How To Bend EMT Conduit/Tubing - HOW ELECTRICIANS BEND 90s, OFFSETS, BOX OFFSETS, & KICKS
This is, no-doubt, my most asked for topic to do an episode. “Do an episode on bending conduit” they say….”It’ll be fun” they say… Well my friends, strap in, here we go….
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PRODUCTS USED IN THIS VIDEO:
1/2" EMT Bender - amzn.to/2QY6KxO
3/4" EMT Bender - amzn.to/2OW6KN1
1" EMT Bender - amzn.to/2FvIYI2
Stanley 25' Fat Max Tape Measure - amzn.to/2znwPPZ
Klein Torpedo Level - amzn.to/2DDHf0D
First off there are some things to understand about different types of conduits. For example today we’re going to be bending EMT (Electrical Metallic Tubing). This type of conduit is relatively easy to bend using a bender if you’re bending 1/2”, 3/4”, or 1”. Once you get to about 1 1/4” and up this type of conduit requires a larger bender, and a lot of ass behind the person bending it. Normally in this situation a company will use a “Chicago Bender” or an “Machine Bender” (which is normally either electric, pneumatic, hydraulic)
In our example we’re going to be dealing with 1/2”, 3/4”, and 1” EMT. This is the easiest conduit to bend, so for those of you practicing at home - choose 1/2” EMT to start with before moving up to 3/4” or 1” as the ease of use makes the understanding go further.
Understanding The Bender
First thing we talk about is understanding the bender. There are tons of little lines, marks, and numbers on the shoe of a conduit bender, and knowing which one does what is half the battle. To start off, every bender has stamped in it what type of conduit the bender is designed to be used for. A 1/2” bender will say “1/2” EMT Only” or something similar - usually located where the shoe meets the threaded end of the handle. If you flip the bender around 180 degrees, in the same spot there will be a stamp for what size takeoff you’ll need to use to achieve the proper bend with this bender.
Next are the lines that say 10, 22.5, 30, 45, and 60 next to them. These are your angles of bend radius. To bend a 30 degree angle with a conduit bender, you bend the pipe up from the ground until the 30 degree line on the bender is parallel to the pipe and floor. You would flip the bender over and repeat this step if you were trying to bend a 30 degree offset to overcome an obstacle.
Probably the most important mark to learn is the “arrow” - this is the marker you’ll use most often when bending 90’s or offsets. If you need to bend a 90 or offset at 65” you’ll mark your pipe and line the arrow up with the mark, and bend accordingly.
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#pipebending #conduitbending #apprenticeship
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I was a 6 months in as an apprentice, my boss personally and many time explained and demonstrated me 90 bends, both forward and backwards, offsets, kicks, 3 and 4 point saddles, box offsets, etc, but I couldn't get it. I only was good at 90 bends, box offsets (sort of) and then one day we get a project at an airport and it needed to be done asap, it was a store remodel, and we were short on manpower, so there I am, boxed everything out, stubbed up above ceiling grid, now I need to run the pipes on the pipe rack to the 18x18 24x24 etc j boxes and into the panel. I call the boss an like "hey boss Boxed out and stubbed into the ceiling" but I'm nervous to continue because I'm not good with other bends" He goes "look, I've shown you everything, I cant be there, others cant be there, either figure it out or be laid off for a week until an available foreman can get there" I was silent for a few seconds. then my boss goes "look, don't worry if you mess up, Im willing to let you mess up 100 feet of 1" conduit if you will guarantee you will try your best to learn" I said "I will try" a week later I was bending pipe like it was second nature. My advice, be willing to make mistakes, but LEARN from them, also a cool boss helps a LOT.!
@Dylan McHarg I absolutely agree, that was a risky move, but it taught me a lot.! And I am going to possibly be looking for a new company to work for in the coming months, when this Virus thing blows over.
@@TheTantanski Experienced electricians have a name for the mistakes. We call it the oh oh pile and if any electrician stops making the odd wrong bend he or she is likely dead.
