Q: What’s the difference between the wide-body and the narrow-body?
A: The narrow stance model is better for making curved or more detailed bends, but the wide stance design is better for making long, straight bends.
Q: Are replacement parts available?
A: Yes, but these products are very durable so it is unlikely you would need to replace any of the parts.
Q: What length do you recommend?
A: This depends on the bends you anticipate making. Larger tools can handle larger bends.
Q: What’s different? / What makes yours better?
A: Malco’s Metal Benders are made with premium CNC aluminum and stainless-steel components which not only makes the product more durable, but also more stable and resistant to movement, allowing for more precise bends, or higher quality bends without scratches.
Additionally, the benders allow for easy configuration and flexibility on the jobsite by allowing the user to adjust the rollers for different thicknesses and materials. The rollers can also be customized by replacing the angled roller with our optional 2mm radius roller to allow for “softer” bends for materials like copper, zinc, and aluminum which can have problems with tighter bends.
Malco’s Metal Benders also include exclusive features like the angled roller so you don’t scratch the material on a 90 degree bend — something most current benders on the market don’t have.
Q: How are these different than Malco’s ER3 3-station edge roller?
A: The ER3 has a max bend depth of 4”, where these metal benders can bend depths up to 14 3/8”. Additionally, with the rollers, you can adjust for different thickness/different materials which our current ER3 roller cannot do.
The low profile tapered roller of the Malco Metal Bender allows you to bend mechanical lock standing seam profiles which the ER3 is not capable of making.
Malco’s Metal Benders are also lighter (in most configurations) than ER3, and the modular nature of the product means they’re a little more versatile, too, for tackling different types of jobs.
Q: Can the benders connect to Malco’s ER3 product?
A: No.
Q: What would you recommend I purchase?
A: It depends on what you’re trying to bend (curves or straight lines), size of the bends, and frequency of use.
Frequent users would probably be better off buying a fixed two-station Metal Bender for long runs, or a single station bender for small runs and curves. Get both if they anticipate both situations.
Less frequent users could benefit from the modular design. Buy two single-station benders and a connector. This would be a cheaper option than buying a one- and two-station bender and allows for the ultimate in jobsite flexibility.