Bending a kick with a 90
A kick is a single shallow bend in the leg of a 90, made at right angles to the 90’s own bend. It moves the stub sideways, so a run that sits out from a wall can still turn up against it, or step over into a box.
What to measure
- Kick: how far the kick moves the stub sideways, center to center.
- Angle: of the kick bend.
- Stub length (optional): to the back of the 90. With it both marks are measured from the stub end; without it the kick mark is measured from the back of a 90 you have already bent.
How to bend it
- Bend the 90 first, as a stub-up. With a stub length, its mark is mark 1.
- Mark the kick Between bends from the back of the 90, measured along the leg (or at mark 2 from the stub end).
- Put that mark on the arrow with the hook facing the 90.
- Turn the conduit a quarter turn, so the kick bends at right angles to the 90 (the marks list says Rotate 90°), toward the side the stub has to move. Bend to the angle.
- Check that the stub is still plumb and sits the kick distance over.
Where the numbers come from
between bends = kick ÷ sin(angle) − setback + OD/2 − start of bendshrink = kick × tan(angle/2) − g(angle)- Kick
- 4"
- Angle
- 30°
- Stub length
- 12"
- Between bends
- 6 3/4" (8" by multiplier)
- Shrink
- 1" (1 1/16" by multiplier)
- Marks from the stub end
- 7" (the 90) and 16 1/4" (the kick)
If it turns orange or red
Red means the kick bend would run into the 90: the kick is too small for this angle on this shoe. Orange means there is too little straight between them for the shoe to grip. On 1/2" EMT at 30°, orange starts at a 2 7/8" kick and red at 2 5/8". Use a smaller angle.