Man it’s really great to have a great mentor, I am so lucky and privileged to have one as well!
@Dylan McHarg Well, yeah, you are correct. An apprentice is supposed to be under that watchful eye of a Journeyman or Master electrician at all times. That said, I was turned loose for things like running conduit for parking lots and setting the sonotube and the anchor bolts for the lot lights before my second year. Hard to mess up too badly digging a ditch...
My last apprentice was deathly afraid of the bender and it took me telling him to go to the boneyard, grab some conduit, and start making mistakes. I didn't care what he came up with as long as he was trying. From then on he progressed fairly quickly. He got to the point where he was justifiably proud, and wanted to show me what he had learned. So I set him to putting in a run, and he measured and bent the conduit perfectly. Nice! I handed my tape measure to him and proceed to run a 90, a saddle, another 90 (rolled), and a kick to bring it up straight. Fit the first time, and who needs a tape measure? :) As for leaving the shop, think twice before you do. The problem being that you already have a decent relationship with your current employer, and a new shop may or may not be all that it's cracked up to be. Take it from me, there's a reason why my 4 year apprenticeship was the best 7 years of my life. I assume that you are earning your hours (8,000?), with the goal of being able to apply to take the test once you qualify. Hang in there, get enough experience to be an asset elsewhere and then look around. Until then it's the big three: "Head down, mouth shut, and hands busy". Good luck!
I also truly appreciate the cursing 😂 feel like I'm on a job site
😂😂😂😂😂
That's the only way lol
Right😂😂😂 feels just like home jajaj
Shit yeah! Lol
Gotta have a lotta ass to bend. Got it!
Im 18 and just started working as an electrician, need all the knowledge i can get
Learn all you can young man... IT'S all worth it in the long run & your future too ! ! !
So how are you doing so far???you still hanging in there🕺⚡
@@dewaynehanson3751 well said🏃🏃💥
In my 2nd year now, done a little bit of residential, commercial, industrial and i just joined my local union
@@user-wb7rj8on1q you’re getting there man !!! Keep rolling a couple more years and you will be fully licensed and will have earned the title of Wizard of the Wires. Keeper of the Current. Shepherd of the Shock. In short, we are miracle workers who build a better world with some bad-ass tools every freaking day. It’s no wonder we electricians are so arrogant and cocky 😀😀
As an electrical engineer, I find your videos very insightful! It makes me think beyond the NEC callouts and application theory. Thinking of how the drawings are interpreted vs how the installer carries it out is very important for engineers to know!
Yea, stop designing impossible shit dud.
The engineers that draw up my companies prints are trash,obviously never been on a job and obviously never done the work they’re drawing
@@kevinharrison4192 Yet they get paid far more than the people doing the work I'd venture. For theory/concepts, without field experience for the direct application typically.
Engineers should spend a couple of years in the field.
Agree, just like a doctor does a couple years residency before he's turned loose on patients. Can't learn everything in lectures, a lab class, and a couple projects for extra points on your grade. :-)
Wow, wire trick is a life saver. I dont mess with pipe often and EVERYTIME I go to bend pipe I have to sit there and think about it over and over.
Then bend it wrong, two or three times, then you cut it and put a coupler in...
That makes two of us!
Haha i use alot of couplers haha
Easier to just buy a few extra pieces lol :-P
So get yourself a bundle of pipe and practice also you can start a apprenticeship
We have entered the post-youtube era of bendin' pipe. All future benders will have your voice in their head as they develop the skill.
That's me Everytime I'm in class😂😂😂
thepeter 👍👍👍😂😂😂
well ya, organized labor is dead so its just a bunch of us rats out here trying to learn and our only source is either a kind superior on the job (rarely the case) or youtube. In NYC it costs 20k+ to get into a "tech" school (2 yrs) which from what I heard is BS and nobody cares that you finished it because the best thing you can put down on your resume is experience.
Nah
I learned from Lowes Cory. I bend good with his guidance.
