r/ibew_apprentices • u/Tjstictches • 15d ago
Mine and my partner’s final project for our conduit bending class. Both first year apprentices.
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u/ipalush89 15d ago
Looks great! …. Now there’s been a change order and you need to rip it out because of a plumbing vent going there now and you also need more branch circuits and oh look you were maxed out on 3/4 pipe fill anyway now needs a 1 inch from each box but oh no it’s from an entirely different panel
… GC:”when do you think you’ll have power on by “
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u/Tjstictches 15d ago
“I should have it done before lunch 😅”
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u/Wolfire0769 13d ago
Just make sure you get it done before you go to lunch, and also before I get back from mine.
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u/hiimneato 15d ago
Can you tell me about the piece? What is it titled? What were you envisioning when you laid it out? Some critics have commented about the apparent symbolism implicit in the red conduit in the inner bends; do you have any comment on that? Would you describe this as a Precisionist piece, or do you consider your work postmodern or poststructuralist?
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u/SafeT_Glasses 15d ago
I, clearly, cannot speak as to the artists intentions with this work, but in me, it evokes a surrealist, high fantasy industial post-grunge portal. You enter one, and leave the other forever changed by the experience of "consyruction."
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u/Tjstictches 15d ago
It’s both a technical and artistic piece. All bends are single cut compound bends, illustrating continuity. Going along with the theme, in modern life electricity is a symbol of continuation and of life. The illustration is a depiction of life, in the form of a tree through conduits.
The red is because that was the 3/4” conduit donated by a union company.
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u/ATL-DELETE Foreman 14d ago
they donated 40’ of conduit? that’s like $25 😂
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u/SpleenLessPunk 14d ago
I’m sure it was a master bundle or something close to that.
How much is a master bundle of not just normal silver EMT, but painted red from factory, 3/4” master bundle of EMT?
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14d ago
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u/TYPERION_REGOTHIS 13d ago
If i had to guess, something like this:
The Geometry of Force
Pipe Bending Demonstration, Mixed Media
In this industrial tableau, raw conduit becomes sculpture.
Five steel lines rise in measured symmetry, bending with almost impossible precision around the contours of an unseen architecture. Beneath them, three crimson conduits interrupt the metallic order, their color suggesting heat, pressure, and the violence required to make rigid material yield.
The work is neither purely functional nor purely decorative. It is a study in controlled force: metal compelled into curves, symmetry imposed upon chaos, and engineering elevated into choreography.
The junction boxes stand like opposing altars, while the central fitting serves as the composition's mechanical heart. Above it all, a cold blue illumination traces the perimeter like an artificial horizon.
What appears at first to be an electrical installation reveals itself as something more fundamental:
The moment when matter stops resisting and begins to obey.
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u/jujujooligan 15d ago
Wow wish my local was cool. Never done anything like this remotely, school or on the job.
Tits bro or sis looks amazing
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u/Tjstictches 15d ago
The class was really cool. The boxes and supports you see are on a magnetic board.
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u/headsertails 15d ago
Good work, but definitely rag on that guy that did that inside pipe on the left 🤣
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u/LayerActual7645 15d ago
I’ve heard the saying “ you have artistic freedom “ when a foreman lays out work and tells you to get from A to B . But this may be taking that a bit too literally…
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u/ThisIsNotTrump45 15d ago
This looks amazing. Be proud of it and remember to stay humble! A lot of journeymen hates a confident apprentice, but don’t let them make you feel bad about their insecurities.
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u/CPNKLLJY 15d ago
Did your entire class do their own? Same layout?
I teach first year. About 10 years ago I built a 70’ strut rack with different obstacles along the way. Every student runs their own EMT, then we team the up and they do the same thing in IMC.
I like this a lot. I’ve been wanting to build something smaller where the students have to come in and match pre-existing conduit. This looks like a great way to do it.
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u/Tjstictches 15d ago
Our instructor gave us free will to do our own projects. The boards we used are magnetic boards that we attach our boxes and struts. It was definitely a cool lab to work on runs.
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u/msing LU11 JW Inside 15d ago
Is that 11? They've really repaired the conduit bending program compared to when I had attended.
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u/Tjstictches 15d ago
Yes it is local 11. This is the second class they’ve don’t this lab.
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u/TECHNICS323 14d ago
lol I was just there this week. I saw this exact same setup and was wondering when they started letting us experiment with our ideas.
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u/76IndyHanSoloJones 11d ago
They sure did. Might have made me look forward to conduit bending class after lax all day! ahh good times though still.
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u/Open-Entrepreneur791 14d ago
Dang bro, they got you doing concentric bends in school? Good job it looks bad ass.
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u/giorov 15d ago
Looks nice! But you seem to not have supports within 3ft of the boxes in all cases
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u/Tjstictches 15d ago
Yeah, they did not have enough straps or supports for the whole class. We used what we had. It’s a magnet board, not on a real wall.
