# Rail benders



## fyrekop (Sep 20, 2011)

I've been looking into dual track rail benders and the prices range from Aristo's at $170 to Train-Li at $335. I'll be bending several hundred feet if I follow my current track plan and a dual bender seems to be the best way to go. Track is brass 332 with US ties. I've found that price isn't always a good indicator of quality.


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By fyrekop on 29 Jan 2012 03:01 PM 
I've been looking into dual track rail benders and the prices range from Aristo's at $170 to Train-Li at $335. I'll be bending several hundred feet if I follow my current track plan and a dual bender seems to be the best way to go. Track is brass 332 with US ties. I've found that price isn't always a good indicator of quality. 
This is the dual-rail bender I have. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page.

http://www.rctrains.com/trackaccessories.htm


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## Axel Tillmann (Jan 10, 2008)

Honestly, you can buy what you like. But if you want Train-Li-USA's customers unbiased opinion: 

Aristocraft created many problems for them, 
and RCtrains 
is based on Aluminum construction and will fail you as well. And not only for the material they chose but also for the center bearing assembly which is basically absolutely wrong and doens't provide any help for the unit staying on track. I can't tell you hjow many peopel tried to sell it back on Ebay and then bought the Swiss product. 

I suggest you buy the cheapest one, and when that doesn't work for you you throw it away and buy the Swiss made quality product. 

Let me ask you a question: 

Do you think there is a difference in Maytag dishwasher compared to a Miele? 
Do both wash dishes? - Yes 
Are they equally clean - Now that already depends 
Do they last eqaully as long - Are you kiddding me? (My Miele is going strong even after 20 years - I bet you still at least 10 years to come (Friend's Jenair and that is above Maytag are already at #4 

Actually if you go to Aristocraft and buy their rail you might negotiate a deal where you get the bender for free. Needless to say how the quality of the rail is. FYI Aristocrafrt can't even bend their own stainless steel.


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## livesteam53 (Jan 4, 2008)

Axel, 
You are wrong. I have bent 1000's of feet of Aristo Stainless Steel with Aristo's bender. Never a problem.


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## Robby D (Oct 15, 2009)

You can try our Railbender. Which is built here in the U.S.


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Well that's what I like to hear. Built in the US and probably does quite well. Later RJD


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## Axel Tillmann (Jan 10, 2008)

Of course I am wrong









For one, RC Trains is made in the US as well









You can by ball bearings for $5 and the same seize ball bearing for $20 x6 = already $120. The devil is in the detail.

As I said you can buy anything you like - Chinese Made, US Made or Swiss Made. If it wouldn't be for EasyBend DuoTrak all these clones (clowns) would have not appeared on the market.









Competition is good. You can buy BMW, Mercedes, or Toyota, or Chrysler (Ford, GM....) at the end of the day they initially all drive


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## nkelsey (Jan 4, 2008)

My Train Li has been used (and Abused) by a dozen members of my club on brass, stainless steel and aluminum and still keeps on bending...


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## Polaris1 (Jan 22, 2010)

I own both the Aristo dual Bender and the Train-Li dual rail bender...... I have bent 340 ft of 332 Stainless Aristo "tube rail" using either 

bender for 50% of the project.... I've never bent Brass rail.. but I guess it bends easier?? For Brass 332, I'd probably buy the $170 unit.. 

4 Must do items are: Lube the bender threads with Teflon spray, Cut the plastic slip-on underside tie strips on the outer rail for all Curves, & the $170 

bubble level glass may break..... and $170 #4 biggie... Flat hand File the 4 bolt heads at 45 Deg Angle per the Greg E track bender Web Site Info. 

If you buy the $310 Train Li 332 bender...... Teflon Lube threads, cut bottom outer plastic strips every 2 ties, & just keep on bending....... 

Reason to hand File: The Aristo bender Aluminum bolts will have interference with the Aristo slip on ties at the simulated plastic Tie spike locations..... 

Dennis M from GBay, WI


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

I have a Trail Li bender. That is the most use full tool I bought. It is well worth the price. With a Dual Track Bender you can now buy any bargain in track you can find. Does not matter what the curvature is. 

With the Dual Rail bender you can make the curve anything you want. You can bend sharper or Unbend to make it wider. You can take straight sections and turn it into a curve you can use. 

You RR is no longer confined the the limits of Manufacture's standard curves. 

I would not be with out one. 

JJ


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## paintjockey (Jan 3, 2008)

I use the Train Li bender. I also loan it out to club members. To date it has built over a dozen layouts, six of which were stainless and replaced two broken Aristo benders. It's the only one i've ever had so I can't compare to the use of other brands but so far i'm pretty happy with it. 

Terry


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## wchasr (Jan 2, 2008)

I too have and recommend the Train Li railbender. I originally bought it with only the code 332 rollers on it but when I decided to build a portable LS layout and ordered the Code 250 rollers for it as well. I clamped up some old LGB R1 curves this fall as a friend is trying to make a hobby shop work in our city and asked for a train display in the window. Had 32 inches to work in and managed to bend several pieces of R1 to fit. Then he decided NOT to put it on display. It was still too big for what I wanted to do for Christmas train so I got a 6 foot long section of Code 250 out changed the rollers and bent a 29 in diameter circle for a Christmas set up. Easy as pie...just follow the instructions. I've loaned it out once so far but there really isn't anyone locally to me that needs it and no club per-se that I belong to. 

Chas


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## Cougar Rock Rail (Jan 2, 2008)

Fyrekop, 

While the Aristo clone may do the job, I refuse to reward their blatant copying of the Train-Li version by buying one. I've got the Train-Li version and like any good tool it brings a smile to my face everytime I use it. It's the same thing with the Nequida LGB rip-off cars-- they may be super cheap but to reward a company making pirated products will only undermine the hobby in the long run. 

Keith


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## ImaGizmo (Jan 17, 2012)

Anybody have Hands On use of this Rail Bender and if so what are your comments? 

G Dual Rail Bender 

Found on: 
Norms Model Supply 
www.choochoostuff.homestead.com


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I believe I got my hands on one at a recent show, but it did not have the "viewports" or the oak handle. 

Personally, I don't like the "feel" of the aluminum benders, being significantly lighter than Robby's or Axel's, both of which I have "played with" extensively. 

I cannot tell you that it won't do as good of a job, but the best description I can give you is that I did not feel as "confident" that the bender was "tracking" properly. I cannot give any reasonable scientific explanation why that would be so, but aluminum ones just do not feel right when I am using them. 

Regards, Greg


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## tom h (Jan 2, 2008)

I bought mine from RLD hobbies, have never had a problem.

Great service and great price.

Tom H


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## Ron Hill (Sep 25, 2008)

I purchased a duel A/C railbender several years ago. Have bent over 300 feet of code 332 brass rail and have never had a problem. I do trim the inside connection on the ties in the curves to keep the rail from bending back. It has served me well and do not have any complaints. 
Ron


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## SLemcke (Jun 3, 2008)

I suggest you look up a nearby club and see if they a have a railbender to loan or test. 

I use Train Li's and it has worked great for me. 
Steve


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## Dick413 (Jan 7, 2008)

I have a train li, but you can rent from RLD.


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## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

New kid on the block; 

http://choochoostuff.homestead.com/DUAL-TRACK-BENDER.html


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Been out for a while, some new features and the price went up $40. 

Looks a little goofy with the handle, but I'll bet it's really easier to control. 

Greg


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## pagosarr (Jan 5, 2008)

My question may have been answered in the past when rail benders were discussed but I don't remember seeing a discussion. So my question is: can a rail bender be used to produce a vertical curve in a straight (or curved, if possible) piece of track? I had a rack rail section in my layout about two years ago but had to down size to a smaller home. The horizontal runs at the new location would be much shorter now if I were to utilize my track locos. With all of this talk about benders I got the idea that I could gain my desired height if I could produce shorter runs horizontally with vertical curves. Previously I achieved a non-prototypical looking curve by using 300mm sections with a little bend in the rail joiners at each section junction. I don't have the lineal space to do that now so I can't use my rack locos.


I have never used or even seen a real rail bender - just the pictures. I suspect the rollers have grooves to accommodate flanges and rail heads in which case trying to feed a piece of rail 90 degrees from the correct position wouldn't work. And I would suspect two rails couldn't be bent at the same time even with a dual bender.


Any thoughts, comments or suggestions?

Thanks,
Rog Bush
Comfort TX


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## Polaris1 (Jan 22, 2010)

I have had both the Aristo & Train-Li dual rail benders for 1 year now..... The six rollers on each bender are smooth....... 

The rail bender sits/rubs on the top of both rail heads via a plastic sliding interface. 

The bender rollers only contact the sides of the rail heads.... because slide on ties contact the rail feet...... bottoms & sides. 

You do not bend vertical curves with these benders.... Your grade contact (soil/ballast/plastic wood) set the vertical grades & 

grade changes..... 

Dennis M from GBay, WI


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## acmartina (Jan 6, 2008)

I have the Aristo dual-bender and posted a review a couple of years ago - http://www.mylargescale.com/Communi...fault.aspx. If you look about halfway down the thread, Marty Cozad posted a fix for the rubbing problem.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the dual units. The pricier ones are probably less fussy and easier to use. Buy what you can afford. Or borrow the best you can find! 


Thanks,
Steve


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## mbendebba (Jan 22, 2011)

I have used a Massoth dual rail track bender for the last four years and I am extremely happy with it. It is probably the most expensive in the buch @360., and I have no idea how it compares to others, but I find easy to use with repeatable results and very light but extremely sturdy. 

Mohammed 
http://www.allaboutlgb.com


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## Axel Tillmann (Jan 10, 2008)

One comment regarding renting. Train-Li-USA rents as well. So that is not limted to other vendors.

Secondly. There are strong forces at work when bending. An aluminum bender will get out of alignment. Our Swiss manufacturer had experimented prompted by me with aluminum (because I wanted to keep the cost down). It tunred out that we couldn't bring the long term reliability. I have accidently dropped my own persoinal bender many times, I tried the aluminum and after one drop it was history. Keep in mind, Aluminum is used in the Airplane construction becasue you want a certain amount of flexibility in the air, becasue a completely ridig plane break apart. But it is this property which makes is less usefull for our hobby.

Now looking at the choooo (whatsoever)..... there are major differences on the underside. Of course this comes from the fact that they made short-cuts. If they wouldn't do the short cuts their price will go up easily by 60-80 dollars. Also the used ball bearing are inferior which makes another difference in cost of materials easily by 40-60 dollar.


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## Axel Tillmann (Jan 10, 2008)

While I have not done a vertical curve, Stefan from Train.Li did benda vertical curve. But this is a job you need to do rail by rail. A dual bender cannot help you there.


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## mbendebba (Jan 22, 2011)

Where are the car buffs when you need them? Does any body know whether or not Formula 1 cars still use aluminum engine blocks and suspension components or have they reverted to using steel? How about aluminum wheels, are they still around?

Mohammed 
http://www.massothusa.com 
http://www.allaboutlgb.com


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

What is a Vertical curve? 

JJ


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

up and down.. 

Greg


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## pagosarr (Jan 5, 2008)

Wondering if anyone has had any experience making vertical curves with a rail bender? Would like to be able to create both convex and concave vertical curves to allow rack rail locomotives to make a smooth transition from horizontal to "steep" and back to horizontal without using short lengths of track over a long distance and bending the rail joiners just a bit to create the vertical curves. 

The pictures of the underside of the Choochoostuff bender looks like it would work if one removed the black ABS track runners: 

http://choochoostuff.homestead.com/DUAL-TRACK-BENDER.html 

Can't see the details of other rail benders online well enough to form any opinion. Seems to me the Choochoostuff bender would also bend two rails at a time with the "runners" removed. 

Thanks, 
Rog Bush 
Comfort TX


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

A vertical curve is a curve with a grade to it?

JJ


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By John J on 09 Feb 2012 03:50 PM 
A vertical curve is a curve with a grade to it?

JJ 




A vertical curve is for changes in elevation.

An abrupt change in elevation or like at the bottom of a valley, can lift the drivers completely off the rails; a locomotive might be supported only by the leading and trailing trucks if the transistion from one elevation to a higher one is too sharp for the driver suspension to drop the drivers low enough.

The opposite transistion, from high to low, or like going over the peak of a hill, can leave the drivers on the rails but the leading and trailing trucks could be too high for the suspension to keep them in contact with the rail and result in a derailment.

Just like you don't bend your track in a sharp 90 corner to change directions, a change in elevation should not be a sharp/abrupt change in slope/grade. 

You bend your track left or right in gentle curves and should do the same for changes in elevation.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Posted By Semper Vaporo on 09 Feb 2012 04:34 PM 
Posted By John J on 09 Feb 2012 03:50 PM 
A vertical curve is a curve with a grade to it?

JJ 




A vertical curve is for changes in elevation.

An abrupt change in elevation or like at the bottom of a valley, can lift the drivers completely off the rails; a locomotive might be supported only by the leading and trailing trucks if the transistion from one elevation to a higher one is too sharp for the driver suspension to drop the drivers low enough.

The opposite transistion, from high to low, or like going over the peak of a hill, can leave the drivers on the rails but the leading and trailing trucks could be too high for the suspension to keep them in contact with the rail and result in a derailment.

Just like you don't bend your track in a sharp 90 corner to change directions, a change in elevation should not be a sharp/abrupt change in slope/grade. 

You bend your track left or right in gentle curves and should do the same for changes in elevation.





Thank you Semper for that explanation 

JJ


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## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

An example of a sharp vertical curve for non-rack applications is the crest of the hump in a hump yard. Care must be taken to keep the crest from being too abrupt or long cars (auto racks and high cube box cars) and locomotives could get hung up on the crest of the hump. I have actually seen auto racks with a broken carrier iron (the part that keeps that long coupler shank level) separate without needing the pin pulled on the crest of the hump at Bellevue, Ohio.









Best,
David Meashey


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Posted By Dave Meashey on 10 Feb 2012 06:33 AM 
An example of a sharp vertical curve for non-rack applications is the crest of the hump in a hump yard. Care must be taken to keep the crest from being too abrupt or long cars (auto racks and high cube box cars) and locomotives could get hung up on the crest of the hump. I have actually seen auto racks with a broken carrier iron (the part that keeps that long coupler shank level) separate without needing the pin pulled on the crest of the hump at Bellevue, Ohio.









Best,
David Meashey






Hey DAvid


Thanks for the piratical explanation 

Now I know what a vertical curve is. 

JJ


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## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

JJ;

My pleasure.









Best,
David Meashey


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## Axel Tillmann (Jan 10, 2008)

Posted By mbendebba on 07 Feb 2012 12:55 AM 
Where are the car buffs when you need them? Does any body know whether or not Formula 1 cars still use aluminum engine blocks and suspension components or have they reverted to using steel? How about aluminum wheels, are they still around?

Mohammed 
http://www.massothusa.com 
http://www.allaboutlgb.com 

Mohamed, why don't try to run your Formula 1 car into the wall and see how well it looks?







Also try to find out how they rebuild the engines after each race.









Modern Nano Technology compounds might be a future option for durability and strength, pure aluminum is not. And railbender based on these newer Nano particle materials would cost even more. Ever run a pothole with MAG or Aluminum wheels - Hasta la Vista, Sayōnara Bab.









Material application was probably not the subject matter you taught in University - or am I mistaken and you did







Now let's see is the Massoth Bender by any chance out of Aluminium?


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## mbendebba (Jan 22, 2011)

Temper, temper Axel, we need to keep the discourse civil, we have been told that many, many times!!!!!! 

Mohammed 
http://www.massothusa.com
http://www.allaboutlgb.com


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## wchasr (Jan 2, 2008)

Bottom line Heavy duty bending tools are not genereally made of such a sft material as Aluminum...Bicycle frames and racing suspension pieces where some flex is desirable in the assembly works great for short time periods. Just saying. Other than as a satisfied customer I have got no stake in this...my money is already spent. 

Chas


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## mbendebba (Jan 22, 2011)

Chas: 

There are aluminum alloys that are stronger than many steel alloys; and there are many aluminum alloys there are not "history" the first time you drop them. 

Aluminum engine blocks can be found in many cars that are on the road today and many give years and years of service. The forces acting on these blocks are a factor of magnitude greater then those required to bend a piece of brass rail. 

Car suspession components are subject to forces that are greater than those required to bend a piece of brass rail; and cars equipped with aluminum suspession components require no more frequent alignments than others (BTW: Aluminum is not used to achieve "flex" , it is used to reduce weight). 

You can make a track bender out an aluminum alloy; it won't be history the first time you drop it; it would last a life time, it would perform flawlessly everytime, but it would cost a bit more to make than a comparable steel track bender. 

Bottom line is, the hard objective facts do not favor one material over the other.

Mohammed
http://www.massothusa.com/
http://www.allaboutlgb.com/


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Materials science is clearly not your field of expertiese MDB... 

For the same volume, steel is stronger. 

For the same weight, aluminum is stronger 

That's why it's in aircraft. 

That's why an aluminum rail bender the same dimensions as a steel one is not as strong. 

Greg


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## mbendebba (Jan 22, 2011)

Greg: 

You are correct, material science is not my field of expertise. However, I did learn those little tidbits in high school, but I did not see a need to weave them into my response to Chas. 

Mohammed 
http://www.massothusa.com 
http://www.allaboutlgb.com


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