Quick n dirty light wire bender - unless you add fire

[rockrat]

I needed a round piece of stock bent with low precision the other day and I have never put together a wire bender for the shop. I really didn't have the time to make what I have wanted (Diacro clone) but I quickly found a solution.

I have a junk vise that I have on the welding table for beating on and such. I poked a hole in the fixed jaw for a retaining rod. I went over to the toolbox and found a socket that was the correct diameter for what I needed. I was planning to just clamp the socket in the vise and after heating the wire, make my loop. But I noticed that I had these little adapters for my sockets.

http://s.sears.com/is/image/Sears/00943303000-1?hei=180&wid=180&op_sharpen=1&qlt=75

I clamped one of these up in the vise with the socket on it, heated up the rod (hey, the torch was right there, why not) and made a nice little bend. The adapter kept the socket from flailing around as pressure was added. I need to try this cold and see what results I get.

Click for larger photo-
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v12/rockrat/projects/wire%20bender/th_IMG_7638.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v12/rockrat/projects/wire%20bender/IMG_7638.jpg)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v12/rockrat/projects/wire%20bender/th_IMG_7639.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v12/rockrat/projects/wire%20bender/IMG_7639.jpg)

I played around with this and found that I could move where the socket was clamped up and allow for different rod diameters and socket diameters. I have some old broken socket extensions that I now have plans for, if I can find them. I plan to use an extension to replace the socket adapter. If I cut flats on the sides and weld a flat on the bottom of the extension I can keep it from rotating in the vise. But that wont happen until I need it again. Who knows, maybe by then I'll have time to make a nice stock bender.

rock~

[Alan Smith]

Good one! Other uses for sockets, the end of my home made hydraulic press ram has 1/2" sq mount to take sockets so I have a ready made set of bushes. I don't usemy best sockets for this though.

[Dawai]

Got a rigid pipe stand? they have benders on the edge. Most people don't have a clue, they just thread-cut pipe on them.

[rockrat]

Got a rigid pipe stand? they have benders on the edge. Most people don't have a clue, they just thread-cut pipe on them.

Thats a thought. I had forgotten about that, EMT right? I wonder what Craigslist has today? Hummmmm......

[d kirby]

I like things that are quick and simple, just like your bender.
Rockrat, you are a genius.
Dave

[Tobias-B]

Slick-
I've done similar things with bits of
pipe in the vice, so I could get different radii,
but I always clamped the tail of the material.
Your way's quicker and less liable to go 'pop'
at the wrong time.

t

[Frank Ford]

Good going! It's always a treat to see the ingeniosity at work on this forum!

[tony ennis]

I have a workshop book written by an old guy. He recommends a piece of scrap metal with a bunch of tapped holes. He put a washer on a bolt, then bolts a socket to the plate. In fact, he might bolt 2 or 3 to make s-shaped bends. It's a cool book full of practical advise. The guy is enamored with plywood and rebar, however, lolz.

Shop Savvy (http://www.amazon.com/Shop-Savvy-Roy-Moungovan/dp/155654040X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242093287&sr=8-1)

[Boucher]

Got a rigid pipe stand? they have benders on the edge. Most people don't have a clue, they just thread-cut pipe on them.
I have the tools but don't know how to use them. Some explanation or better yet a picture of how they are used would be great. I have been trying to make rounded corner handle for an old garden cart. I have watched electricians bend conduit but I can not achieve their results. Beginning to realize that both my mobility and mental capacities left together.