I've been bending conduit for years now and I have to give you credit where its due , You are a very good teacher if someone who has never done it before you make it very easy to understand great job man
6:23 ''Forward'' 90º 15:19 Offset 32:48 Box Offset 39:48 Kick.
forward not formard lol!
@@justinmckibben4534 yeah
@@NeoAH90 should have left it
@@justinmckibben4534Nah better u blow me
Sounds like a crybaby apprentice. How many times your foreman make you go get him coffee lil baby?
I am 77 YO it sure would have been nice to have your video when I was younger and learning how to bend conduit. Thanks, great job.
You don't remember the old Jack Benfield films on conduit bending?
I was a former Electrician in the Norfolk Naval Shipyard @ P-Town, VA. USA... I was not only a wiring dude, but a Conduit Bending Freak as well... And i did enjoy all of the bending I had to do, because it was all ART to me... As well as a SKILL that not many people could do. I leaned it through my dad that taught me as a young 12 year old kid. I have no son to teach, but i did have a daughter and I taught her everything I learned over the years, and now she's an Architect and is doing very well. She even knows how to wire buildings too. P.S. I also ENJOYED all of the FOUL words used, S*** / D** / What tha' F*** / H*** / and probably more I missed... It was all NORMAL to all of us ELECTRICAL DUDES anyway... I really ENJOYED your VIDEO BROTHER ! ! !
Finally i found someone who makes me understand clearly
I've been a plumber for 48 years, but it's good to know how you bend EMT piping. Keep up the good work and your videos are great.....
This is one of those things in life that seems like it should be super easy, and yet on my small project I'm working on for myself, somehow I'm getting everything wrong. Very helpful tips and well-explained. Thanks!
You made this look so easy, even an HVAC guy can do it. Great job!
Thanks for the great refresher! I haven't bent conduit in years and now have a garage to play in. Great video! Thanks for being so genuine!
I've been doing commercial electrical work for 5+ years and never once did anybody teach me these simple tricks on the bender. I always was fighting those super tight bends on back to back 90's so thank you so much! I learned a very valuable lesson today!
Shame on the journeyman you work with, that's there job to pass along knowledge, but I could bend with the best of them after a year maybe 2, good teachers, and I wanted to be good at it
That wire trick help so much! I've cut and put in a coupler to correct my bend direction 😡
I'm pretty mechanically coordinated, have never bent any EMT, but have always wanted to play around with it. EXCELLENT video!!! Really appreciate how you tied it all in by showing the practical application at the end by showing that job you worked on. Well Done... Thanks!
Thank you sir! I’m just starting out my journey as an electrician. This video was exceptionally helpful! Keep making videos man
When you got to point of using the wire i laughed, someone showed me that many years ago. It works like a champ!! really enjoyed your video.
Love home you fixed your overbend while making an “example” on how to fix it
That was an amazing video. Your demo was very easy to understand and you were very thorough with your explanations. I have watched a lot of your videos. This by far, is the best one. The most informative. Thanks! Keep up the great work.
Awesome content, I've learned all of this before, but took a few years off to do some oilfield work, and just started getting back into the electrical trade. Your videos are a great refresher course for me, and I subbed accordingly.
Conduit is a form of art! Impressive job, you definitely take pride in your work. Glad I found your channel
You have no idea how bad I needed this video, lol. Thanks so much for all of your content, Dustin.
Love bending emt now and am thankful for those who took their time to teach a young apprentice
I was done with bending. I am ready for another round.Thanks to you. Thank you.
You are a efective teacher man. Good job explaining DETAILS , thanks
I wish I watched your videos when I started in the trade 5 years ago! The best way to learn pipe bending is through practice. EMT seems simple after running rigid. Threaded pipe is much less forgiving.
I love you man, I wish you were my journeyman, and I your apprntice. You really teach well. Thank You so much. This video is like a Godsend. No one else really wants to take the time to teach this. 💕 Bless your soul!