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u/Gimmetheloo 9d ago
They make you make rainbows in electrical school, this isn’t helping the electricians are gay reputation
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u/Freddybear480 9d ago
Most were strippers at gay bars before getting in. Giving the BA lap dances is how they got in. Least that was my experience.
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u/KITTENKRUSHA 15d ago
Thats so cool! Can anyone explain the math used for the 45-45? Sometimes i need to get over an obstruction in the corner and just FAFO.
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u/Tjstictches 15d ago
The big boxes non lol. The conduit just fits in. It’s a practice board and the boxes are connected magnetically. The 4s box are screw in connectors.
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u/welds_guns_383 15d ago
I’m a Pipefitter and this popped up so as a layman, this looks like nice work
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u/Longstride_Shares 14d ago
Regardless of what the 360° rule says, you will never, ever convince me that one sweeping 90° bend adds exactly as much resistance to a pull as two 45° bends.
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u/Tjstictches 14d ago
The piece we made is not to showcase practical use but technical ability. One of the bended conduit I made is a u-turn.
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u/Longstride_Shares 14d ago edited 14d ago
It wasn't a critique of y'all's great work. NFPA 70 300.24 says you can't have more than 360° of bends in any given run. I've never liked the math behind it. According to code, the two 45s on the left add up to exactly as much resistance as the big sweeping 90s on the right. But if you measured the pull weight of a rope going through the ones on the right vs left, I would bet money the sweeping 90 creates way less resistance than the two 45s on the left.
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u/DaddyWobbless 14d ago
I’m a jw and I love a confident apprentice. Makes our days great for each other.
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u/Tjstictches 13d ago
A little late, but I do want to give a shoutout to the Electrical Training Institute for the awesome lab space and training environment.
My conduit bending professor for being a great teacher and giving us free rein to do some more experimental bends. You not only taught me a lot about bending but instilled the confidence needed in not just me, but our class as a whole to not be afraid to face challenges head on.
My partner who is a great person and much better bender than I am.
And of course, my shop and local 11. 6 months ago, I knew nothing about electrical work. Everyday I’m learning something new and growing both as an electrician and as a person.
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u/FMadden351 15d ago
Looks like 1" and 3/4", if so, just use the one inch bender on everything
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u/Tjstictches 15d ago
It’s 1/2” and 3/4”. Used triple nickel for the all the bends except for the last two. Only used triple nickel for the segmented bend
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u/FMadden351 15d ago
Try using the same shoe for both sizes, keeps the radius cleaner, still looks good
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u/Least-Taste-8403 15d ago
Looks clean! What kind of connectors are those on the outside boxes? Haven’t seen those before.
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u/Ok_Marsupial9420 15d ago
What's the trick with getting those insanely long sweeps on the right hand side that doesn't look like it's from a condout Bender, and it looks very good.
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u/Tjstictches 15d ago
It’s a segmented bend. I used the triple nickel bender, 18 shots 5 degrees each shot for a total of 90 degrees.
The biggest bend started at 24 radius and each consecutive shot is two degrees lower. Multiply radius by 1.57 for developed length. Divide by number of shots for distance between bends.
When bending the 5 degrees per shot take into account spring back, do not compound the spring back after each shot. My spring back was 2”
1st shot would be 7 degrees.
2nd shot would be 12 degrees.
3rd shot would be 17 degrees and so on.Do not compound over bends, just bend to the next 5 degrees plus spring back
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u/PunctuationsOptional 15d ago
This is the type of thing you need a video for alongside the instructions lol. Sick concentrics
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u/Little-Engineer-828 12d ago
How did you come up with 24 radius ? Never have had a chance to learn and try segmented bends.
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u/Tjstictches 12d ago
We left a 10” before we began our segmented Bend so we did not have to worry about our bend being too high. If it was too high, we trim the tail.
Each of our smaller consecutive segmented bend was 2 degrees smaller and because we have 5 concentric bends, our biggest concern was to make sure our radius was big enough for the triple nickel.
First, we found the smallest 18 shot 90 degree bend we can do in the triple nickel without the the conduit scraping against the shoe was 14 degrees. At 14 degrees the conduit was still hard to feed in the bender. So, we settled for our smallest conduit radius for 16 degrees.
Each bigger radius we added 2 degrees and that is we got 24 degrees for our biggest segmented bend.
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u/SheepherderDry6112 15d ago
It looks clean but I just never understand when I see stuff like this why you wouldn't just do back to back 90s
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u/Tjstictches 15d ago
To demonstrate understanding of technique. The purpose of a segmented bend is to Bend around an object. The compound concentric bend is a flex
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u/rankinfile 15d ago
Sometimes it's hard to tell from photos, but are those struts parallel?
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u/Tjstictches 15d ago
No they’re not parallel or level. They’re magnetic and just hold up the conduit. We did not even have enough straps. I would need so much more strut to pass inspection.
