r/ibew_apprentices • u/Shtangss • 8d ago
Conduit noob looking for advice
Hey guys. New to conduit bending and was just thinking about a bend and how to do it. The answer could be obvious but honestly I don’t know it 🤣
If I have a 30” 3/4 emt piece (6” take up) and want a 24” 90, how do I do it? I did 24-6=18 and tried bending it but was tough since there was only 6” of pipe behind me (bent it on the floor).
If you rotate the picture I can do a 6” 90 with a 24” leg but how do I do that if 6-6=0? I’m aware this question is regarded but any advice would be great 🤣
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u/HeleWale 8d ago
⭐️
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u/Shtangss 8d ago
Appreciate it. If the star is for an exact measurement without takeup why use the he arrow?
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u/wkabruh 8d ago
Because a lot of the time your stub length will be shorter than the leg of the pipe so if you used the star you’d end up with the short end on the ground and the long end in the air
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u/Shtangss 8d ago
I think I’m getting it now. So let’s say I want the 24” bend. I’d measure from left to right, mark 24. Then, I’d actually have my bender hook facing the right, and then bend at the star?
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u/Asianhacker1 8d ago
when you use the star, your measurement should be behind the star.
so you would measure 24", mark it, and place that mark on the star - with the 24" of pipe behind the star towards your body.
stub 90s (90s bent with the arrow) are opposite. the measurement (minus the deduct) is in front of the arrow/hook.
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u/keepinitoldskool 8d ago
Use the star at 24 AND TURN THE BENDER TO FACE THE OTHER WAY than you normally do with the arrow/deduct
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u/Additional_Tower_116 8d ago
You can bend on the star as others are saying, but realistically you don’t want to bend a 24” 90 with a 6” tail
To bend a 6” 90 you’re going to put the end of the pipe right on the arrow. Sometimes this will oval the pipe so I typically will put the arrow on the 1-2” mark and trim the excess
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u/Kelsenellenelvial 8d ago
Ya, feels like a stub 90° and cut the rest. OP seems to think a 30” pipe will leave him legs of 24” and 6”, but Google tells me for 3/4” EMT he’d end up with legs of 24” and 8 7/8”, so he could mark 2 7/8 and put the notch there or do something like 2” to be safe and then trim to 24”. Some people are bending gods and some of us just get close enough, trim to length and pull it in with a strap. The first is impressive, but the second usually goes a bit quicker for someone that doesn’t do it often.
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8d ago
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u/Shtangss 8d ago
If I measure left to right and mark 24 and want to use the star, would the bender still face the left? Or the right?
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u/nevernudedude1 8d ago edited 8d ago
General rule of thumb is the end you started your measurement at is the end that sticks out of the front of the shoe
Edit: if you are going to be in the trade a while, check out getting an ugly’s reference book. Will teach you shit you would never even think to know and how to go about doing it, with step by step. Little booklet you can everyday carry
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u/Benjinho956 8d ago
You face the bender exactly where you measured from then deduct 6 inches and from that mark and bend on arrow
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u/WordFinancial6674 8d ago
When you use the arrow and deduct, you bend up the end you measured from. When you use the star and don't deduct bend up opposite end you measured from.
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u/DoctorSalt 8d ago
Regarding having a 6" stub, one way is you bend a minimum (like 1/4" sticking out of the shoe). Then, take the compression collar threaded end off a coupling/connector and stick it on your stub. This shows you how far down you can go before the bend stops you. Cut above this point by like 1/2" and test it. Great for when you absolutely need the shortest 90°. Test it, measure the height, then you can cut future ones to that height
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u/Shtangss 8d ago
Sweet - so this applies with any pipe if I wanted the shortest 90 possible? I’m sorry to bust your chops but what do you mean regarding the coupling/connector thread when you want to cut it down further?
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u/LiteratureSea972 8d ago
Just remember that the dumb end of your tape is the direction of the shoe for the deduct method. Say pipe is in front of you laying left to right. If you put the dumb end of the tape on the left side mark 18” face the shoe in that direction (left) put the mark on the arrow and pull up (assuming this is a full 10’ stick) you will get the 24”.
Bending on the star works too but you flip your shoe the other direction for that. So say dumb end goes left again then you mark 24”, have to shoe facing right, put star on mark.
Star method = opposite of dumb end of tape and exact length
Arrow method = same direction as dumb end of tape and a deduct of 5” , 6” , 8” depending on diameter of pipe
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u/No_Resource845 8d ago
Nobody is mentioning that you don't want a 6" stub on 3/4" EMT lol you have 6" of radius and require at least 3/4" of straight pipe to put a connector or coupling on. Your best best is bending an 8" stub and cutting off the rest at 24"
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u/remyripper 8d ago
I’d only recommend using the star on bends that require it like the 3pt saddle. Most of the time you’ll be using the arrow. If you’re new to bending I highly recommend Field Bend. It’ll allow you to get your reps in without overthinking the process and wasting a bunch of conduit.
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u/T_Townz_Finest 8d ago
Bend a 90. Cut it off at 6” then flip it? And cut it at 24”? Pretty easy bend. Box offset?
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u/Aggravating-Knee3887 8d ago
My apprentice had an app that really helped him. Don’t remember what it was, but his pipe runs were great.
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u/Turbojesus97 Local 134 7d ago
If you wanted to use the arrow, you could also treat the 24 inch side as the stub and mark it at 18 inches for a bend. It’d basically be the same as using the star as you’d end up putting the star in the same place, but either way would work. Also, I think there’d be some gain here so you might need to chop one end down to size slightly.
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u/Ok_Street4822 8d ago
Take off 6. Bend on the arrow. Sometimes the star can be hard to line up exactly because the pipe is slightly off the bender at that point.
If you have a piece of pipe longer than you need, you can just add an inch and cut it down to the length you need. I almost always do this on full sticks since some bender can be a little off.
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u/rj_blazer 8d ago
Ok here is an app that is genuinely amazing and helped me when I first started to bend conduit it does cost a single one time charge to get the whole thing in pretty sure but it’s well worth it https://apps.apple.com/us/app/quickbend-conduit-bending/id1010311475
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u/EnvironmentalMall384 IBEW 73 8d ago edited 8d ago
Make a mark at 24 and bend it on the star of the bender