Tube Tek bender - hydro mount Redux

Hurley

Hurley

WTFab
Joined
Feb 22, 2008
Location
Statesville
It's been a few years, but I'd like to jog some memories on the ol' Tube Tek benders. @Spence and I have one circa 2008 and I'm looking to add an air/hydro mount on it and make a portable stand for it....Manual bending got old years ago and I've not bent anything for quite a while.

Since the previous threads/discussions, can anyone confirm whether or not an off-the shelf mounting kit will work on these benders?
 
I bought three benders from him the last ten years

On the first I built my own mount using round tube cut in half, welded nuts top and bottom to squeeze the air over hydraulic ram, it worked great

After I showed cliff what I was doing, he started making the air over hydraulic mounts

Cliffs wife died from Cancer about three years ago, I haven't heard from him since, and the place where his shop was in east Asheville is gone

I will take a picture of the mount and send it to you if you would like?
 
Makes since.
A few years ago I spoke with him on the phone and agreed to buy a bender frame that he had made with thicker material and the following morning I went to pick it up and could never get I'm touch with him. I tried for a couple months and never did so didn't know if something bad had happened after the phone conversation.
 
paradisePWoffrd said:
I haven't tried to mount it, but given the design, I don't see why a mount from SWAG Offroad wouldn't work.
Click to expand...


Swag makes quite a selection - JD-2 Model 3, JD-2 Model 32, Pro Tools 105 & 105HD, Woodward Fab WFB2 & JMR - that's why I'm asking. I'm capable of making one, however it's a time vs. money vs. product availability decision.
 
I have one of Guffey's Tube Tek benders here at the shop! The mount that came with this one mounts the air over hydraulic cylinder from Harbor Freight. Pretty simple aluminum mount.
 
ol'Jeeps said:
I have one of Guffey's Tube Tek benders here at the shop! The mount that came with this one mounts the air over hydraulic cylinder from Harbor Freight. Pretty simple aluminum mount.
Click to expand...

It is a simple design, and it works great, Cliff made these benders for the enjoyment of machine work, not to make money at all, that's why his customer service sucked lol
 
guffey24 said:
It is a simple design, and it works great, Cliff made these benders for the enjoyment of machine work, not to make money at all, that's why his customer service sucked lol
Click to expand...

I always wondered why this was. I've seen one and it was a solid unit. I always felt like if he could have dedicated the time to it, he could have been a strong player. I hate to finally hear about the circumstances.

Back on topic, I've got an ancient Hughes Engineering Model 3, predecessor to the JD2. The mount/clamp system it used was functional, but ridiculously complicated. I built a mobile base for it, converted it to bend in the vertical plane rather than horizontal, and incorporated the HF Air over cylinder. Took an afternoon. If I had spent a little more time on it, I could have made it even better, but I didn't. ;) The cylinder is just pinned into the frame, so when I need to slap it into my engine hoist, it just takes a minute. It works beautifully, and rolls out of the way when not in use. I'll try to upload a couple pics to give you an idea.
 
As a spinoff, does anyone know what dies will fit the tube tek benders?

I've heard they can accept another main bender die but not sure which. It looks alot like the a pro tools.

Maybe a better question, if you have a pro tools or jd2 bender, can you measure the hole offset/spacing on your bender?
 
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