Hard working home builder here. I am a mechanical engineer, hobbyist machinist and fabricator, and amateur race car driver. I have put together a pretty serious 1963½ Ford Falcon. I get a lot of attention at shows and races because it is something most people have never seen souped up. I built virtually all of my own parts stealing ideas mercilessly from top competitors and the aftermarket. I look at some trick parts and think “I could build that,” and I do. Sometimes it takes a couple of tries, but I don’t give up and I make it happen. By building my own stuff, I get to decide which compromises to make and I have to live with the results. If I have an issue it’s my own darn fault.
To take my car to the next level I really need add a full cage. Your RDB-050 tubing bender would be perfect for me. It is relatively compact, efficient, has a massive capacity, and is well made. I know I could just pay someone to put a cage in my car, but for the same investment in equipment, I can build my own cage and I can spend the time and effort to get it tucked in and up as far as possible.
Everyone loves a Cinderella story. I have been working on my car for almost 4 years and been racing it for the last year and a half. I just got my first autocross win at the GoodGuys show in Pleasanton. It took a lot of hard work on both car and driver to get there. I was also just featured in the June issue of the San Francisco Region SCCA publication “The Wheel” with a quarter page picture and a paragraph write-up. I will also be in an upcoming issue of the GoodGuys Gazette for my autocross win. How great would that Falcon look with a Baileigh sticker across the windscreen?
I’m on a limited budget and we just bought our first house, so every purchase and horse trade are well thought out and can take months of savings. A tubing bender has been on my short list of tools to own for a long time. You guys make some of the finest equipment available. One of things I have learned over the years is to only by the best quality tools. Quality may cost more upfront, but they save money in the long run because you have to buy the tool twice and a quality tool will offer a lifetime of service if properly maintained. Check out the restoration I did recently to my late ‘40s Di-Acro No. 4 Brake. I just love quality craftsmanship. You know your bender will be going to a good home and will see plenty of use weather it is building a roll cage for my car, a chassis for my next project, rock sliders and suspension part, or even a hand rail.
Thank you for this awesome contest and an opportunity to own and outstanding tool.
-Craig Johnson
I saved this sweet little brake form the scrap pile at work:
Poor old gal was headed off to the scrap heap and I said wait a second. At least 3 coats of paint, missing handles, no stand, and was frozen. I soaked it with WD-40 and it started to move, so I knew it could be saved.
I stripped it down, cleaned, greased, machined several missing parts, made handles, welded up cracked off corners from the castings.
Built a new stand.
Re-painted
And detailed.
It is only a regional publication, but at least I’m starting to get some ink:
My skid plate would have been a great project for a bender:
Most people aren’t crazy enough to narrow their own rear end:
Or build their own drop spindles:
I cheated and had one of the pros at work weld it for me.
It’s all laid out in SolidWorks.
Brian Hobaugh SCCA National Tour June 2014
First Hemi 'Cuda Convertible Ever Built
Short clips: Goodguys Pleasanton autocross and pit videos
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