20 Best Tube Bender For Roll Cage (2023 Updated)

It works well enough bending 1-5/8. 125, though it can be a bit tight at times if the pipe has flaws. The ratcheting arm on mine bent in a hard pull, because it falls out of direct alignment. So you have to set it straight before applying full pressure (it falls for a reason so you can bend bars towards the mechanism) but it still works in spite of the slight bow.

Its nothing I couldn’t fix if it does gets worse. **Also someone reported it doesn’t bend 180*, that is false, It does. Also the reason the set bolt comes loose, is not a failure in the bender, its because the tube flexes: ergo you’ll have to tighten it once after 10 or so degrees, then you’re good to 90.

this is one the the worst tubing benders i have used. nothing fits right , yours arms bend apart at the die when bending have to use a clamp to keep them on the bushing, the die is loose as hell in the arm making it next to impossible to make a degreed bend accurately without it changing with the slop in the die.

I’ve wasted 400 dollars in chromoly because this bender is such a piece of junk and changed the angle of the die halfway through the bend and then it comes out tweaked. the jam bolt also does not stay tight and is way to small.

the 180 degree bender does not go 180 degrees more like 170 it you have the patience to even try to get it to there as every notch on the bending arm doesn’t line up after a full pull on the bending arm.

i would not and will not ever Recommend this product.

Nice piece, CNC made. All top and bottom pin holes are accurately aligned for easy use. Supplied handle is 28 inches long,too short! I knew I could not bend my 1 5/8. 120 wall tube with that handle. I used a 48 inch handle and had no problem.

First test bend ,follower die block dug into the tube big time. I put a bigger radius on all edges of the follower block, applied a little lithium grease to the block and next bend was perfect. I have seen some post application get sloppy.

Mount in a good solid place. Excellent piece. Would recommend.

A bit pricey, but worth every penny. The ability to make very tight bends in 3/16 brake line was worth the price I paid. Lines look professional and zero kinks. Ive wasted my money on lesser quality benders and have been disappointed with each of them for various reasons.

If you need to make tight bends up to 180 degrees (with as little as a 7/16 radius), then this is the tool for you. Sure, it only does one size, but it does it the best. Would I buy again? Absolutely!!.

better than the plastic kiddie hand bender but. for mid priced benders The rigid mandrel bender is much better with a clamp that secures the tube in place. This has a bar that holds the tubing and not securely it is a poor design.

5/16 copper has some flattening at the start of the bend.

I have several Imperial benders and love them. This one flattened 90 degree bends in tinned copper tubing several times. The others don’t. And, yes, I have bent lots of tubing.

I like this bender instead of the 3-in-1. The bend radius is smaller than some of the 3-in-1s. The pivoting handle makes it easy to make180 degree bends.

Working thin-wall 316 Stainless tubing. This tool is flawless. I have never used this type of bender before. I made about 50 bends one afternoon, and NOT one bad bend or mistake. You can spend about $100 more for basically the same tool from other vendors.

Don’t do it. This is as good as it gets.

I purchased the set of Rigid Tubing Benders for one of my techs last year. These have proven to be a great investment. For those that bend a lot of stainless steel tubing, the Rigid Bender is very heavy duty.

The extra long handles, the great hand grips and the rollers make bending easy. Our biggest concern in our industry are ergonomic injuries in the workplace. These benders are so easy to use, that there is no strain on shoulders or wrists.

This last purchase was to get a set of benders for the rest of my technicians. Great Product!.

I was working with complex precision bends with 3/8″ copper pipe, and the generic cheap benders were far from adequate, causing compression, or deformation through the bends. I bought these on the basis of the reputation of the brand Ridgid , what can I say, WOW, these are world’s apart from the cheap unbranded products, admittedly, perhaps a little inconvenient needing a separate bender for each pipe/tube size, however, these are a precision product, and more than fit for purpose across a wide material range.

I bought this in December 2021. I received it about 5 days after ordering. It was well packaged. The instructions are ridiculous, but it is so easy to figure out and use. You tube helps as well. I am making a part to have welded onto a motorcycle luggage rack.

The material I used is 1/2″ Stainless tubing with. 080 wall. The bender worked flawlessly. I made (2) 90-degree bends. I’ll be making a second piece. I plan to use it on 1/2″ or 3/4″ EMT conduit. The price is VERY reasonable considering how hefty it is and how well it worked.

