Low Buck Tools bender

[wythac]

Posted this over in the buggy forum but thought some folks over here might find some use for this info as well. I bought a Low Buck Tools Hydraulic tubing bender for about 400 bucks. It came with the only die that I ordered with it, a 1.5" Neil at Hawkeye Buggies recommended it to me as a less expensive and hydraulic alternative to the ratcheting JD2 bender.

I've used it on 1.5" .090 and .120 DOM. It works great, making 90 degree bends in about 9" head to tail. It leaves NO tool marks on the bends. I expected some complicated geometry in the process of using it, but I have had ZERO waste of material with bad bends.

The bends might be a bit soft in radius for use inside a Beetle body, taking up some space in the upper corners on the interior of the car.


All in all a good tool. I'm sure the JD2 bender is a good one too, but I'm happy with the choice I made, especially after trying to improve/modify a PIPE bender from Harbor Freight to make it useful. Others here have been sucessful in that endeavor, I was not. And no, I don't work for the Low Buck folks, just sharing some feedback with others that might be looking for the magic "cage" bullet.

On a more generic "should I buy a bender at all" note; Mine has already paid for itself twice over in saved labor costs and time that I would have needed to shlep my car around to have people work on it, and I'm not done with it yet, so I expect a 3x or 4x "return(money I didn't need to spend on labor/fuel)" on my investment. Anyone who has tried to find someone to do cage work can attest to the time that can be wrapped up in finding someone to do this rather specialized work.

My .02

[fusername]

had I not needed to do 180 bends, I would have sprung on that lowbuck bender in heart beat. just let us know if you have problems w/ the alumin dies. i have heard of them spreading over several weeks of use, but hat could just be lies planted by the likes of Pro-tools! those sneaky engineers...
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[LSK]

yeah I dont think I've had to buy beer since I bought my bender 2 months ago. Its a nice return on the investment.

[wythac]

I'd heard the same thing about the spreading dies before I bought, read a little more, looked in my wallet, made a calculated risk and bought it anyway. I've been watching as I have been making bends and haven't seen any spread or deflection of any kind on mine, but I have only made 10, maybe 15 bends so far. I have an equal number left to go before my cage is complete, but I don't anticipate any issues. You guys will be the first to know if I do, and I'll take pictures to show you if it happens. The dies are about 200.00(?), so even if I had to buy another one I would have less money in this than in the ratcheting JD2.
My guess is that if you were trying to use it commercially, day in/day out, over time you might see that kind of damage/use, but since I hope that I'll only be building one cage (maybe two if I get another buggy) I don't see myself wearing it out and it is still a bargain for all the labor cost it is saving me. Plus, bending tube is FUN fabrication. I'm kicking myself for not picking up metal fab skills a long time ago.
I like good tools but I also like my $20 disposable Harbor Freight grinder. I'd put this unit somewhere in between.

[kbwakesk8]

I have almost the same bender
from speedway motors love it. $399 shiped with one die.

[joescoolcustoms]

[Skidmark]

I have had this bender for a couple years now. I have used it for both my front and rear bumpers, and even loaned it to a friend so he could finish his up. I am very pleased with it, and have not experienced the die spreading at all.
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[wythac]

JoeCool, good idea. Might reqire some standoffs welded to the plate on the inner radius of the die to keep the pressure on the sides of the die uniform. I'll wait and see what happens as I bend more tube.

When you see me start to post pictures of my buggy in PURPLE, I'll be close to being done. I'll do a complete running mock up in primer before I disassemble and paint. When I am done with this one,I think I will be buying another buggy, maybe an orphaned baja bug with an IRS pan, so it won't be time to retire or sell the bender yet.

Skidmark, glad to see you haven't seen any spreading, as it appears you have done a fair amount of tube bending with yours.

The bend you see in the picture was for a tree bar. Tied it in to my seat mount/pan cross brace. Not done with the gussets yet, but you get the idea:

[westcoast-paul]

http://www.lowbucktools.com/hydbender.html

where did you get it for $399 with a die?
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[wythac]

I think he was talking about a similar unit from a different mfg. I spent 450 or so for the LB bender and shipping, but it has been over a year ago. Shipping costs have gone through the stratosphere in that time. Even a year ago, that played into my decision, as the Low Buck folks were a lot closer to me so the shipping costs were less than other suppliers of this type of tool. I even looked locally(PNW) and never found a retailer with anything like this. May the Gods bless the "Interweb".....

[gonenomad]

I think the JD2 is a better deal. Here's why.

1) You can choose from a much larger selection of dies. I think the 1.5" 7"CLR die is a bit too large of a radius. With a JD2 you can choose from several different CLRs
2) The LB bender is 510 dollars and only bends to 90 degrees. The JD2 is 575 (with 180 degree 1.5 5.5CLR die) and does 180 degree bends.
3) I find the ratcheting mechanism to be easier than the hydraulic jack on the LB bender.

The only plus I see for the LB bender is that it doesn't have to be bolted down.
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[Lanceonthelake]

Good reply on the pros, and cons. I have been looking at this bender for a while now. Anybody used there notcher? Curious about that too.

[wythac]

The JD2 unit is a clearly superior tool however,with the stand,hydraulic cylinder and shipping, I recall getting a quote from the JD2 folks for about 700.00(+/-). I was still OK with that (except the 40 bucks for the HANDLE, which kinda irritated me), but the lack of portability would have been a problem in my shop. Ultimately, that issue was the deciding factor. In the picture at the top of the thread, the bender is sitting where a car is parked at the end of the night.

I think if I had gone the route of the more expensive benders, I would have gone with the JD2 or Pro Tools unit, but I really needed something I could drag out into the middle of the floor and then put away when done.

I agree that the die selection is better for the JD and Pro Tools units, and if I had a Bug body car, the radius of the LB bends would be too soft for a good fit inside.

Lance, those 215.00 notchers are nice , but I've been using a 40.00 Harbor Freight unit with no issues.

[Mr. Unpopular]

For thos that may be interested in the future, there are other benders that don't require being bolted to the floor. I built one of the "got trikes" benders http://www.gottrikes.com/Tube_Bender.htm and I bought it specifically because it doesn't need to be bolted down. It uses Pro-Tools dies as well which are comperable to the JD2.
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[towd]

I must have about 10 set of aluminum Dies,, none have spread. There all around 30 yrs old.. I have 1 pro tools steel die.

The benders and aluminium dies are greenlee ..greenlee die are about 800 east and guaranteed for life.. one bender frame aluminum and a flip top model.. the other is steel no flip open..

The difference come in when moving these... the all aluminum one is about 1/5 the weight of the steel bender

the aluminium greenlee Dies use a fallow bar. The bars has guides for the shoe. which is a recessed area the shoes set in.. so it can not spread and that bar can not do anything but fallow straight with the shoe.

These type you are showing use a roller,, if you run your hand on the backside the bend you will feel a flatten area

[westcoast-paul]

anyone know anything about this style?

looks a lot easier to make and uses a regular bottle jack as opposed to a compressed air ram.
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- Paul

[Mr. Unpopular]

its not really a compressed air ram. Its a hydraulic ram with an air assist. They are less than $100 from Harbor Freight. With a regular hydraulic ram, you'll be pumping it forever. With the air, you just sit down and hit the button. Best $100 you'll ever spend.
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[fusername]

also, if you build a bottle jack style one, you can buy air and hand powered bottle jacks for short money on ebay. thats what I did:

just keep in mind the air bit adds about 2 inches to the width, so incorporate that in your design.
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Need something custom bent up? shoot me an email, maybe we can make it work!

FORSALE: Thrust cut T4 and 1.9 main bearings