Thanks for doing a vid for rookies, you made it very easy to understand and have saved the lives of lots of emt !
Quality video. It's one thing to be good at something and another to be able to teach that skill in a clear and informative way. I'm an electrician in London, mainly doing restoration work on old properties so I have no experience of steel conduit other than what I did at college. I'm about to start work on a barn conversion (that will have an industrial look) so need to refresh my old brain with these skills. I'm sure I'll mess up more than I get right but this video was a great help. Thank you.
This video was exactly what I needed, thank you brotha!!!
Being in the Elevator Trade, we do a lot of electrical work. Especially in our machine rooms. Lots of pipe bending going on. Going to go buy me some pipe, a bender and some beer to practice. Thank you so much for the pointers and for taking the time to make the video!
Get the ugly book too , there's a lot of information on how to bend pipe
Lol elevator guys emt work is the most brutal shit I’ve ever seen
Thanks for taking the time to drop some knowledge onto us bro we appreciate it🤘🤘🤘
Thanks, it's been a while since I bent pipe. You got me up to speed again.👍
I have bent my fair share of pipe over the last 50 years, (RET). Nice simple and effective demonstration here. Kudos!
I'm going to take a little pipe bending test today for an automation controls company. I watched this to brush up on my bending and it's absolutely simple and spot on brother. I love your videos and thank you for making them. You make teaching my assistants much easier. The sad truth, though, you can either bend pipe or you can't. Doesn't matter how good the teacher is. 😂
My man 100 grand! You're really the man Dustin! I've been watching your videos since 2019 and they helped me excel in school and now I've been a commercial electrician for about 8 months now and I find myself referencing a lot of videos more and more. I truly appreciate it!
I’ve haven’t bent conduit yet but always really impressed when I see runs of EMT in uniform and looking neat
Dude so hilarious. Love the helper analogies. We've all been there hahaha
Hey bro, Thank you, I’m inspired to be just like you. I was about to start my pre-apprentice program as an electrician but Covid-19 cancelled all my plans . Anyways, much respect to you sir, watching from Philippines.
Thank you, what a big help for me running some boxes in my garage.
Great video. Using the wire to visualize the bends is a great tip. Thanks for passing it along and giving that dude a shout out!
I am amazed that you do tutorial video with full gears on your waist!
Garry’s trick is about to make me a professional pipe bender
I always have problems bending pipe,thanks alot.Your informative,and you speak construction lingo.Keep up the good work!!
I like this clear realistic instructions. Bending pipe is electrician 101 but the very fundamental mental and physical workout. Solid stuff. Thanks!
Outstanding video. You would be great if you had your own cable television show! Thank you for this video.
We are on this currently so I’m using your videos to learn lol
Man I love this guy. I swear him giving the anecdotes of which direction to bend - I had that exact experience many times lol.
Thank you for this great video. Never bent conduit before. The first piece had a box offset a 10 degree offset and a 80 degree bend to continue along the ceiling.
It's a pleasure viewing a true craftsman's work, someone that takes pride in their particular craft, and the end result is something you can be proud that your NAME is on that job!
Barr B 👍👍👍
Awesome content man. An eye opening moment for me was coming to the realization that the trig/multipliers for bending offsets are applicable to bending kicks too. If you need to kick a 90 to hit a knockout or any other precision situation, you can measure the distance you need to kick, choose an angle to bend it with, and use the corresponding multiplier for that angle to determine where to mark your pipe in relation to the 90. If the measurement you arrive at doesn't fit the situation, choose a more/less severe angle depending on the amount of travel desired and repeat. Thanks for all your effort towards demystifying the trade.
One of best videos I've seen for conduit bending!
