Mikelly Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 Trust me... I have the thing in my garage and have used it TWICE in two years... It is NOT worth buying, IT DOES damage roll cage tubing and does NOT make more than a 30 degree bend without damaging the tubing... Buy it and you will wish you had NOT bought the harbor freight bender. I can't make it more plain than that... Also, it clearly states that it is a pipe bender ONLY in their information... They advise that it WILL damage tubing of any kind. Save your money... Hell, I was thinking about selling mine cheaqp just to get it out of the shop... I take back all the things I said... It bends cages wonderfully... best on the market, buy mine at half price! Mike 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 I was just posting my approval (at least from my research) of the JD2 bender. You are correct on die pricing. I had transposed in my head $108 and $180. Still a good deal IMO. Especially if you have more than one to build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Frank C. Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 Guys, I have one of the HF pipe benders. When I built my mini stock I thought that the HF bender would do for some of the bending jobs I needed. I even filled the tube with sand and heated it. Still left it distorted. THE HF BENDER IS NOT THE TOOL FOR ROLL BARS. However if someone is interested in one, let me know and I'll sell the one I have CHEAP. I have a HF tubing notcher (39.95 on sale) I used it to notch roll bars for two race cars and it's still going strong. I'm using a bimatellic hole saw and have had great luck and long life from it. I also use a coolant on the hole saw blade when I notch a tube. I have a friend that has the lo-buck notcher and I like mine better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 Here is a home made bender that looks like the HF machine. His dies might support the tube better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8ZRACER260Z Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 We used a JD2 on my cage and it works great! The manual is fine if you are just doing a cage or two. If you are planning to do more than that upgrade to the hyd system. The tubing bender is real straight forward and easy to switch dyes. They even sell software to tell you where to start your bends. If anyone is near Gainesville, Florida we can help you out with bending some hoops. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 That looks sweet Rick. Any more pix of the cage and frame? I'd like to see what you did in the rear of the car. Owen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Hey, Jeff - didja end up buying a bender? I have most of May off from school - it'd be a good time to do my cage. I'm a go for the pyramid scheme. Anyone else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aguyandaredhead Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Yes I bought the JD2 Model 3 with the 1 5/8 die. it should be here this week, there was quite a wait time from when I ordered it. I guess they are a hot item. If you are interested I will be using it for the next 30 days or so. After that maybe we can get this Deal started.. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aguyandaredhead Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 Well finally after 6 weeks it came, I just got it all put together. I must say the quality is excelent. You need an Mechanical Eng. Deg. to put it together though... http://hybridz.org/nuke/modules.php?op=modload&name=coppermine&file=displayimage&album=lastup&cat=16225&pos=2 Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 How's the bender working? I was just attempting to clean my disaster of a garage and I couldn't help but ponder that $400 stack of tubing in there. Done with school and I'm pretty much ready to torture myself with a new project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
74_5.0L_Z Posted September 25, 2004 Share Posted September 25, 2004 This is the bender that I am getting ready to buy: http://www.jd2.com/M3B_Features.htm I've heard really good things about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aguyandaredhead Posted September 25, 2004 Share Posted September 25, 2004 Worked great.. My cage has been done for months.. I have since loaned it to Vintage TechZ.. You are looking at the same model I bought, you will like it. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted September 25, 2004 Share Posted September 25, 2004 What type of tubing did you use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aguyandaredhead Posted September 25, 2004 Share Posted September 25, 2004 1 5/8" DOM.. .120wall Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted September 26, 2004 Share Posted September 26, 2004 I've got a JD2 Model 3 with the hydraulic option and two dies: 1.5" x 5.5"CLR and 1.5" x 6.5"CLR. Works great but the service from JD2 just sucks. They have got to be one of the most screwed up companies to deal with. A classic example of a great product limited by poor execution. BTW... why did you guys go with 1 5/8" .120 wall DOM instead of 1.5"? Seems like overkill for a 2,700lb car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted September 26, 2004 Share Posted September 26, 2004 I have both 1 5/8 and 1 3/4. I got lots of different replies from various people, rulebooks, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted September 26, 2004 Share Posted September 26, 2004 I can only speak to the various road racing sanctioning bodies. For pretty much any 240/260/280 (unless the weights get above 2,800 lbs) 1.5" OD .120" wall tubing meets all the requirements. You can go with 1.75" OD .095" wall if you're using 4130 tubing but you better have hardcopies of the certifications when you tech the car. If ou can get the empty vehicle weight under 2,400 lbs. you can go with 1.5" .095 wall DOM, at least based on my SCCA 2003 GCR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evildky Posted September 27, 2004 Share Posted September 27, 2004 uh... anyone tried the cage kit from these guy's ? http://www.cachassisworks.com/cages.htm it's a bit cheaper then buying a bender also that bender at the jd2.com seemd to be used only on thinwall tubing I'd worry about it being able to handle the thicker .134 tubing required for a legal cage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbc3 Posted September 27, 2004 Share Posted September 27, 2004 To use a bender like the Harbor Freight bender, try this trick. Pipe and Tube are measured differently. Pipe is measured at the inner diameter and tube is measured at the outer diameter. The Harbor Freight Pipe bender has pipe jigs, so if you use the 1 1/4 pipe jig for 1 5/8 tubing, it is very close. The jig has to hold the tube shape so they have to be damn close. "The trick" Then you get two short threaded schedule 40 couplings that are slightly larger than the tubing you want to bend. (2" long 1 1/2" Pipe coupling has just over 1 3/4 inner diameter) Slip the couplings over the tubing and align them over the rollers on either side of the jig and then bend the tube. The couplings prevent the rollers from crushing or denting the tube as you bend. You may have to let up the pressure and re-align the couplings to keep them on the rollers as you bend sharper bends. The threads grip the tube and allow the rollers to actually roll over the bending material. You will get slight marks from the threads, but you can run a sanding drum in the coupling to reduce the sharp edges, and sand out the marks after you bend. 90 degree or more can be done by making several bends a few inches apart. I am not suggesting that the HF bender is as good as a real tube bender, but for any of you that already have an HF bender, try using the couplings and see how nice the bends can be done, you will be suprised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.