Bergen Professional Pipe Bending Pliers 1/4″, 3/16″, 5/16″, 3/8″
This is a very simple tool and will not take long to discuss to be honest. They are very simple and just by the picture alone you can see what they do!
So they cost between £10 – £15 more if your unlucky. There are some sellers out there that have a blow moulded case for the tool to keep it all together for almost double the price, but as I have a Snap-On large tool cabinet they will all be kept together and I wont lose any parts.
This pipe bending tool bends copper and steel tubing without kinking the pipe itself. The tool comes with the heavy handles and two round roller adaptors that are able to bend pipe sizes 1/4″, 3/16″, 5/16″ and 3/8″ in diameter.
Principle:
The tool works just like a pair of pliers of a central pivot point. The pipe is placed at the top under the two stops on the right hand side of the jaws, and the left hand side will push up into the pipe from the left hand side to make the bend. The long handles make the action of bending the tool easy. For different sizes of pipe there are two round roller adaptors. This is slightly misleading as the adaptors do not actually roll. The Adaptor is removed via a nut on the jaw and simply lifts off. Underside of the adaptor is a hole that locates on the jaws to hold it in place and select the correct pipe size you need. Each adaptor is in two halves for a size on each side: 3/16″ & 1/4″, the other is 5/16″ and 3/8″ of an inch.
Usage:
these can be used on and of the car. The fact that the handles are long in order to get good leverage on the bend they can get in the way in tight spaces when you need to bend towards a corner. But having said that, you can pre-form pretty much most of it before it fitted to the car. the tool is made of heavy steel for the action part of the tool and a couple of contoured polished steel riveted onto the jaw sections. All held in place by a single nut and a self locking nut. In theory you can tighten or loosen the jaws together. Not that I would recommend it. This centre part will take all the load of the bend at the time, time will tell if it holds out. The fact that the likes of Mr Weekend Mechanic (reference to me here), will probably never wear them out. But I would have prefered to see a more substantial central pivot in place.
Pros:
A very solid tool that will do its job well.
Good value for money.
Essential requirement for steel fuel pipes and brake lines.
Cons:
Not to happy about the centre pin, it will last I expect but almost looks like an after thought.
Long handles can get in the way in tight spaces.
Tight bends in opposite directions could be an issue when trying to fit into the jaws. (Not that I have had this issue so far).
Summary:
Working with soft copper 3/16″ brake lines these aren’t really a necessity, but to get a nice 90deg angle these are just the job. For steel and more substantial pipe work these will be the order of the day, as putting a kink in the middle of a pipe like that will cost you money and drive you mad. Thought will need to be given about what bends are required and where in order to get the most out of them, as always Common sense again prevails. A good addition to a tool box if you plan on doing these sort of jobs.
Not Impressed At All, Some Thing Else To Fill Up The Tool Box
You Cannot Get Tight Bends, The Adaptors Determine The Size Of Bend, So The Tightest Bend You Can Do Is No Good For Brake Pipes , Micro bore Etc, & It Wont Even Do An 180 Degrees Bend You Have To Continue Bending It By Hand
This Needs To Go Back To The Drawing Board, Needs Smaller Adaptors & Adjustable Stops Then It Would Be Very Useable 4/10
Thanks for the comment. I certainly agree with you, there are better tools for more money. As I mentioned and as you say – ok for gentle bends not good for tight bends, and that’s about it. Solid for most part though, for the cost of them – they represent good value.