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Brad S
04-01-2009, 08:38 AM
I have my tube bender and now I need some thoughts on mounting it. I have a large shop with a concrete floor and I was wondering if it would be possible to drill into the existing concrete and sink anchor or lag bolts down into the concrete to mount the tube bender stand to. Would this method support the torque on the bender stand or would it cause stress on the concrete?

I know the other option is to always dig a hole and pour new concrete, but if possible I'd like to avoid the extra cost.

Thoughts, suggestions?

paulkeith
04-01-2009, 09:20 AM
I've done this twice. Get a good hammer drill and a good drill bit and you can drill through concrete *relatively* easily. It'll take a good while though.

The first time I did it just put in standard lag bolts that left thread protruting from the concrete to set the bender on. (style on the left)
http://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/115/gfx/large/97046ac1wl.gif

in action, you can kinda see it:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j234/paulkeith/cars/buggy/tube/Img_0917.jpg

The second time I did it I opted for the lag anchor style that ends up flush with the concrete and has female threads within the concrete as it was in a driveway and 2" of 1/2" bolt sticking out of the concrete wouldn't have worked well.
http://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/115/gfx/large/92405ac1l.gif


The protruding deal is simpler to use if you're going to be moving the bender ever because with the flush style lags I have to spend about 25 minutes cleaning out the holes to get the bolts to grab.

You can also jackhammer a hole and repour with a piece of reciever tubing into the concrete, this then becomes a multi-use mount point and anything you can mount some receiver tube on can be set up in that location....bench grinder, notcher, stripper pole, etc.

Another option is to build a stand for your bender that will slide into a hitch on your truck/suv/prius. This represents the ultimate in portability and versatility...you can loan your bender out more easily(read: pay for it), mount it whereever you may need it by moving the truck, etc. Cam uses his bender with this type of mount.

I've also seen them mounted on trailers by just bolting them to the wooden deck or welding receiver tubing onto the frame of the trailer somewhere.

Last you can install a basic air over hydro kit on your bender and then you don't need a mount at all, just a bender cart.

I've also tried pouring the concrete with allthread set in the bender stand pattern already in place, but that failed miserably because we didn't locate them stiffly enough. They just ended up being impalement hazards for the rest of the time.

werd.
Paul

SB406
04-01-2009, 10:30 AM
ILast you can install a basic air over hydro kit on your bender and then you don't need a mount at all, just a bender cart.


WINNER.
That's what I did. It's mounted to an 8-lug wheel.

Brad S
04-01-2009, 11:41 AM
Good information. +Rep for the info.

I'm not going to hydro yet because I'm not sure how much I will use this right away. Not sure I want to put the extra cash into it right now, but definitely a sweet setup.

I will probably go with the lag bolts that stick up above the ground. I realize that they are an annoyance when you take the stand off, but there is quite a bit of dirt and dust in the shop where the stand will be so I'm afraid those female lags would vanish in a hurry...

Brad S
04-01-2009, 11:43 AM
After re-reading - wouldn't the hitch mounted setup allow for a ton of wiggle?

BigDaveZJ
04-01-2009, 11:43 AM
Would you not just be able to put a bolt or some type of plugs in the female lags to keep crap out? Figure a bolt head sticking out isn't that bad.

Brad S
04-01-2009, 11:44 AM
Would you not just be able to put a bolt or some type of plugs in the female lags to keep crap out? Figure a bolt head sticking out isn't that bad.

True that, good point - may go that route after all...

chadjans
04-01-2009, 11:49 AM
1/2" drop in's.

http://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/115/gfx/large/97083ac1l.gif

ATL ZJ
04-01-2009, 12:13 PM
Another option is to build a stand for your bender that will slide into a hitch on your truck/suv/prius. This represents the ultimate in portability and versatility...you can loan your bender out more easily(read: pay for it), mount it whereever you may need it by moving the truck, etc. Cam uses his bender with this type of mount.

This works well IF you have a truck bed... On bends that are a long way into the length of a tube, there is a lot of tube protruding from the bender. Obviously it would be hard to use a ZJ- mounted bender because the liftgate would get in the way.



Last you can install a basic air over hydro kit on your bender and then you don't need a mount at all, just a bender cart.

Mine is on loan now at a friends' shop and I understand they are converting it to hydro. Probably a good idea in the long run.

paulkeith
04-01-2009, 12:26 PM
Would you not just be able to put a bolt or some type of plugs in the female lags to keep crap out? Figure a bolt head sticking out isn't that bad.