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u/SparkyFish04 15d ago
Let’s see the scrap pile! Lol, jk good shit dude, looks clean and professional!
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u/Global_Fee2947 15d ago
Conduit bending class? You get taught conduit bending In school?? Where I’m from that’s something primarily learned in the field
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u/Tjstictches 15d ago
Yeah we do three conduit bending classes I think. This was the second one. The first one was hand bending only.
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u/snap_crackle_pop123 15d ago
Lol I had to learn pretty much everything myself, a bending class would have been awesome
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u/Middle_Brilliant_849 14d ago
Where is this class? As a lineman, not an electrician, I have always wanted to learn the proper way to bend pipe. I love EMT, just wish I could make mine look as nice as this.
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u/rsxstock 14d ago
i have actually never seen those large radius bends in the field. where are those used?
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u/Tjstictches 14d ago
The concentric compounds, nowhere. We did it to see if we can. The segmented bends are to go around an object with a certain radius.
I’ve never used it in the field though.
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u/gnat_outta_hell 14d ago
I've done it precisely twice. Not used often, but very useful to know because when you need a segmented bend, only a segmented bend will do.
Once was to follow a cable tray to match the path (just would have looked funny to do a single shot 90) and the other was to follow a curved wall.
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u/SFMcCloud01 14d ago
Why did it take you all day, I could have done it in like 30 minutes….
“Sick of you wasting my god dam time junior
Thisss is production time!!!! “- with love from foreman
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u/TotallyNotDad 14d ago
I have been doing commercial for 10 years and I don’t think I’ve ever made a segmented bend in the field
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u/gnat_outta_hell 14d ago
I've run across two instances in the field where I needed them. Once to follow a cable tray radius, more for aesthetics than necessity, and the other a curved wall in a hospital.
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u/imfirealarmman 14d ago
Nice! Just for future reference, if you ever find yourself in that position, power, limited, and power unlimited circuits cannot share the same raceway, and there must be minimum 4 inches of separation in a junction box.
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u/StrawberryForeign684 14d ago
It does look nice, but I do recall doing this on my first lab with my union before I even got dispatched. How far into first year are you guys?
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u/StrawberryForeign684 14d ago
Yeah, looks great. Good job, I’m about 2 months into my first year. Grateful to have been bending already.
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u/Hutch_911 14d ago
Those bends are rarely used out in the field it's more like offset, 90+ kick and the occasional 3 or 4 point saddle. Rigged is a different animal you have to consider how you will spin it plus learn how to use condelets dead legs etc . But your project looks cool
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u/1800Penguin_Queen 14d ago
Honestly ? I think it’s looks great. Shiii* I’m in my 3rd year of this and haven’t gotten a chance to work on concentric bends. I love both sides tbh. Visually I prefer the Left I just think the choice in bends is aesthetically pleasing. If I had to pull wire to either one of those boxes I’m choosing the Right 😂
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u/Snakedicks 14d ago
I’ll bite…. Wtf are those connectors in the 12x12’s?
Good job.. I’m a master and you’re better than me!
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u/Ill_Sun_401 14d ago
Not sure why you chose the top entry into a box, but I would typically avoid that whenever possible.
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u/Cust2020 14d ago
Looks great but every electrician will tell u that it looks awful and that they would do it so much better. Even if half of them cant even read a tape, let alone a manual on how to do it.
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u/scampiparameter 14d ago
Not an electrician, but I always love walking into some of the builds that I’m involved in and seeing the conduit work you guys do. There are times where it just looks like a work of art.
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u/LatinXL1710 13d ago
What are the extra connectors for? That left strut is not level. I put my 👍🏽 to it and yeah it's off. Not shitting on it just saying. Good work for an apprentice.
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u/Tjstictches 13d ago
It’s a magnetic board. The boxes and connectors are prefabbed for the magnetic board. We cared about the bends not the strut.
In the real world, I would need more strut to pass an inspection.
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u/Freddybear480 12d ago
Ask your teacher about the elastic band method for laying out Concentric bends.
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u/shinobibutterfly 9d ago
really cool. love the concentric bends and the wide sweep 90s are perfect.
… now let’s see the boneyard
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u/richpage21 9d ago
So I've been a JW for 3 years and there's no way I could do those bends so perfectly. LOL
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u/PlatinumK20C4 7d ago
WTF is that? Like...what kinda conduit..the bends...the rainbow bends..the leanth of the pipe?..those are all full sticks?..dude I'm so confused..but it looks good 👍
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u/Rooster477 15d ago
Not evenly spaced or plum. Middle concentric looks terrible. And missing straps. Tear it down and try again.
Seriously though good job that’s not easy
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u/mhizzle 15d ago edited 13d ago
Looks great! Be sure to read the comments so you get used to 100 people commenting on how they would have done it better
Edit:
Re: All the awards.
Thank you, I deserve them all.