I really need to be able to bend tubing, but benders with interchangeable dies, such as a JD2, are the better part of a grand once you buy the dies and a stand—that’s prohibitively expensive.
I found this geared, ratcheting, 3/4″ OD tubing bender (Ridgid #368) for sale used on Craigslist.
Can this really bend .120 wall 3/4″ DOM? The manufacturer’s spec sheet says it can, and I decided to bet $120 it will. The one job I need it for is the seat rails on Bultakenstein. If it can manage a pair of 30° bends it will be worth it. If it ends up totally useless to me, at least I’ll learn something, and can probably re-sell the thing and recoup my money (or at least most of it).
It has more mass to it than I expected. It’s a die-and-roller arrangement, so I don’t think it will be too prone to kinking.
