Please recommend a trans/brake line tubing bender.

[divorced]

I have a cheap bender now (as pictured), and it works well on the small diameter tubing, but it really likes to kink the 5/16" I've been working with lately.

Could you recommend an inexpensive easy-to-use bender that will work well for 5/16" tubing?

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[mofugly13]

I have Ridgid tubing benders for both 3/8" and 1/2". They work great, but I think they are pricey. I don't know what they cost, my shop got them for me.

A good quality knock-off of something like this shouldn't be too hard to find.

 

[ntsqd]

I have those same benders or the Imperial Eastman equivelent to the Rigid tool for 3/16", 1/4", & 3/8" I really can't recommend them highly enough. When you buy one new you'll get an instruction sheet that is worth reading. Gives you tips on how to use the marks on the follower die that make precise bending real easy.

I bought the 3/8" in the Rigid brand and it was about $80. The other two I was given a long time ago. I've been looking at getting the 5/16" and the 1/2" to round out the set. The 1/2" is running just at $100, but I've not priced the 5/16" yet, sorry.

 

[divorced]

Here is one I found on Ebay. Would this style work the same? http://cgi.ebay.com/Multi-Size-1-4-...402QQihZ019QQcategoryZ303QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem



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[Roz]

harbor freight has one with a roller die for $15 ish.
works fine for me (i have an expensive one too btw)

 

[ntsqd]

Here is one I found on Ebay. Would this style work the same? http://cgi.ebay.com/Multi-Size-1-4-...402QQihZ019QQcategoryZ303QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem



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Yes & no. I've used those, but they're not my choice. They are aluminum die castings and are pretty flexible. The Rigid & I.E. benders are mostly steel, and are, well, rigid. Those linked above work OK for a while, and then the pivot pins start getting loose and then they don't work so great. My I.E. 1/4" bender has probably bent several miles of 1/4" stainless tubing. I've had it since '87 and it's still going strong.

 

[bgreen]

Not what your looking for, but the swagelok benders are as nice as I've ever seen. The 5/16" bender is part number MS-HTB-5.

http://www.swagelok.com/shopping/pr...MS-HTB-5&return_url=SS=bender&RT=0&PG=0&RPR=0

You'll have to register to view the link.

Here is their catalog.

 

[afroman006]

I have one of each style pictured above, plus one of the super-****ty ones that just has one biig wheel for all size tube. The one with the sliding folower is obviously the best but for some jobs the simpler ones actually work better. So, in conclusion, they are all worth having around.

 

[diesel4me]

what I use...

I own no tubing benders,and I've been replacing brake and tranny lines for 30 + years here,almost every year I have to change at least one!...

I've bent most of the 3/16" tubing by hand easily,1/4" is a bit harder but can still be hand formed pretty easily--5/16" is a bit tricky,its almost too stiff to bend by hand easily..I've used old pulleys off lawnmowers I scrapped with bolts as "axles", clamped in my bench vise as a "bender"..sometimes I use a pipe or tree to help bend tubing..

The most diffucult stuff to bend without kinks is 3/8" tubing..the worst one to bend is the one off the fuel pump that goes behind the alternator to the carb,that tight bend near the harmonic balancer,on a small block!..

I solved that problem by using copper tubing!..it'll never rust again!--it bends easy too...someone told me it'll crack eventually,but I had it on my 74 K20 for 8 years with no trouble at all...