I was scoping out some tools at the hardware store the other day, and came upon an interesting combo for bending PE parts.

First, I still use the tried and true razor blade, but the one I use has a handle on it. The blades are replaceable, and it's quite handy rather than trying to grip the blade itself. Stanley Tools Scraper Blade




The next item I use to hold down the PE part is a replacement blade for a hand planer. It's got a decent heft for a small item, and it's super flat for holding down your parts. It's about 2.5" wide, so it can handle most PE parts you might use. And even though the body of it is thick, the edge is razor sharp so it provides a nice edge for clean bends. If you wanted to go a bit gung ho, you could even clamp it down to a bending surface as it has a hole in it that you could use to screw it down with a bolt and wing nut. Stanley Tools Planer Blade




BIt blurry in this shot, but you can still see how sharp it is.




Hold down your piece with the planer blade, slip your razor blade underneath and bend as usual.




And voila, a nice clean bend, and it only cost you about $8 for the tools.

Couple those with a table saw extension and your in business. Rig up a way to clamp down the planer blade to hold the part firmly against the machined saw table and you'll have a precision setup.