UB100 Universal Bar Bender - Mystery Parts

Lots of people I know (well, three really) own the UB100 bar bender but it comes with two mystery attachments that are not documented in the instruction sheet. Nor could I find any information online to explain how they are used. In this video I attempt to postulate on what they might be designed to do. If you know better, please let us know in the comments.

[akbychoice]

Spot on for the extra blocks, really just limited by size and imagination with benders like this.
For the hex wrench, make the cross bar out of another hex wrench for more leverage.

[jimpritz]

Thank you for the video Mark. It's kind of shameful that the people selling this bender don't even know how those mystery parts are used. I suspect most people that own this bender are using them for paper weights like I was. I think your explanations are spot on.

[coopersrace]

Thanks Mark. I am off to buy one today. FYI, I have a small workshop with a welding / assembly bench. I have various bench mounted shears, vices and benders that I like to use but I still need to use the bench for welding. After some thought, I welded 8 of 50mm receiver tubes under the bench top in various locations. Each tube has a couple of bolts under it, threaded through welded on nuts. Now all my equipment is mounted on plates with tubes that slot inside the bench mounted receiver hitches. The effect is similar to a tow bar receiver and hitch. I can choose any location around the bench for any of the equipment or clear everything from the bench in about 60 seconds by loosening two bolts and withdrawing the equipment on its mounting tube. Works a treat!

[markbrzezinski]

My two cents!!!
I don't have the room to leave mine anywhere so I bolted a plate to the bottom with a heavy walled 40mm RHS welded to it at the ends. (At the ends so the welds don't interfere with the jaws of the vice). I just pick up the whole bender stored below my vice and put it in the vice when I need it.
Also you have two Allen key sizes. Not sure why you didn't drill and tap the handle mount from 10 to 12mm. The slot will only be 1mm wider on both sides.
Also you can do the Z bend by putting the handle at 90 degrees and you use the L plate as a spacer to hold the work which is now upsidedown. You bend in reverse moving from 90 degrees to the zero position to achieve the second bend in the reverse direction. This method allows you to choose any distance between the two bends greater than 20mm.
So you are doing the second bend with the edge of the bending plate.

[askquestionstrythings]

As far as I'm aware those tools are as you described. The three most common applications I've seen these eccentric dies used for is making custom U-bolts, handles, and offsets.
Every shop I've been in always had these cold forming benders mounted on a pedestal stand rather than on a bench. Of course the cold forming benders in those shops were the type which had a bazillion different dies and did everything from angles to making hoops with different stock. They were something like a No. 2 Hossfeld Universal Bender style of bender.

[Sturb]

V helpful thanks. Mine arrived today (without a handle for added usage mystery) and this has really saved me time working out how it works. When I get a handle I’ll cut it the same.

[barrymorrisss]

20 years I owned this, never knew. Hope I can find those parts!!

[Info.isfree.openmind]

Wonderful video everyone who watched just about was grateful someone figured it out. I don’t even have a this tool, it was in my suggested. I wrote down the tool info just in case one day I need it and then I save this video for reference.

[ebcf]

Good lord I needed this video two years ago when I got one of these. Haha. I think u’ve figured it out.

[timb.]

I have this machine. Thanks for your video. Yes those parts are a great mystery. Your explaination is clear and logical. Sadly following your reasoning, we are limited to a defined Z bend offset. Too bad if you want to make a more unrestricted "bigger" Z bend... apart from that, it is a useful tool to have.

[olivier]

The lower part in the excentric is to do double zig-zag bends. If you check, it seems that this lower part matches the lower part on the bending plate, so you can fit already bended material to give it more bends. Like bending four times to make a square.

I apologize if my explanations are not clear but I don''t know the names of the part of a bender and English is not my native language.

[kassiedreaneai]

Being an old video you may not ever read this and may already have worked out what that cut away is for on the thin section of the large mystery block but I would say that it is for instead of making your jiggles or whatever you called them {the z shape} they are to make a square U shape or even to go on to make a full square as long as it has long enough sides to wrap around that inch or so of metal. You could make squares them weld up one corner to have a solid square.

[peterheuts]

Hi Mark, just finished rewatching this video and I think I know what the step in the big "mystery"block is for. this is a somewhat older video and there are 97 comments which I haven't all read, so you may know the answer already, but anyhow: my guess is that its function is the same as from the mystery plate, to allow an already made bend to fit in the block. somewhat like a u shape that you want to bend again if that makes sense... Keep up the good work, I have seen most of your videos and love the content. Peter (from the Netherlands)

[gregkieser]

I too would love to know. I have two of these units (one on the farm) and find them I have no idea what that die is used for other than creating 90 degree bends as suggested by you do figure it out, please post a video with the answer....gotta be thousands of owners with the same question.

[mr.a]

Thanks so much for making this video, I bought one of these today. First thing I thought when unpacking it was, "hmm, what are these used for. Not in the manual, better google it."

[benowzinsky]

Thanks mate. I've owned one of these for well over a decade and never figured out what that bit ( which the manual calls a 'bending eccentric seat' ) was for.

[charles]

Mi mark,
thanks for the info, I now know what the extra parts to my bender are for.
the rear cut out for the Eccentric block will be for allowing the fitting of a U shaped bar to be bent. the leg of the U both point in the direction of the handle.

[pgs]

G’day Mark, every time I see one of those I want one, alas I still don’t have one. Now to make an attachment to hold those mystery dies and Hex wrench so it’s all together.
Cheers
Peter

[BrettDalton]

Nice video. Only point I would make is when using the eccentric I would pack the part so your angle is accurate. The top section is for the same thing, making U turns on larger pieces which are too long to use the other die as they would interfere with the handle.

[johnbova]

THANK YOU!!! Had no idea what those parts were for!