Some people claim to be able to bend metal with their mind. Since I prefer to bend metal with tools and my hands, I was happy Duluth Trading sent us their wire bender tool to review. It’s a handy small size, measuring just 1″W x 4 3/8″L x 5/8″H. The wire bender lets you bend mild steel up to 3/16” diameter using several techniques.
The tool is designed to either be clamped into your bench-top vise, or screwed directly to your bench. I opted for the latter since my vise is pretty rickety (I think it was built when our house was. . . . in the 1930’s). The two included screws firmly attach the jig to your work surface if you prefer not using a vise. Having the wire bender firmly mounted is key to it working properly.
At the risk of tooting my own horn, I have to say I am a very experienced bender. However, my expertise typically comes from bending things by accident. The notion of bending something on purpose was a concept that took a little getting used to. Despite the paradigm shift necessary, I focused on the task at hand and grabbed some thick wire I had laying around in the shop.
Within about 30 seconds I had a perfectly shaped “S” hook. I grabbed some beefy wire snips to trim the excess wire. Voila! So easy, I impressed myself. Maybe I should quit this incredibly lucrative home improvement blog and just start hand-producing S hooks? Then again, I think they have machines that make more than one hook at a time. Oh well, I’ll just keep “S Hook Crafter” up my sleeve in case I need another career in the future.
The aluminum base has several grooves and profiles in it, so you can easily bend right angles and semi circles. The wire bender also features several removable pins enabling you to configure custom bending patterns. The handy instruction sheet that accompanies the wire bender even includes some project suggestions. Stuff like “curtain rod ring”, “fish rod eye”, and the afore mentioned “s hook”. Mysteriously they also include “bird”, showing an outline of a dove. I’m pretty skeptical there’s anyone on Duluth’s mailing list that’s buying a wire bending jig to make bird outlines, but maybe my demographic analysis is off here. The Wire Bender is available from Duluth Trading for a no-brainer price of just $6.50.
I found one in the garage. Anyone have instructions?
This review was so funny, it made my day. Are all of your reviews this comical? I did want to say that I googled “wire bending jigs” to figure out if there was a jig that would show me how to make the shape of a, yes, BIRD!
Thanks Robin, glad you liked the review, and glad you found us. Comedic value varies from article to article, but it’s our mission to keep you informed AND entertained!
Would this bender work to make fishing jigs like spinnerbaits? It is the right price for the modest fisherman.
Hey Paul! Thanks for the comment and for sharing our enthusiasm for the Wire Bender from Duluth. Glad to hear you (and your wife-to-be. . . . congrats/condolences by the way) had a positive experience with it too. Not that you’d ever want this, but if your dog is ever lost and then found via the dog tags, you should tell Duluth Trading the wire bender tool rescued your dog! Thanks for being a part of the HomeFixated.com community.
I got one of these for my wife-to-be as a stocking stuffer for christmas. it’s so damn handy, since we occasionally find a need for a hook here or there and we never happen to have any. Our dog recently chomped on her tags and demolished the link between the tags and her collar. This wire bender came in super handy to whip up a replacement.