manual ratchet type benders

[Glamisman]

how difficult is it to bend 1-1/2 .09x - .12x seamed and seemless tubing manually.

I am looking at benders. I have a bottle jack type bender and while it does the job I am not satisfied with the large radius bends it produces. The JD Squared Model 32 appeals to me but the additional cost of the hydraulics, kit and pump, for my low production needs is questionable.

for those have have used the Bend Tech software is it worth the cost and how transferable is it from PC to bender and tubing. I have watched a few you-tube videos and the point of getting the design from the screen to the tubing seems to be glossed over, at least for me.

[plkracer]

For .095 tubing it was a pretty good pull (50-75 lbs) but I prefer the manual version as you can feel the spring back and really fine tune the angle.

[bdkw1]

The hard part about manual benders is bolting them down. It's so much nicer to be able to roll them to where ever.

Swag offroad makes a hydraulic kit using the HF bottle jack for most benders. cheap way to go hydraulic.....

[dunerocket]

It isn't hard, make a longer handle if you need it. I saw the price on that Swag piece at a $159. Seems really expensive for $20 of material.

[tazmannusa]

I have the JD 32 manual version and it works pretty easy with 1.5" ERW .120" wall with the 5.5"CLR die , Hydraulic would be nice if I was doing a lot of bending .
I've played with the free bending software that JD use to have But I still prefer to draw out hoops and such full size and do each bend to the lines