O&MM Fabricator - March/April 2017 - 20
SHOPTALK The Hossfeld Bender 101 Tech-Talk BOB WALSH Wedge, installed in-between a stop in the swing-arm, a 3/16" x 3/4" strip being bent and a fabricated mandrel I f you own a Hossfeld Bender but do not own an operators set-up manual for making bends, call the HOSSFELD UNIVERSAL ® Benders company and order one. I realize that real men and real women do not read instruction manuals or maps, but you will need to swallow a little pride on this one! There are more metal bending configurations presented in the manual than one person could figure out in years of experimentation. The manual does a great job of showing and telling you how to set-up the bender for specific bending operations. In this article, I am not going to address how to 20 | March/April 2017 * O&MM Fabricator set up the bender for specific bending operations. Instead, the focus will be on how the bender works. I hope this information makes clear, why a given set-up in the manual works. And why by changing one or two components in your bender, the bends become A) inconsistent, B) off by a mile, or C) the entire bending process becomes reversed. How Does a Hossfeld Bender Work? Let's start with some questions and answers. Then, we will examine the principles of the bender. Q Why did you purchase a Hossfeld Bender? A. Probably because of the bender's reputation. The HOSSFELD UNIVERSAL ® Benders company has been making and selling this bender since 1922! Q Why has this Bender been popular since 1922? A. The reason for this Bender's success is probably because of its versatility. This versatility comes from A) the design of the frame, which will hold many attachments, B) the holes in the frame which makes setting