of 1/2" and 3/4" copper pipe with the ends well reamed and smooth. Now that I'm a big boy, I use my hands; the biggest stuff using both arms pulling toward my chest if I have to.

The worst bending I ever had to do was bending four 600 MCM aluminum wires toward a wall to put the cap on a weatherhead on horizontal, through-the-wall conduit. They should make weatherheads with less-than-90-degree head angles for such applications.

Added: One tip: Work from the entrance of the enclosure toward the terminals, making one bend at a time, but don't cut the wire until you make all of the bends; the extra length gives more leverage. Also, over-bend the bends to compensate for wire spring-back.
 
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peter said:
I use a tool called "BendAll" from RackATiers. I cost about ~$30 if I recall correctly.
It's basically a chunk of aluminum about 1" by 5" by 5/16" and it has a 1/2" square hole in the middle and two 1/2" pins about 1 1/4" long sticking out at each end.
Actually I invented this device and then saw it advertised in one of the contractor magazines. So I got one. You need a 1/2" drive ratchet and also an extention bar.
~Peter
Click to expand...

they actually work pretty good... i have one. it'll bend 4/0 nicely. and doesn't
beat up the insulation all that much.

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for large stuff, hopefully you left it long enough that you can overwrap it, and
then unbend it to make a nice tight ninety.

there are hydraulic wire benders, if you do a lot of large stuff, they are nice
to have.

i've made my own wire hickeys... take a rigid coupling, say 1" or 1 1/4", slit
about a third of it away, smooth the cuts so they don't chew up the
insulation, and weld on a 1' handle of 1/2" rigid to the coupling at an angle,
so you can reverse it like an open end wrench... the threads in the coupling
keep if from slipping.
 
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I don't have to bend a lot of big wire on installations but occaisionally will have to make some tight bends/offsets on retro work like replacing breakers that land differently then the old ones.

A few weeks ago, in a pinch, I used a large box end wrench as a bender to offset/tweek some wire into position.
 
I've used the conduit benders in the past. A shorter handle makes them handy for climbing around in gear, 12-18" has worked well in the past.
I've seen the Klein cable/wire benders before... but don't need another tool I will use every other year, and when I need it I can't find it. :cool:

ALSO if you wax up the shoe, and the "hook"? it doesn't beet up the insulation as much.

Doug S.
 
I started having problems free hand bending since I found out I have a mild case of carpel tunnel, so I dug out my old steel tubing benders I used to bend hydraulic tubing with, they look much like miniature conduit benders but much smaller and work in tight places. they use a little bar that I have made a couple with different degree bends in them so I can still bend when up against something, But they work great.
 
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