Yeah, probably should do that just to save myself the trouble. Its my dad's shop though and he does use that pad for creepers, so I try to make my presence as transparent as possible...


After re-reading - wouldn't the hitch mounted setup allow for a ton of wiggle?

There would be wiggle, yes...but I'd imagine you could find ways around that. A bolt to tighten the fit, shims, etc.

ATL ZJ
04-01-2009, 12:42 PM
It is actually pretty stable as shown.. Feels about 80% as stable as a concrete-mounted setup.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/atlzj/Jeep/DSCI0126.jpg

Brad S
04-01-2009, 10:57 PM
So I was looking through that site and I see two different types of anchors:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#drop-in-anchor-installation-tools/=19hn7f (http://www.mcmaster.com/#drop-in-anchor-installation-tools/=19hn7f)

The first being the screw anchors which Dave pictured:

http://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/115/gfx/large/97083ac1l.gif

and the second being the easy-set screw anchors, 2 below that one:

http://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/115/gfx/large/92915ac1l.gif

The screw anchors state that they would be used for overhead hanging - would the easy-set screw anchors work just as well? (They don't require the 'special tool' is why I ask) I'll probably go with 1/2" as I'm making my own bender stand.

paulkeith
04-02-2009, 08:45 AM
The bottom one i showed you doesn't require a tool either. I bought them at lowes. Drill the hole, tap them into the hole, tighten them, done. Then you can take the bolt out, slap your bender stand in place, and retighten the bolt. They appear to be essentially the same as your top item, but come with the bolt and washer and don't need an installation tool.

nate
04-03-2009, 01:48 PM
Whatever you get, don't get the ones with teh studs that stick out. I had a pole to protect my gas line in the garage mounted with tha tsetup. Pulled it off a few days ago and in that time frame banged my toes on there prolly a dozen times.

San Juan Grand
04-03-2009, 11:45 PM
These have always worked well for me.

http://www.simpsonanchors.com/catalog/mechanical/titen-hd/index.html

Brad S
04-04-2009, 01:07 AM
I stopped at Lowes today on the way home and found just what I wanted:

4 bolts and anchor set - 2 1/4" (l) x 1/2" (w) plus a cheap 1/2" drill bit for like $8 or $9.

I'll try to post up a pic tomorrow.

nate
04-04-2009, 04:28 PM
Will need to use a hammer drill if you don't already know that. If the slab is fairly green it's not too bad to drill.

Brad S
04-04-2009, 07:32 PM
Drilled my holes today, as well as built my bender stand, and inserted the female anchors I bought.

Conclusion: Anchor made in china = the fail.

I had more trouble with those stupid things... Anyways, I followed the instructions by inserting the anchor, tapping it into the hole flush, tightening up the bolts, and then removing the bolts to add the stand. Only problem was that the bolts threaded back on part way and then started jumping threads or something. Long story short the "nut" part ended up falling out of 3 of them apparently and wouldn't ever thread back on. The hardware store close to the shop only carried the male version :pissed:.

I will post up pics of how it ended up today, I probably will end up changing it if I happen to move the bender a lot.

What a day - hate it when stuff doesn't go as planned!!

Brad S
04-05-2009, 03:05 PM
Here's a few pictures of the stand I built. I welded on a bolt to hang dies on when I'm not using them, but that may get cut off if I don't like it or if it is in the way...

http://lapuww.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pejAysbb7K5vcPlIuN_Tg08gwBb0e--lsYw3OvaRJOHsfdsoCfT1PBD0wWI0pM_1Xruyq1MjHHXsq7lhC z3gdEF72FCkZ5I9q/BenderStand-01.jpg

http://lapuww.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pmzIT6RxjcSKFugjgruFPIPXp88jDZzKixtbp1nTfWbIMB81 CTmR0xBE-qL63Efv7g70eacm-7Y67m2TOpJdFsJ-Dbuob4D_R/BenderStand-02.jpg

http://lapuww.blu.livefilestore.com/y1psaypInxI9lx4a8csvBv8rS8buAZytoLLzMWoYTbau4RUQVk JAPRTPZg26dmdyu7eK5dHuDfOMbhCiB3j_DG1yfaHYaJFOU0x/BenderStand-03.jpg

And mounted up - it is fairly out of the way.

http://lapuww.blu.livefilestore.com/y1psaypInxI9lyyeMF4oVpaJ73jmENw99tFw6i1BEq2YXj2oqm IDDcRrjm14bCUBsHC2t6_yqz-rzgKTeYkJC17kCDKYdxQXfNm/BenderStand-Mounted.jpg