The only thing missing is that the large dies don’t have degree markings but that is a small problem.

Was expecting a whimpy bender like i had before. No way, this thing is beefy. Has a nice heft to it. First thing i noticed it was shipped in a small crate, not a box. That is worth points in my book.

Second thing i noticed was how hefty in weight it is. Very nice, worth more points in my book. This is a roller/former, not a bender. Even though yes it technically does bend the tube, it does so by a roller pressing it into a form, hence roller former.

By roll forming you reduce the risk of squishing the tube. You end up with will a nice end product using this over a normal bender machine. Third thing i noticed is how much more heft materials are used in this compared to my last bender.

This sucker is near indestructible when used correctly. The construction of this machine assures it a very long life. Im extremely impressed with the quality of this tool. Nicely painted, which im gonna scratch up using it, lol.

Nicely and professionally packed in a small wood crate vs cheapo tools in a cardboard box. You will love this former ( tube bender). Its so easy to bend 1″ tube with this, I am smacking myself for not buying it sooner, SO MUCH SAVED TIME AND STOCK!!! This tool will pay for itself in no time at all.

Great quality an affordable for the small time and diy, bends are just as goodas a hydraulic former, at way less the hurt on the wallet. Dont pass this up if you deal with tubing, it will save you a ton of time.

I find myself using scrap just to play with it. Just got it today and saved two hours labor time on my first project with it, an the tube looks professionally done!!! Happy happy happy happy i purchased this instead of getting el junko one like i had before!!!!!!.

This tube bender does a great job on the tubing sizes for which it is designed. The reason it is not 5 stars is that there were a couple of interference points that needed clearing up. I was able to dress down some burrs and it works great.

Definitely worth the money.

OTC makes some great tools. Have a few older ones that were well made. These are Taiwanese made and do the job at a fair price. I would pay more for US made but almost all this type of bender for softer (cu-ni) tube are made foreign.

At least the Taiwanese like us. Don’t hesitate if you need ’em.

Worked out great for a 3/16 stainless brake line the only thing this isn’t made for small tight bends other than that it worked out great

There are many products like this on the market today. This is a good one for the over all shop. Just a little patients and WA-LA the bends are clean and smooth. I would suggest it to anyone looking for a quality Bender.

Oh yes, and for the “price” you can’t beat it. Good to go.

This Hilmor kit is tops. I like the quick connect attachments. The bending shoes are solid metal and make nice bends. I only had one crinkle bend because this new junk 3/4″ copper is so thin that if you bend it against the curve it will crinkle.

Not the bender’s fault. This is worth the extra cash over the CPS set which is good, I’ve owned two. But this is hands down my favorite reverse bender set. The crossbar mandrels are way better than CPS which is bent after two seasons and causes crinkle bends if you are not diligent.

I used this bender for the first time today and it is way better than my old Rothenberger set, at less money and the bonus of inside and outside bends. The mandrels are metal, which is another bonus over the Rothenberger, and pop off the pipe with ease.

It’s basically all of my complaints about the Roth bender fixed at a less expensive price point.

I am very satisfied with this bender. I mainly use it for bending refrigeration lines. I don’t have any other benders to compare it to other than the spring type. My purchase choice was based on reviews.

It took a little getting used to but I can see it being an incredible time saver. It should pay for itself in no time at all.

I use it every day while installing AC in south Florida and it has saved me thousands of dollars in copper fittings. My first one lasted 5 years and was well worth the investment. I just bought the exact same one.

Good for applications where appearance is not important. On material 1/2″ and larger it makes a flat spot in the bend. The release button is also difficult to push by hand. Had to put in a vice a couple of times to release.

Very slow and frustrating tool. Would not purchase again.

Small compact tool and case. Works great for sweep 90’s. I recommend this bender. Helpful hint: after bend torque bender back and forth toward the pipe for Release.

I bought this bender to build cages. The dies are made of cast aluminum and after 2 bends, the die exploded. When trying to bend 90° the hydraulic jack angle is pushing at the wrong angle and the die will not hold.

As long as you are bending thin tubing for bumpers, it’s fine. I use 1 3/4″ ×. 095″ wall DOM tubing and the bender is NOT strong enough to last. When my die exploded, I immediately called Speedway and didn’t get much help.

