I have been doing electrical work, Commercial and Industrial, for 50 years and I still enjoyed watching this video. I have a few thoughts on it, I hope more of a little additional help for the youngsters just coming up. I think it needs to be stressed that when bending conduit the key is use heavy and constant foot pressure. 'Bending' is a misnomer because what we are really doing is 'rolling' a bend along the saddle, in other words stretching the half of the pipe outside the saddle. Keeping constant foot pressure on the pedal also keeps the conduit tight to the inside of the saddle as you stretch the backside and causes the bender saddle to roll back, dragging the conduit with it. Holding the handle and pulling back will raise the conduit out of the saddle and cause rippling or a kink if you don't have the proper foot pressure. The handle should be used more as a guide and a balance to help foot pressure than to actually bend. Also I teach my apprentices to 'halve' the conduit in their head when bending 90's. On a full stick of conduit make anything under 60" a 'take-up' bend, subtracting the proper take up for that pipe size and make the end you are measuring from the rising end. Anything over 60" make your mark exact and using the 'Star' turn your bender away from your measuring end and make the opposite end your rising end. In other words do what will always keep the longer end of your conduit the side that is always on the floor or behind you (as in airbends). And don't look down a conduit with one eye when doing an offset or saddle in the air... use both eyes. We don't use one eye to align them on the floor so why do it in the air. It's a little hard to get used to but when you have it down your bend will be so perfect you can take it to the fair.
Wow William thanks for the tips! Bending conduit well it a real art and I tell guys if you can bend conduit your value on the job just went up! Have fun Ron
Had the best coworker conduit bender. I had at least a hundred pounds over his shinny body. He always had trouble bending 90's in 11/4" EMT even with the better hand bender that had the fold out foot pedal. I found it easier even for a fat boy like myself to place one end of 11/4" EMT against the wall before applying steady heavy foot pressure. Also best to wear work boots rather then sneakers or jogging shoes when bending heavy conduit.
SUBTRACT the gain when you figure how long a piece of conduit to cut for a 90 degree stub bend. In Ron's whiteboard example....22 + 14 MINUS 2 1/2 = 33 1/2" will give you a conduit with a 22" tail and a 14" stub.
+Robert Blanchard Robert man I will double check that to make sure it is right. Thanks foe catching it I am always willing to say I'm wrong. Take care. Ron
+Robert Blanchard Robert you are right we need to subtract not add the Gain Amount. My bad.........I've added a annotation to the video stating that and I've added your name as well. Your the first guy to spot it and the video has been up for sometime. Nice job! I owe you can you send me your contact info? I'll figure out a prize of some sort for you. Ron ron.kipper@idealindustries.com
+arturo soto When bending an offset the overall length should shrink not get longer. I'm not sure what the answer to your question is. Send me a pic or video. Ron
From 2008 till 2009 I worked like an electrician helper in Miami and I learned a lot.by the way , I'm not an electrician right now, I'm a dumb...any ways.... but the science and the simplicity how you teach is astonished....and for those about to rock ( we salute you)
This is the best bending video that illustrates what the marks look like on the bender and line everything up from your point of view. Thank you for sharing.
Ron, you are up there in Ideal. Please tell the board of directors to start selling everything at home depot so the average guy can have access to them.
Hey BBQ Pitmaster believe me we would like to see everything at Home Depot but it is not that easy. We do have most of it online with them though. I hear yoo Ron
Tip for fellow older sparkies:.I sprayed painted heads of my benders with 2 coats of white paint then use a red & yellow paint markers over degree marks, notch & arrow. Makes it a lot easier to see in dimly lit areas. Still have my dad's Benfield maybe 16 page picket sized conduit bending Manuel.
Great instructional video. Thank you. You could use a permanent marker instead of a pencil, then use PVC primer/pipe cleaner to remove the mark. It makes a great 'eraser'. I'm an HVAC guy and use permanent marker on sheet metal and, if I make a measuring mistake, I just get out the acetone (PVC pipe primer/cleaner) and erase it.
I use one mark on the pipe for box offsets. I use the end of the pipe as a substitute for the first mark and a mark down the pipe 2 1/4". I have been doing it that way for 24 years and have had no problems. It is much quicker if you are doing a lot of box offsets. Thanks, Russ, Journeyman electrician.
