OTC 4403 Tubing Bender

Very well made and easy to use.

This bends steel line like butter and does it while making beautiful bends. Use it in a vise if possible - the little tab on one of the handles makes this super easy. I put one handle in the vise and take the other off and on as I load line in and out, super easy. Very well-designed tool.

Does a good job of making small bends on 1/4" tubing. The tool itself could be improved though in two ways - first, the joint that holds the pieces together is a little looser than I like. It seems to be held together with a screw but I wasn't able to turn it, so maybe there's some thread lock on it. Second, the angle that holds the tubing in place is not very precise - the tubing can move around a little more than I'd like. But the resulting bends come out fine, and for the price I can't complain. I made the tubes in the pictures using this tool.

WORKS WELL

I purchased an OTC tubing bender from OTC (Amazon) after researching country of origin. Their website "suggested" manufacturing facilities in Minnesota, that evidently was my mistake. I received the tubing bender, and clearly marked on the box....."Made in Taiwan" and on the plastic bag "565838 Made in Taiwan", on the tool itself...."4403 TAIWAN". Rest assured, I have spent my last dollar on any OTC product. The quality of the tool, good or bad, is not the purpose of this review.

I was impressed at this price point. I was able to make greater than 180-degree bends (Just practice bends, I wouldn't use greater than 180 on a real car). I would definitely recommend this, no doubt. Was compact enough to use on the vehicle as well in some situations, more so than the higher end tools which are larger.

The handles have to be at 90 degrees to each other for them to be separated. Great tool BTW.

I purchased this tubing bending tool after posting the question on whether you could take the two halves apart and reassemble over a brake line to bend in the middle of a run. Thanks to all who responded. I'd like to clarify this here. The two handles are permanently attached with a screw. There must be some thread locker on this screw because I can't loosen it with a screwdriver. So, NO, you can't detach the two handles. However, as many who responded to my question stated, you can easily swing the handles open (not detach) to slide tubing into place for bending or to slide the tool over the tubing.As there is no instruction manual, you have to experiment with spare tubing to get the hang of the tool. Once you understand how to use it, it works quite well. No marring, scratches, or dents on copper-nickel tubing on 180 degree bends. I tried tube bending pliers from Eastwood and AGS and both marred the soft tubing. Be careful not to bend more than 180 degrees or you won't be able to remove the tubing from the tool (it will wrap around the large roller.)I don't care where it's made. It works well for what it is designed for. There is some play in the joint between the two handles. But it does not impact the quality of bends.It is available for less elsewhere. Do comparison shopping before you buy.

Worked very well for replacing steel brake lines on a Lexus GX470. It gives you the ability to make fairly tight 180 deg bends without kinking the tubing. One of the handles pulls off easily to remove the bent tubing.I also used it to straighten a bend that was incorrect. Worked flawlessly and seems well constructed.

Easy to use and very precise

Very nice bender. Tight radius on bends keeps tubing snug. Detachable handle is a great feature and makes working with with nuts on the tube easy.

If you're looking to bend stainless brake line, this is the tool. Nice tight bends.