YAY! My tubing bender came!

[quaddawg]

I know, I know, my garage is a mess!!!


ANWAY..

My tubing bender and notcher came and I set up a little "cage fab" station in my shop...


Left to right: EZ-bend bender with dies for 1" 1.25" 1.5" and 1.75" DOM tubing.. on it's own stand (with my little sheet metal break)

Hobart Handler MIG welder

Notcher, set up in drill press, old laptop with Tube Bend software (very handy)

Cut-off saw

Can't wait to get started. I need to pick up some tubing this week...

more later!!

[MONSOON]

Ive seen worse. All I have to do is walk out the door leading to mine.:laughing1:
That should come in very handy.

[DragonEddy]

famn dancy!

[jglutz]

I'll trade up for the wire feed!

[Levitan]

Hey Quad, what's the make and model of the tubing bender. EZ Bender? I don't think that is a JD2. Why did you end up going with that one? Benefits. How did it compare pricewise to
JD2's bender?

[xanthinic12]

wow it looks good to me, start rebuilding that festiva. well whats left of it.

[gothguydante]

i best that cost a pretty penny..

[quaddawg]

Hey Quad, what's the make and model of the tubing bender. EZ Bender? I don't think that is a JD2. Why did you end up going with that one? Benefits. How did it compare pricewise to
JD2's bender?

Yeah, it's an EZ-Bend by MidAmerican Tool. http://www.midamericanonline.com/tubing_benders.html

The main reason I chose it was price. It came with 4 dies.. and the JD2 unit comes with NONE... and the dies are $240... so, four sets would have cost over $900 alone... The EZ bend dies are only $130 for extra sizes.... the little sizes are just $85!!

The EZ bend is hydraulic too... PLUS it is vertical, so I don't need NEAR the floor space as a JD2. It comes complete, with 4 dies for $740, the same set up at JD2 with stand, handle and 4 dies would have been over twice as much.

That being said, if I had it to do over, I would probably went ahead and gotten the JD2... it's a better bender in many ways.... bends at more of an angle, and is a bit more versatile.. Bottom line, the EZ bend is more bang for the buck, and easier to use, it will do a 90 degree bend in one operation, where the JD2 you have to reset the handle/die three times for a 90 I think, maybe twice... but you can bend at more of an angle...

trade offs.... The Mid American notcher was a lot cheaper too... get what you pay for though.. I have a grand in the bender and notcher with shipping. To get the same tube capabilities, the JD2 would have been 2 grand, or close to it.

[NovaSS]

For a home shop you have a very nice set up and you should be able to make some nice work.

Remeber some welds will be "hidden" and will need to be done before some other parts are installed. Like the main hoop supports, you cant weld the tops after the base of the hoop is welded down, you have to weld the top of the bars then stand the hoop up and weld the rest. Some people drill holes with a 3" hole saw in panels to get to spots that need welding on the back side .Its all a puzzle.

[neanderpaul]

Nice dawg!! Good luck!

[Hot_Wheels]

so why dont you make that tool pay for it self and make us some parts! i need a cage