Yo Dustin, right? Watched this video 2 years ago and offsets could not be easier. Level on bender, perpendicular. Double distance. Comes out perfect everytime. LIFEHACK ElectricalTrick! Thank you my friend, wire trick everything. With these tricks ANYBODY can bend pipe. It's crazy how many people don't know about this ! Thanks buddy
Love this guy- has helped me so far in my electrical career. I am about a year and a half in. Just changed from residential to commercial and industrial and it is very large shit! So I am in a new world now so here I am trying to not look like a idiot bending pipe and make it look good too😂😄
I'm currently enrolled in an electricity class at my local career and technical school that prepares us for work in the electrical field, mainly electricians, so this is extremely helpful, thank you!
Electrical courses from college are useless unless you want to be a EE. Go thru an apprenticeship!
Sadly the competition in Chicago makes finding an apprenticeship difficult. I tried through the union too
Hey man. Great pointer when talking about those off sets. When you want to bend an off set down the first bend is up and vice versa. Very helpful little hint.
Great video man, so glad you showed that you can use the inside of the handle to adjust a 90, so many electricians forget or just don’t know about that, teach your apprentices properly 💪👍
All electricians should take pride in their work and follow: NEC Article 110.12 "Mechanical Execution of Work. Electrical equipment shall be installed in a neat and workmanship manner." Good videos, thank you for lining up all your bends and keeping the couplings in a line. It may end up using a bit more pipe but it makes everything look professional and the customer appreciates it too which means more business comes your way. Good job with the videos looking forward to watching some more.
Look at the gaps in the pipework in the thumbnail, the way it wanders back & forth. If I was running the job it wouldn't fly.
This is so helpful. As a new apprentice It's nice to be able to think about this stuff with out my foreman yelling at me to hurry up. Haha
Hahah yup, eventually you will be dreaming about a full day work before waking up and having to go to work
Hurry up every chance you get! (Hums Jeopardy theme song)
Exactly, most journeymen are not natural teachers and this type of video really puts guys like us ahead
Fr my foreman always on my ass tellin me to move faster, like damn you want me to sprint everywhere?
@@tahorodriguez7530 tell him grab his tools to help u move faster
Wow what a great teacher...clear and concise.
I've learned a lot from this awesome training that you are so qualified at doing. Thx again
The wire trick is a good one for sure. Helps with the mind f***
26:18 LMAO this sequence was hilarious cause it's true.. damn good tutorial. Thanks for taking the time! Rookies like me appreciate it
it was hilarious for me too I did just what he was saying
Thank You, for the helpful understanding of a Conduit bender that I’ve always dreaded having to use.
Well done, man! You have a great teaching style! You make conduit bending interesting, approachable and fun! I love that you fly the f-bomb in great form and style! Keep up the great work!
thank you been waiting for this video for a while
If you’re an apprentice best video on KZhead you can watch
Gino Romero I agree ☝️
first week in and have been studying videos everyday. whatever it takes to develop my skills quicker i will do.
yes i like this video.
proud of you for teaching pride and ending with talent GREAT JOB
By FAR the best beginner EMT bending video on the tube. Thank You
Excellent video, thank you very much! Not many people like giving up their secrets, they consider them job security. To me, that just means THEY have insecurities. I like helping people as much as I can as well. Learning by our mistakes is a great thing, but mistakes cost money in time and in material. You did a great job teaching us, and a greater job giving up YOUR time...
Passing on knowledge is great, it’s rewarding and satisfying. But teaching the fundamentals is very important. When making an offset or kick Eyeballing it is BS, he should be teaching multipliers and shrinkage and stop saying the math changes depending on the conduit you’re bending. It’s the same. This video was disappointing
Great explanation of bending US-style. Very nice to see and i'm glad, as a dutch electrician, that we 98% work with pvc and only 2% steel. We used to have steel, but that was about 50 years ago. Nowadays we use steel only in special applications, like shielded circuits or if we need support where we can't place a bracket. This way of bending is only used in central heating overhere. Your way is much more efficient and easier too handle. I'm going to look for this type of bendingiron in the Netherlands. Yours is only 1 part, while ours is 2 parts (1 of 2 is always missing :) ). Advantage of our system is that you can bend in the air, but advantage of your system is that you have more leverage because yours is longer and you can use your bodyweight.
