I'm curious if anyone has bought one of these yet and what their thoughts on it are. It is very similar to the Speedway bender but at about half the current price with the complete die set. Watching the video linked on the Eastwood site it appears rather slow (as a standard bottle jack) but it seems to work. I have heard second hand stories of the Speedway style aluminum dies destorting or breaking but the dies are different on this unit. I'm also not aware of if spec tubing was being bent at the time etc. I prefer the JD squared rachet units but I'm looking at this for home use mostly due to a lack of space and the portable design.
Speed would depend on then nu*ber of bends you have to do in a day. It *ight be too slow for a production shop but great for the guy at ho*e building his own stuff. No idea on the quality of the product or how well it works though.
I agee I wouldn't want it for a professional shop. I've been looking for a used JDsquared before breaking down and laying cash out for a new one. I have access to four benders in four chassis shops I sub in but there is always something I need to bend at home. The Eastwood unit might be cool for helping buddys, side jobs etc. Not having to unbolt a pedestal unit and move it constantly would be a plus. Honestly I'd like to try it out first, anyone local have one? I'll bring your favorite beer and some scrap tube.....
I have a JD2 that I converted to hydraulic ... I can cart it anywhere in the trunk of my car. Quality bends and portable. (steel dies, not aluminum)
I don't know what exactly you plan on using it for for but I would question that type of units repeatability. There doesn't seem to be anything to prevent springback. Any bender will give speedier bends if you put a light oil on both the dies and the pipe. And on most of the bottle jack benders the jack is removable, you could always replace it with a air over hydraulic jack to speed it up.
Thanks for the posts.....I'm not really trying to poll the Eastwood unit vs a JD or how to use one LOL. I still prefer to use the JD manually, the Eastwood just happens to be hydraulic by design. The Eastwood I look at as a hobbyist level tool but it may be very useful. What I was hoping for is a person who has actually used the Eastwood bender. Someone with experiece with other units would be a plus just to base their opinion of it. Thanks
Check out these guys...Made in America. I think the Eastwood and the Speedway are China.. http://www.tjdieselperformance.com/servlet/StoreFront -Abone.
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