Are Swagelok tubing benders worth the money?

GregSY · May 4, 2020

This is a typical hand-powered tubing bender from Swagelok. I have one in 3/8" and 5/16" sizes....kinda want one in 1/2".

These run well over $200, even used. They are, for the record, very well made.

I see a lot of other similar bender on Ebay for much less. These are Asian makes in some cases but also older Ridgid, Imperial Eastman, etc.

So...are the lower cost versions 'just as good' or 'nowhere close' in terms of function? Are the Swageloks offering a use/final product benefit?

tomjelly · May 4, 2020

I have a few of the Swagelok ones here like you have pictured and will say they are nicer than Ridgid or imperial eastman ones I've had. Their stuff is all focused on prep for their automatic orbital welders and those are pretty pricey. $250 for a bender maybe doesn't look like much compared to a $20k tube welder so I bet a lot of the ones they sell are part of package outfits with those machines bought at the same time

Cole2534 · May 4, 2020

The Swagelok is better in every way, sans price

Id say it depends on your tubing though. The Swagelok design really shines in stuff like 1/2" .065"wt where the roller follower really reduces required bending force.

Another perk is the bench vise tab. Lock that sob in the vise and go to town.

Lastly, I really like ability to change handle position. Not sure if other brands do that.

Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Tapatalk

Greenwud · May 5, 2020

Yes, its worth the price
Parker used to make a nice one too, not sure what the current offering is like.

rbcmetalwork · May 5, 2020

The Swagelok benders are much better at bending heavier wall stainless steel tubing in my opinion.

crossthread · May 5, 2020

In my opinion it all depends on how often you use it. I really like nice tools but I have bought some crap from Harbor Freight that has served me well if I only use it infrequently. I'm not saying buy a tubing bender from HF, I'm just saying that sometimes it's a good idea to consider if you need to have a high priced tool sitting in a cabinet and dragged out three or four times a year. I will say I have a set of the Swagelok benders and they are very nice.

GregSY · May 5, 2020

Thanks all. On further digging in my shop, I found I already have one! I have two Swageloks (1/2" and 3/8") and an Imperial in 7/16 and 5/16. I had no idea I owned the Imperials but once I saw them I remembered being given them years ago.

Garwood · May 5, 2020

I collected hand benders like that for years. I have Parker, Rigid and Swagelok to 7/8".

I got an imperial bench bender then all those hand benders just sit.

Bench benders make nicer bends and handle much tighter radius compared to the hand benders.

I think Imperial, Lakeland, Parker focused more on the pro bending side of things. Bench benders also carry very high new prices, but sometimes they pop up used.

GregSY · May 5, 2020

I saw one Swagelok bench bender, electric powered, that was a breathtaking $16,500, used.

Garwood · May 5, 2020

GregSY said:
I saw one Swagelok bench bender, electric powered, that was a breathtaking $16,500, used.

Makes me wonder who pays those prices. It's not hard to find an older Pines mandrel bender ready to work with some tooling for $5k-$10k.

rons · May 5, 2020

There is a Swagelok factory in Sunnyvale area next to route 101. The walk-in counter, displays, and prices makes one feel humble indeed.

Cole2534 · May 5, 2020

Garwood said:
Makes me wonder who pays those prices. It's not hard to find an older Pines mandrel bender ready to work with some tooling for $5k-$10k.

I've seen some large engines and compressors that use a LOT of tubing for lube lines, etc. Those packagers are about the only ones I can think of that'd justify it.

idacal · May 5, 2020

I have that style not that brand and have ran a lot of tubing with it. 3/8"s is easy, 1/2" is bearable 5/8" is a bear probably has to do with my holding ability. thought about a 3/4 decided if I needed it I would figure out a way to power it, your reefing on it so hard that its easy for the lines to get out of plane unless the radious is huge of course.

Garwood · May 6, 2020

idacal said:
I have that style not that brand and have ran a lot of tubing with it. 3/8"s is easy, 1/2" is bearable 5/8" is a bear probably has to do with my holding ability. thought about a 3/4 decided if I needed it I would figure out a way to power it, your reefing on it so hard that its easy for the lines to get out of plane unless the radious is huge of course.

The 5/8" and larger hand benders I have are ratcheting with a gear reduction built in. If you have a hand bender that size and it doesn't have a reduction it is an HVAC bender only intended for soft copper and aluminum.

Graham Gott · May 11, 2020

Cole2534 said:
The Swagelok is better in every way, sans price

Id say it depends on your tubing though. The Swagelok design really shines in stuff like 1/2" .065"wt where the roller follower really reduces required bending force.

Another perk is the bench vise tab. Lock that sob in the vise and go to town.

Lastly, I really like ability to change handle position. Not sure if other brands do that.

Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Tapatalk

The Ridgid 600 series are a pretty decent knockoff of the Swagelok design and include all of these features. I have a full set of Ridgid's minus the 5/16" size and like them quite a bit. I've never used a real Swagelok, but I have a hard time seeing how they're functionally much different. The Ridgid 600's aren't exactly cheap, but much cheaper than the Swagelok...guessing the Chinese origin of the Ridgid has a lot to do with that.

Here's a photo of my collection...

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Are Swagelok tubing benders worth the money?

GregSY

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Greenwud

Hot Rolled

rbcmetalwork

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crossthread

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GregSY

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Garwood

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GregSY

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rons

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Cole2534

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idacal

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Graham Gott

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