In the United States you can't have PVC in a building cause when it burns it's let's off toxic fumes.. lol they need to catch up
@@flametraincbd4573 use halogen free pipes
@@flametraincbd4573 not true, I have done jobs in pvc. Like aquariums, and few hotels on the coast.
Extremely informative as usual. Can not go wrong watching your videos, thanks. Tony
Your video is awesome. I've learned so much from you as you are very thorough with your demonstrations and your explanation. Thank you for taking your times to create these videos. I just found your videos and I now have watched 3 of your videos. Keep up the good videos. Again thank you.
This is why you are hands down the best electrician on KZhead! Cheers from an LA Sparky.
Thank you for this video!
Daniel T two years in the making but I just found out my boyfriend is gay
I’m 17 turning 18 in August I am beginning my apprenticeship in a few weeks from now, these videos and codes help a lot! Greatly appreciated.
Thank you for providing this content. Your channel is helping me alot man. 7 months in and love it but the old school mechanic don't teach much where I'm at 😁
Honestly was looking for videos like this about three months ago without any avail. Its like you do the research yourself to see whats not out there and then make it a point to get the information out to us. Keep up the hard work man.
Lol I wish I could say I was that smart. I just collect comments and do what people ask for. More often I just do what comes to mind. Either way though I’m glad you got some value from it my dude!
One suggestion when bending a kick is to plan it, choose an angle and calculate an actual bend point. It saves a lot of back & forth, starting too close and needing a sharper bend, hitting other obstacles and it's repeatable. Plus knowing the actual angle helps to know when you've hit four 90s.
You have a talent for teaching man. I’m a total beginner and your video was integral to me learning the basics. Thank you!
This video Go Hard af!! This is probably the best refresh I have seen.. Thanks MyDude 💯
Yup, I've wasted some serious pipe getting spun around. Nice video.
Great video brother.
Pretty much the only electrical video I've seen that is done right and makes sense. I'm gonna use your wire technique, that's a really cool trick.
Thanks for this video. I started back up doing electrical and HVAC this week and its been years since i bent pipes. Damd near every one i did looks like a first year apprentice did it lol
Dustin is the greatest ......ever!!!!
Good Video brother.
This was by far the best explained video I have came across. Thank you very much!
I love your style, very clear, funny and concise. Good job!
Great video! @27:10 If you were doing this for real, wouldn't you need to measure from the 90° behind you to get the offset in the correct place?
Personally when stubbing I like to go an inch or two from the end, I have squished the end a little and a connector wouldn’t sit. I’m really enjoying your podcast on Journey 2 Master, working on new content?
i always go back AT LEAST the width of the pipe I'm bending.
Same
Glad to hear you push for quality , thanks for the advice on buying a bundle of pipe and party down
great teacher . never seen some one more knowledgeable than you in this field. . thanks
Solid video, but you gotta follow up with 3 point saddles and 4 points too
he doesnt know how
@@andrewsweetman4305 lol
As well as concentric 90s...
@@MrWaalkman am i the only one who thinks concentric 90s are soo last year?
@@eddiew2325 They were soo last year back in the 70's. :) Back then, If you were going to do them you had to learn it on your own.
Just a tip I use all the time....use 30 degrees when ever possible,easy pulling wire, put your level on the bender handle,bend till your handle plumb. 30 degree every time and no over or under bends.
Ian Myers Yep I was taught that by my dad , he is a retired electrician.
Works every time
Close enough, as long as the floor is level.
Also easy multiplier for offsets. 2" rise just multiply times 2 for measuring arrow marks. easier to figure than 45's which are 1.4 multiplier or 22's which is 2.6 multiplier. I use 30 degree unless the distance between offsets wont work.
Not all benders are 30° plumb just fyi...but yes 30s are easy and most used good tip!
Thanks a lot and I like so much the way you guide and contribute your knowledge to others. Keep it up.
Maybe one the best 45mins and 1sec of my life. 🙏 thank you for the education.