Hossfeld Universal Bender

[Hot&CoaledForge]

Here's a link with drawings:
http://www.kinzers.com/don/MachineTools/bender/

- Jim

[precisionworks]

I've thought about building a Hossfeld copy, but estimated $250 in steel & 40 hours in fab time. If anyone builds one, keep track of the cost & time, I'd be interested.

[lalatheman]

Physicians against landmines encourages third world countries to build wheel chairs, provides the best plans for cloneing Hossfeld that I've seen. In appendix a

http://www.cirnetwork.org/engineerin...es/itm_toc.cfm

[lalatheman]

ibewgypsie,
Did I understandyou correctly to indicate you had had a Hossfeld ,and built a replica ?
If so, about what did it cost you in time and materials ?

David

[Ries]

I have had a real hossfeld in my shop for almost 25 years now, and I love it. It will do stuff no other bender will do. But they are not cheap- figure about $800 new, for the basic bender, with a few dies. The sky is the limit for how much you can spend on additional tooling- just depends on what you want to bend.
The original patents have expired, and there are two other companies that build "real" benders based on the hossfeld- American Bender, which makes a true hossfeld clone-
http://www.americanbender.com/
and JD2, which makes a hossfeld variant that just does pipe and tubing, but does it very well-
http://www.jd2.com/

the harbor freight benders are actually a knockoff of the shop outfitters benders
http://www.shopoutfitters.com/
which in turn are a knockoff and watering down of a hossfeld.
Personally I think all of those dinky copies, whether made in china or the us, are worthless. But I like to bend big stuff, and I bend a lot of stuff.

One of my employees just built a hossfeld copy, lightened up, out of 1/2" x 3" flat bar, and I doubt he has more than 100 bucks in it, but he has yet to start making dies. A real hossfeld is probably worth buying, as they use better quality steel, and heat treat most of the moving parts. They make their dies from cast iron, so they can be the right shape, and have a lot of mass, which would be tough to do fabricating them or cutting them on a mill.
For some reason, used hossfeld benders often go for more than new cost, and that is without much in the way of tooling- its easy to lose. Every once in a while I hear stories about the 50 dollar hossfeld, but I dont know anyone who ever got one- more common is the 600 dollar hossfeld with no tooling, rusty and dinged up.

[tattoomike68]

ibewgypsie
"I have the pdf manual on a hossfield bender. It is "NOT" a harbor freight bender nor similar. "

you can post the manual on http://www.bbssystem.com/ adrian has a fine forum and a growing list of manuals to download too.

I would like to read it.

[AV8OR]

Ries,

Is your bender hydraulic or manual? If it is manual what is the largest stock you can bend without busting a gut?

Thank you

[ibewgypsie]

I'll look for the drawing I did on the hossfield..

I am learning solidworks.. Loving it.

I can draw it up and post it later this week.

David

[George Barnes]

I've had a Hossfeld for about 35 years and it has done probably half a million bends over the years. They have all been tube bends as that is all that I have the tooling for. It has served well. I've got dies for tube from 5/8" to 2" in 1/8" increments with the exception of 1-7/8". I have several centerline radius sizes for most of the different tube sizes.

While the main frame, swinging frame, and die sets are Hossfeld, most of the rest is home brew. It uses a 1-1/2 h.p. motor driving a vane pump through a timing belt drive that reduces the speed through a 2 to 1 ratio. The hydraulics are supplied to a 2-1/2" x 36" stroke cylinder. I can make 90 degree bends in one shot. The degree of bend is controlled by a micro switch that operates a solenoid valve in the pressure line.

[Smokedaddy]

George,

Can you tell me what the shortest radius your Hossfeld will bend on 3/4" and 1" tube (not pipe). Don't care about any other brand, or homebrew dies.

Thanks,
-SD: