Southwire Conduit Bender MCB34
Southwire Conduit Bender MCB34 Review
I still remember my first Electrical job, I was 14 years old and I watched in awe as my boss bent a piece of 1/2” rigid conduit without a tape measure. We were running conduit in a trench that was far to narrow, with way to many bends. It was a fifteen-foot long trench and all the bends were in the last 10 foot section. When my boss was done, all I could think of was how cool the pipe looked, and wondered how did he do it.
It has been a long time since then, but I feel that a good way of testing a good electrician is by handing him a conduit bender and seeing what he or she can do. Did they have to use any couplings, do the bends match, and are the offsets straight?
Southwire Conduit Bender MCB34 Design
My first thought as I took Southwire 3/4” Conduit Bender MCB out of the box is, wow this is sleek looking it was. The all black handle, tapered end and aluminum head is slick looking.
The Southwire Conduit Bender MCB34 has 10, 20, 30, 45, and 60 degree markings on it. The markings are raised and clearly visible on both sides, great for righty’s and lefty’s. I don’t know about you, but I would be lost without the 30-degree marking. Just double your measurement to get the offset you desire. For that 6” offset make your marks 12” apart and using the 30 degree mark it will come out perfect every time.
Always overlooked is the tapered end that allows you to correct over bends by inserting the pipe inside the end of the handle.
Performance
The Southwire Conduit Bender MCB34 will allow you to do all of your everyday conduit bends from a 3 bend saddle, to your offsets, and any other standard bend you may need to do.
Room For Improvement?
The only thing I usually have is a torpedo level on hand, while bending. I’d like to see Southwire add a small level on the pipe for those 90 degree bends.
Specifications
- Lightweight cast Aluminum head
- 10, 20, 30, 45, and 60-degree markings on both side of the bender
- Large grooved foot step allows for ease of bending and prevents slipping
- Large steel handle greatly helps with leverage
- End of handle opens up to allow insertion of conduit to correct over bends
- Weight 9lbs
- Length 39”
Price
You will do a double take when you see the price tag, currently the Southwire Conduit Bender MCB34 is being sold for approximately $43. Compared to Ideal’s 3/4” bender, which costs approximately $84.02. That’s roughly double the cost for an almost identical bender. Click here to Purchase on Amazon.