I paid for a new die and after waiting over 6 months, I finally canceled the order and instead went and bought a much better bender. I thought I done enough research before I bought this product but apparently not.

Basically, remember you get what you pay for. Don’t expect much out of this product, sorry.

We’re using this bender to build a custom roll cage, tube fenders, rock sliders and tube doors for a Jeep. The bender performs exactly as advertised. Easily bends 1-3/4 x 0. 12 DOM tube. I like that it can be easily stowed away for storage.

Well made, with a quality look and paint job. Frame and pivot shafts are strong enough for the job. There’s no need for a degree wheel, I use a magnetic digital level to make accurate bend angles.

I used this product to bend/shape metal on a racecar bumper. It made life so much easier. Already have requests to build bumpers for fellow racers.

Makes nice bends with good quality tubing. Cheap tubing will kink, not the tools fault, but my local Napa had some lesser quality tubing mixed in the bunch I got and the cheaper stuff kinked, the stronger tubing bent perfectly.

I had some 3/8 galvanized steel tubing that I needed to bend for a simple transmission cooling line. I used this tool to make half a dozen bends and all came out well. My only complaint is that you can’t clamp this thing on a vice to make it easier to use.

Otherwise it’s sturdy and does the job. The price is good as there are other brands of tube benders that cost more and look identical.

Pretty neat little tool. Used it to bend some 5/16 fuel line. Did a 90 with no problem. No kinks, crushing, just a nice neat bend. As a side not – I’m an old dude, and not what I was 30 years ago. 5/16 steel is not soft, and even I was able to bend a 90 with no real effort.

Glad I bought it.

This tool worked adequately, however the handle has poor grips which make it hard to been steel tubing.

The first obvious note I have about this bender is that the handle throw is too short. I am bending 1″ 14 ga. round tubing and after the first 15 degrees or so the springback prevents me from catching the next notch on the bender.

I partially remedied this by modifying the handle for more throw. I am also going to make a ratcheting slider to prevent springback between actuations. Otherwise this is a very well built machine and still worth the price considering a hydraulic bender would cost well over ten times as much.

bought this bender with a few doubts. BUT love it, works better then advertised ! figured would have to add a longer handle to make it work but not needed, but it does require a decent solid mount or you will not be able to work it.

A well designed machine. Heavy duty, simple to operate. Mounted mine to a corner of my weld table with a steel plate with a repeating hole pattern and some ball detent pins. It can be rotated as needed or removed completely.

I hoped it would help me make a repair close to the roof line. Well, it did the bend better than I imagined. I like the racket action. My first bend was a reverse bend and it came out beautifully, and in a very tight place.

It is going to make the job easier on a replacement compressor next week, too. The price was very good. nearly saving $200 off where my searching began. Very good, guys. Thank you.

Only used on 1/2 and 3/8 tubing so farBender works well, nice mandrel bends with no kinking of stainless steel tubing. Radius is a little large on bends, but look very nice. For the price its a great deal.

My 1st time using a tubing bender. Fairly easy to put together and use. If you haven’t used one before look up the fabricator on youtube. He has a couple excellent introductory videos to get going on bending.

Also look up the video on assembly. Much easier than trying to read the directions. Bought the 1-1/2″ 90 degree dies and stand and started bending. Works good and makes nice bends. I would definitely recommend the stand!.

I wanted to save $200 by doing the install work of our replacement gas log set myself in my fireplace. However nothing is ever simple. The old gas supply line would not work with the new log set. This kit and $6 of copper tubing was all that I needed plus an hour or two of labor.

Wah-la just saved $200 ! ! The tubing bender did just what it was supposed to do without damaging the tube. It was easy to use and came with an instruction manual (being a guy I didn’t look at that 🙂 ) PLUS, as great bonus there were a couple of extra tools included which I was not aware of when I bought the bender.

Also in the box was a tubing cutter and several springs that slide over tubes and allow you to bend the tubes without crimping them (I guess you use these springs in instances when the tubing bender is inappropriate) This is a great deal for the money ! !.

The tubing bender did exactly what I needed it to do. It had been over a decade since the last time I had used a tubing bender. I had tried several other benders, and I was having a hard time getting the 3/8″ steel tubing to bend without collapsing.

