On Thu, 28 Jul 2005 00:40:09 GMT, Carla Fong
wrote:

SteveB wrote:
I need a GOOD bender/scroll maker. I used to have a Hossfeld scroll bender.
I paid $185, and now the same item is $550.

Oh, well, gas used to be $.31 a gallon too, and that don't mean anything
today.

I keep seeing benders like the one listed below. I bought one of THESE for
$149 from BreakDown Industries in 1984. Now the same thing is $589 from
Shop Outfitters.

Anyone have one of these? I am going to bend mostly 1/8" thick flat bar at
any time. At tops, 1/4". I do need a good scroll machine that will make
from 2 1/2" to the large 8 or 9" 1 1/2 turn scrolls. I would also like it
if it would take small square rod, say 3/16" to make some square bar
spirals.

I need the spiral maker to be good steel so that it doesn't deteriorate with
use and get sloppy. Looks like that will be another $150, making it a grand
total of about $750.

This is an investment that will earn the cost back in a short time, so a
$750 outlay is not the problem.

I just want to know if people have these ......... if they like them
......... if they have a brand name preference ................. where they
got the best price .......... any caveats.

TIA.

Steve

http://www.shopoutfitters.com/2020CompactBender.html


Steve,

We got one of the Shop Outfitters benders about 10 years ago and it's
well made and does what is advertised.

Harbor Freight has a cheap knock off of the same thing for a lot less
money - caveat emptor.

However, we found that style of bender is a pain to use unless you're
doing exactly the same identical single bend in a workpiece repeatedly.
You have to 'unthread' your workpiece if you need a reverse bend, and
you have to completely disassemble the bender to change the bend radius.
It also does not reliably clamp the workpiece so your bend position can
'crawl' without you noticing it.

If you're serious about bending, try finding one of the Diacro style
benders - a world of difference. (http://www.diacro.com/) We found ours
used on eBay but still spendy... and worth it..

Carla

One of the posters here..Leigh at MarMachine occasionally has the
DiAcros and similar.


Gunner

Liberals - Cosmopolitan critics, men who are the friends
of every country save their own. Benjamin Disraeli