Imagine ... a tool as basic as a bender to our trade, and so few responses! (Perhaps our members are busy chasing Pokemon critters!)
At the site, we have several different brands. Some of the things I've noticed are:
- GB seems to be the only one with the handle oriented differently to the head. Imagine you'r3e using the bender, with the pipe laying on the floor .... with GB, a 45-degree bend is made when the handle is vertical; with all the rest, you've made a 30-degree bend at that point. (Big strike against GB!);
- "Factory" handles seem lighter, and the wider end is large enough to slip over a stub-up and use as a 'hickey' for small adjustments (Plus One for the factory!);
- There's quite a variation in the legibility of markings between benders. For many, it's quite difficult to read the "deduct" information, it's quite easy to confuse the 30 and 45 degree marks, some are marked in multipliers (ie: 1.4 rather than 45), and it's quite difficult to see the 'index' arrows on some;
- Some benders have a real tendency to make lopsided (uneven) bends. I do not know if this is a consistent problem with the brand, or if it is unique to the individual bender. There seems to be a pattern between goofy bends, and whether there is a hole in the shoe where the handle mounts; and,
- Some handle colors seem to camouflage themselves on site. Klein, with its' orange handle, especially seems to disappear when hung from a lift.
My bender with the bent dog is a cast-iron head.
I will wait for more comments, and continue my evaluations.
