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 Post subject: Eastwood 4" Metal Bender
PostPosted: August 2, 2017, 10:13 am 
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Joined: April 23, 2009, 1:36 pm
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Has anyone used this one yet??

http://www.eastwood.com/4-inch-metal-bender.html

Looks decent for bending up smaller brackets...

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PostPosted: August 3, 2017, 2:35 pm 
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Joined: September 19, 2009, 12:33 pm
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Does it have much of an advantage over a vice brake like this if you have a decent vice?

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PostPosted: August 3, 2017, 8:56 pm 
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Joined: July 17, 2015, 1:56 am
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Location: Morrisville, PA
danderson wrote:
Has anyone used this one yet??

http://www.eastwood.com/4-inch-metal-bender.html

Looks decent for bending up smaller brackets...


I'm not fond of the large radius the die is leaving in the video. could stand to be sharper. For me this has always made consistent bends for me troublesome. I do not own this model but had something similar.


Laminar wrote:
Does it have much of an advantage over a vice brake like this if you have a decent vice?


The vise would be stronger but the spindle housing on the moving jaw limits the lead length of the material.

I have these from grizzly and they are great for small parts. But awkward to get your part in and aligned.

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PostPosted: August 4, 2017, 10:55 am 
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Location: Carlsbad, California, USA
I recently bought the Eastwood product. I haven't yet done anything systematic with it. My primary reason for getting it was to bend thicker materials for heavy brackets. I see it as a long-term shop tool, not just something for my current Locost project. My biggest complaint is that it's difficult to line things up precisely with the die when bending.

The brakes shown for a vise (various Grizzly products) at the link given above don't look like they would do heavy material. I didn't go to the Grizzly site and read the specs, however. You might want to check those stats out.

They are not mutually exclusive tools. That is, one does not totally replace the other. The vise brakes will do most of what you need for a Locost and are cheaper and likely easier to use. Personally, I use a lot of 14- and 16-gauge plate in making many of my Locost brackets. Will the vise brakes bend material that thick?

Also, I'm building my own custom suspension setup. The usual Locost suspension brackets are 1/8" material. You can buy them from Jack at Kinetic, so you don't need a bender for heavy material if that is your only "thick" bending task. If the vise brakes will do at least 16-gauge material, you will probably be OK.

Said more simply, if the vise brakes will bend 16-gauge, and you're not building any heavier brackets, they should do the job for you on your Locost project.

Cheers,

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PostPosted: August 11, 2017, 10:19 am 
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I have seen the Grizzly vice brake but not sure my vice would survive very long...may try this and upgrade the vice when needed...

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