Ford Bronco rock crawler

[ScratchStart]

As far as benders go I like the JD2 stuff, but JMR just released the sportsman bender. It is pretty bare bones, but the price tag is lite too.

check it out. I have never had a mandrel style bender, is there anything I should be afraid of with this thing? any considerations? I'm not worried about a stand, this is a welding forum, or a handle for that matter, but I'd appreciate any input/advice.

http://www.jmrmfg.com/store/JMR-Spor...Manual-Bender/
it does not come with the stand, handle or dies.


What sizes of dies do you have, I know I want a 1 3/4" tubing die, just wondering what else you have found handy?

How hard is it to use the bendtech software? I always wondered how accurate it was/ how easy it was to find the beginning of your bend for each bender? I have checked out the trial version, and it does look sweet.

my pan hard bar does have a little movement, I'm gonna build a new one maybe use some ballistic joints or something, the stock bushings are shot, and I tried rod ends 1 time(they wore out faster than the bushings).

I don't know much about the dual fuel propane stuff? does it kill your power? how hard is it to set up? I guess your talkin about using it with a carb? (no electronics) I have 2 or 3 EFI motors laying around, and ford EFI motors are about the easiest to troubleshoot (sorry GM guys, but it is true that ford had the most basic, easiest to understand EFI system in the 90's)

[deranged]

As far as benders go I like the JD2 stuff, but JMR just released the sportsman bender. It is pretty bare bones, but the price tag is lite too.

check it out. I have never had a mandrel style bender, is there anything I should be afraid of with this thing? any considerations? I'm not worried about a stand, this is a welding forum, or a handle for that matter, but I'd appreciate any input/advice.
http://www.jmrmfg.com/store/JMR-Spor...Manual-Bender/
it does not come with the stand, handle or dies.


What sizes of dies do you have, I know I want a 1 3/4" tubing die, just wondering what else you have found handy?

Not a bad looking bender, basically a copy of the JD2 model 3. I haven't had any issues with mine, but make sure to use PLENTY of lube on the die and follower when making a bend. I use white lithium grease in an aerosol can on mine. I checked out the JMR site and noticed one thing that you maybe haven't checked yet, the cost of dies.
Comparison for you -
JMR gets $250 for the bender and $375 for an 1-3/4 die with a 120* of bend.
JD2 gets $300 for the model 3 bender and $260 for the 1-3/4 die with 180* of bend.

JMR - $625 + S&H to make first bend
JD2 - $560 + S&H to make first bend & extra die sets are also cheaper.

The bender from JMR is cheaper but all of their dies sets are a quite a bit more money than JD2 stuff. I would go with the JD2 if it were me, based on cost along. Buy one die set and the JMR becomes more expensive (kinda hard to use without at least 1 die set LOL) buy more sets and JMR becomes a much larger investment.

How hard is it to use the bendtech software? I always wondered how accurate it was/ how easy it was to find the beginning of your bend for each bender? I have checked out the trial version, and it does look sweet.

Bendtech is a little tricky at first, it isn't like your standard CAD system. Once you get used to it it is pretty easy to use. Once you get things drawn out the best part of the software is the process sheets. They give you all the info you need to make the correct bends the first time. The biggest thing with the software is making sure the bender set-up is correct, I would definitely make a few test bends to make sure the finished part matches the sheet before moving on to actual project parts.

my pan hard bar does have a little movement, I'm gonna build a new one maybe use some ballistic joints or something, the stock bushings are shot, and I tried rod ends 1 time(they wore out faster than the bushings).

I don't know much about the dual fuel propane stuff? does it kill your power? how hard is it to set up? I guess your talkin about using it with a carb? (no electronics) I have 2 or 3 EFI motors laying around, and ford EFI motors are about the easiest to troubleshoot (sorry GM guys, but it is true that ford had the most basic, easiest to understand EFI system in the 90's)

Here is a site to check out - http://www.gotpropane.com/ They have a good amount of info on the propane set-up. You would have to switch to a carb set-up, which probably isn't something you would be interested in, but check the site anyway.

[yotarover]

might wanna look into running pane from gotpropane.com he's got some really good deals

[deranged]

Anything new with your rig? Been using it lately, any pics of recent excursions? I was working on mine last night and with all the luck in the world, it should be drivable by the end of may.