I noticed this tubing bender while browsing an ad online. It looked like the bender I had previously used so many years ago. I went by my local Harbor Freight and picked it up for less than $10! It worked even better than I expected.

It almost made bending the tubing too easy. With 3 benders on hand, I used this one to successfully complete the project. I am very satisfied with this purchase.

Tube Bender Tutorial: IDKMAFHIG about tube bending but I know a little now. This applies to both #3755 and the smaller #94571. Examining the bender due to the reviews I read, the slots are aligned but the space between the follower lever is larger than I think it should be from the other lever.

Tubing used: Copper, OD 0. 253″ /6. 43mm; ID 0. 199″ /5. 06mm. Row choices in #3755 are 6, 8, 10mm. There are 2 ways to insert the tubing: With the end right at the right angle stop bar or the reverse with the end of the tube to be wrapped around the “other lever” or form.

With the end at the stop and in the 8mm slot, the tube kinked in the middle of the curve. With the tube in the 6mm slot, starting with the short end either way, a full 180 degree bend could be done without collapsing.

It may help to use the smallest slot you can, then go slowly and move the tubing accordingly to get the desired bend without kinking. It appears that it would work better if the two forms, one on each lever, were closer together but that would require re-manufacturing the bender.

Incidentally, this #3755 looks identical to 2 on that other site, although the connecting bar is painted and slots are in inches. I’ll upload 3 images. It works, and use it slowly with care.

The jack keeps falling out, the handle doesn’t work to release the jack, and the die clamp doesn’t hold the tube securely creating a poor bend start – not allowing it to reach a full 90 degrees.

works good to bend heavy pipe, if you plan on using it to bend exhaust pipe fallow these steps. a. plan your bends prior to bending the pipe, mark a line at mid-point of bend for reference b. tape heavy at one end of pipe c.

pack sand inside the pie really really tight. (you are filling the void so the pipe wont crinkle at the bend) d. tape heavy at other end to close off the pipe. e. do all your bends in one setting. f.

check your work to make sure it fits, adjust/correct bends as needed g. empty sand (this will take a bit if it is a long run) h. install.

I was very satisfied with my first harbor freight pipe bender. the 1 1/4 pipe die was perfect, pipe didn’t initially fit in it but slid into the die as you started pumping and did some nice bends. that’s how they should be.

Any amount of play in the die will result in kinking. unfortunately my first nice die cracked and became useless even though I tried to mend it. so I went and bought another pipe bender just for another die.

The new 1 1/4 die is WAY too large, like 1/4″ too big which is A LOT it just kinks the pipe instantly. I dont know how they could go from perfect dies to useless ones but it happened. I purchased and returned another 4 pipe benders from different locations in the area and every die was bad.

without a good die the bender is useless. They need to recall these units and have the manufacture retool for the die castings immediately.

I had tried 2 other highly regarded brand names, but this set of tubing benders is so much better than the others. They make really tight bends for breake lines in stainless and copper-nickel (I didn’t try alum yet) without flattening it.

The padded handles are awesome and rugged. The 2 settings of the rotating handle allowed for better coils under the brake booster. Tight back-to-back 90° bends were much simplified. Summit, as always, had fast shipping.

I’ve used this bender for a few projects, all aluminum up to 3/8inch, but the moment I tried 3/16 stainless it broke the handle. Probably not very durable. I’d recommend something else not made of pot metal and not as bulky.

The handle broke at it’s pivot point after minimal usage. ooops. Maybe the guides needed more lubricant. Maybe the metal is flawed. Maybe I shouldn’t have let our Gorilla use it. Whatever the problem, it was a benefit for my toolbox.

I now have 8 tube benders including the replacement one of these. As usual Summit Racing® is a great company to deal with when things go wrong. As for tubing benders; lot’s of lubricant and go slow.

This was simple to use and I was able to bend the brake lines to match the old ones. I never did this before and probably did it wrong but I took the old brake line and put it in the tool to see how far and the angle it was and then put the replacement one in and bent it accordingly.

It came out pretty close to what I had and then I went under the car and cut the length to waht I needed after the bending.

I’ve bent a lot of brake and gas lines with a single wheel bender. Wow was I missing out. This tool works fabulous on even tight bends.

I found it difficult to get a curve near enough to the fitting on my tubing. The tool handled well when putting curves in the steel tubing.