what tubing bender dies to buy?

[knucklehead 61]

i plan to buy a jd squared model 3 bender.
what radius dies should i buy & why?
i think i'll start with a 1.5" & possibly a 1" set but not sure of which radius to order.

 

[old_man]

What are you going to be building. Around here most guys go with 1.75" wall tubing. I use the tightest radius I can get.

 

[xcm]

1.75 if you plan on racing, 2.0 if you wanna race SCORE.

...otherwise, 1.5, or so. then 7/8'ths or 1" to compliment it,

i like the rounder radii, but thats preferance. in a perfect world... BOTH!
if you know anyone local, that you trust real well, talk to them first. dont buy the same 2 dies he has, get another size to compliment the collection.

 

[XJLI]

i have a 1.75, 270 degree.

x2 on what you plan on building.

 

[knucklehead 61]

i want to build an exo cage for my red heep on tons & 40's.
any thoughts on cl radius???

 

[NW-ZJ-SCOTT]

IMO they are all pretty equally used if you use the bender often, 1" 1.5" and 2" are all common bumper/slider/rack sizes, but 1.75 is more common for cages etc..

 

[Mnkyboy]

I have 1",1.25",1.5",1.75",and 2"

If I could only get one I would get 1.75"

 

[knucklehead 61]

I have 1",1.25",1.5",1.75",and 2"

If I could only get one I would get 1.75"

cool, that's where i'll start, but can no one offer their thoughts on center line radius???

 

[RCman]

I've got a 1.75", 6" radius, 240° die. If I was to purchase one again, I'd do the same thing. Don't waste your time/money on the 110° dies it is only a few dollars difference (and well worth it) for the 240°. The 6" radius is the tightest radius offered buy Pro-Tools for the 1.75" size. I found a few times were I wanted an even tighter radius, I never found myself wanting a larger radius.

 

[knucklehead 61]

I've got a 1.75", 6" radius, 240° die. If I was to purchase one again, I'd do the same thing. Don't waste your time/money on the 110° dies it is only a few dollars difference (and well worth it) for the 240°. The 6" radius is the tightest radius offered buy Pro-Tools for the 1.75" size. I found a few times were I wanted an even tighter radius, I never found myself wanting a larger radius.

thanks! now were getting somewhere. i had already figured 240 degree dies.
do you prefer the pro tools bender over the jd squared? or are they pretty much the same?
it sounds like i should try for the minimum cl radius when ever possible.

 

[RCman]

I built my bender off the gottrikes plans. It uses Pro-Tools dies so that's why I bought that one over a JD2.

 

[Jeep450r]

Get the tightest radius you can get. It's easier to follow the xj lines with a tighter radius.

If I had to do it again, I'd buy a 1.75" die and if I needed to use 1.5" tube, use vetteboy's trick of bending a piece of 1.75" tube and cutting it in half along the outside of the die so 1.5" tube fits in there. Do a search for it. I'll try to find it as well.

 

[Jeep450r]

Here it is.
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showpost.php?p=245015139&postcount=2

 

[XJEEPER]

Food for thought........ http://www.rme4x4.com/showthread.php?t=64205

 

[XJumpmaster]

Thats the one that i will be using in the next few weeks. I will let you all know how it lasts for a full cage. Steve is letting me borrow it for my project.