The Steel Guitar Forum

Can anyone tell me where I can get the tool that bends the rods. I see some pedal steel guitars that have undercarriages that have pull rods with sweet precise bends. What tool does this and where can I get one?

Thanks
Dwight

I believe many bending jigs are just a pair of stout pins set in the table, often with grid lines.
I think Steve Gunder uses something kinda like a sheet metal brake, but those become unfeasible for complex bends.

But I need to know how these things are set up, so I could do my own bending accurately and clean. Thanks

Here is a link to a commercial bender:

http://www.diacro.com/product-category/ ... l-benders/

There are as many ways to bend rods as there are people. You will have to search and see what fits your needs and pocketbook.

A cam lever arrangement with some alignment pins is an easy way to get started if your budget and use is limited.

Search this:
DIY wire bending machine


Robert

One friend of mine put steel pins into a enlargement cutter (like a paper cutter, but with a better set of grid lines: one set of pins to guide a 45 degree bend that exited down the grooves, and another set to give a right angle.

How much bending do you need to do?
I see some steels with no bends, other than possibly where it connects to the pullers and a vise would do that.

My Franklin has a couple of rods bent at the changer end to make them parallel but those were done by hand since it uses aluminum pull rods. My wife's GFI Expo S-10 doesn't have any bent pull rods.

I have one of these. It's only a single-radius tool, but will work fine for most of what we have to do for pedal steel rods. If necessary, the radius can be made smaller, or "tightened up", using just a hammer and vise.

http://www.micromark.com/vise-mounted-w ... ,7044.html

I use a vise

Jim,
Yes, a vise and a hammer works for me.

I just drilled a hole "the correct depth for the bend" in top of my little bench vise. Stick rod in hole, use hammer to form bend. Makes all bends the same.

A right angle bend is simple. A bend such as that on a Carter pull rod is harder to accomplish. That bender looks like a neat idea.
Jerry

I am working on a BMI and it has a double changer. From the factory, just about all of the rods have some kind of angle in them, then you have the tip that connects to the bell crank that has the 90 degree bend( which would be no problem), it's the other angles and bends I want to achieve.
Thanks

Dwight

When I worked for Brightman at Performance Guitars, he had a steel block with a hole drilled in it to the correct depth. I used a woodworker's dead-blow hammer. Dense plastic with lead shot inside. Didn't deform the rods like a steel hammer might. Avery handy hammer, useful in many ways!
https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywo ... amnqlqrf_e

You can cut and bend 3/32" rod with even lightweight pliers. To cut it, make a groove with the pliers (you can't cut all the way through)then bend back and forth and it will snap.

Bending is best in a vise or hole drilled in something solid but in a pinch..........

I did bend my knee lever about 45 degrees once using my Kitchen Door jamb. It is 3/8" x 1/2" solid Aluminum.

I learned this from Tom @ Sierra. Just drill some holes in a heavier piece of metal(anvil), the depth you want your 90% to be. 1/4 or so. Use a drill press or a guide to make sure you get a perfect 90%.
Drill the holes in all the standard rod sizes from 3/32 up to 1/8th". I stick the rod in the hole then start banging the rod over with a ball peen hammer as close to the hole as possible. This method keeps the bearing surfaces in pristine condition and gives you a nice tight bend. RP

I have never tried this, but go to Harbor Freight, or a Auto Parts store, and get a bender that can bend automobile brake lines. That should do about what you want. Any 90 degree bends, use a vise, and hammer.

WOW...that bender above that Donnie posted looks like the ticket at a really fair price!

A strong Vise + Hammer

Just FWIW, I've been adding some rods to an MCI and updating some things on the Cougar this week. One of the bends at the crank is about 1/4" long. I went with some music wire as pictured here that I bought from a hobby shop and just bent/hammered same as always. I fractured 2 rods at the bend in the process which eventually failed. I had to heat the remaining ones for good results. This makes a pretty good case for a bender tool to me. Of course I could have some inferior metal, but it would seem the shock from the pounding may have been too much for this stock.

This is 3/32 or .09375 music wire from precision metals. Just a heads up.

I can bend 3/32" rod and cut it with cheap pliers. you can also notch it to receive a clip with pliers.

A tighter bend can be done with a vise.

Dwight, I've had a couple of the double changer BMIs, I think the most important thing to do is plan your bends very carefully. If you don't, you will end up with the rods interfering with each other. I would start by doing the rods that need the most extreme bends first. each rod requires quite a bit of work because they need to be tapered to fit the bellcrank holes. I don't think you need any special tools, just a lot of thought and planning. Good luck.

Vice + hammer, spelled differently over here to encourage misunderstanding.

To make U-shaped hooks (e.g. for pedal rods) I made a miniature version of the bending tool that plumbers use for copper tube. It can bend 3/16" steel rod through 180 deg.to a 3/16" inside diameter. I also used it to put the hooks on the ends of the changer pull rods of my home-build, which works a lot like a Kline.

I made new pedal rods. I got 1/8" steel rod at Lowes. Heated it with torch and bent it. Did a little hand grinding on the bend to make it fit. I cut it to length then ran a die on the end. Works great

I just made 5 new peddle rods for my MSA today also..went to hardware and got 5 three ft. pieces of 10-32 allthread..$2.50 each..bent the hook for top in vice..had to use a lot of TLC when bending..a couple snapped off..then measured for length and cut off and screwed on the quick release connectors on other end.Nothing wrong with old ones..just made guitar about 2 1/2 inches to tall for me.