This is a great series; however, it is indeed prudent to check the stubb-offset on every bender. My $39 ideal cast iron bender turned out to be 4 3/4", instead of 5", this also impacts back-to-back bends, i.e., i have to add 1/4" to my "20 inch mark", making it 20 1/4" in order to get a 20" back to back bend. Offsets and saddles seem close enough to use the standard charts.
Thanks for the very helpful video. The reason for gain with a stub 90 is because the bend cuts the corner a bit while the tail and stub measurements run along a hard 90 - correct? Or does distortion of the pipe contribute?
most common bend I think is "back of bend" ....amazing HOW MANY supposed "electricians" don't even know that the Star (NOT arrow or notch) on the Bender is the back of a bend ...(with the end in front of you Bender pulled toward you) .....The "stub" measurement often ends up being simply a matter of cutting conduit to fit where the "stub" is the final section of conduit ... the initial stub (assuming 90 degree) you just subtract the number given on bender
I am long retired .....I just feel for you youngins and want to assure you that you struggles are NOT unique! Keep at it people! You CAN do this! Focus! And KNOW that ALL THE REST OF US....DID struggle ALSO! Feel better?
The hardest thing about bending is judgment of "straight and inline" ....It takes some natural ability and a lot of practice...it is just plain and art to keep everything straight in relationship of one bend to another ...it is not simply math ....unfortunately ....It would be SO NICE if it were only math and making marks in the right place ....alas all those bends EVEN precisely measured and marked HAVE TO BE correctly judged relative to the other bends ... like a saddle? EACH bend HAS to be at the same vertical relationship ...and the degree of bends has to amount to EXACT relationship....much easier said than done ....takes natural ability AND practice....if you find this challenging? Join the fricken club! LOL
Who doesn't cut conduit to fit 👀 that is how I was taught with emt now rigid is a different story you DO NOT cut to fit cause often times you can thread it 🤣 I'm only a 1st year apprentice but bending conduit is pretty much all I do other than mounting it and what not
Hi David I am always looking for a better way. This videos just try to show the basics and with conduit bending experience goes a long way. Have fun Ron
Ron, is the black conduit bender better then the metal color ... ? I need to purchased news tool since some of my tools were taken from my boss truck few weeks back. Conduit benders were a couple items lost.
Hey spyderx92 man a I hate to hear you guys got robbed. The black iron benders will last longer over the aluminum ones they also cost a little more. Good luck Ron
James if there is a Home Depot or Lowes near you they stock and can order IDEAL products I also see a CED near you that would be able to sell you. Let me know if you need more help Ron
Any tricks in long but narrow back to back bends to overcome the fact the handle is in the same plane as the U? Typically when the U is narrower than the length of the bender handle, once bent past 45' the handle hits the other side of the U (previously bent stub). bending around it creates a dog leg which I then have to straight out on the floor, not always pretty.
Hey sorry im not trying to offend you personally. No offense After 20 years i saw the light. drug addicts and drunks building buildings. Thing is, i was one of those guys. Then god found me and told me i was better and i no longer belonged building the buildings. Greener pastures with people who love me is all i will ever except in the workplace.
Im an Electrician; I bend it, and sometimes cut it to fit. Can be faster. when profit margins are razor thin, time is monies. All my bone piles are short stub pieces. Send me to jail i guess.
Hi pecker556 no problems! As you say time is money my main point is bending conduit takes practice to do without screwing up a piece of conduit once in a while. I know I can use the practice........kind of like my golf game! Ron
What would really be nice if you would step by step tell these things and do them and show them and leave all the explanations of what contractors may use them for because we already know all that crap just stick to the subject and do it logically and explain everything
@@RonKipperDatacomm1 im just a super beginner. I try to follow to understand but when the instructions take a sideline and deviate from the steps I lose my continuity. But thanks for your efforts!
All right this guy is just going on and on and jumping around you start to tell about making a band in the conduit you haven't said for what reason you haven't demonstrated it and you're already running off into some other thing about what you should Mark it with some people out here do have some brains
