How to Bend EMT With a Hand Bender

What makes EMT different

EMT is thin-wall tubing. It is light, cuts easily with a tubing cutter or hacksaw, and is joined with fittings rather than threads. Up to 1-1/4" you bend it by hand; larger EMT usually calls for a mechanical, electric or hydraulic bender. Because the wall is thin, EMT is the conduit most likely to kink if the shoe is wrong.

These are typical numbers. Your own head may differ a little, and its take-up is usually cast on it. If it comes out long or short, use the number you measure.

Cut, ream and mark

1. Cut the EMT square with a tubing cutter or a hacksaw, a little longer than you need.
2. Ream the inside of the cut end with a reamer or file so the edge will not cut the wire later.
3. Measure from the end that will become the stub, mark the top of the tube, and write what the mark is for.

Marking a tube once and bending every mark from the same end keeps small errors from adding up along the stick.

Picking and checking the head

• Use the head for EMT in the trade size you are bending. EMT is slimmer than rigid of the same trade size, so a rigid head does not fit it.
• Some grooves take two sizes, such as 3/4" EMT and 1/2" rigid. Check what is stamped on the head.
• Look for the arrow and the take-up on the head. You will use both for every 90.
• Check that the cut end is reamed smooth and has no burr before it goes into the groove.

Bending a 90 in EMT

1. Measure the stub from the end and subtract the head’s take-up. Mark the tube there, on top.
2. Lay the tube on a hard floor. Slide the head on with the hook toward the stub end and the arrow on the mark.
3. Put your foot on the heel to hold the tube down. Keep the handle in line with the tube, not leaning sideways.
4. Pull the handle toward you with steady pressure until the stub reaches vertical.
5. Hold a level against the stub. EMT springs back a little, so go slightly past and let off to check.

Bending an offset in EMT

1. Mark both bends, the second one offset height × multiplier from the first.
2. Put the first mark on the arrow, hook toward the end, and bend to your angle. On many heads the handle stands upright at 30°.
3. Slide the second mark to the arrow, roll the tube half a turn, and bend to the same angle with the hook still facing the same end.
4. Lay it on a flat floor. The ends should be parallel and the tube should lie flat.

Keeping EMT from kinking

• Wrong head. A head for a bigger conduit lets the wall collapse in the groove.
• Twisting the pull. If the handle leans sideways, the tube rolls in the groove and creases.
• Mark too near the end. If the stub is shorter than the take-up, the mark is off the tube. Bend a longer stub and cut it down.

A kinked or flattened section is weak. Cut it out rather than trying to straighten it.