I recently posted a very comprehensive review of two popular P/E bending tools. This article was written by Lee Lloyd (TWIG) and many of you may have seen his wonderfully super detailed Tiger I that has been talked about and displayed in the forums recently (there is a picture of it in this article).

A Closer Look at P/E Bending Tools

As usual if you have comments or questions about this article please post them here.

Thanks Lee! (and Rob for soliciting it on our behalf)

Cheers,
Jim

I apologize to Lee but I as my wife was trying to rush me off on a shopping trip I accidently swtiched his last name with another recent contributor (Lee Dobson) and so the graphic on the homepage was incorrectly labeled for a few hours. Thank goodness I noticed.

Jim

Cool article, I think. I am just getting into PE thanks to Dave Tong (SS-74) and this really helped me to see which of these I really want. Thanks Lee.

Rob

I gathered from the article that these tools are more difficault to use than pliers,clamps, etc and they are find to find. I think something left out of the article was cost. I'm willing to bet that unless you are doing lots and lots of PE folding this tool is not cost effective.

:-) A very well put together and informative article :-) which confirms my thoughts about these excellant looking expensive tools. I wont be getting one, I will stick to my flat nosed pliers and folding tool from ED models. I can imagine though that if you are heavily into PE these tools would be useful, but not for me, thanks for the information Lee
Mal

Though informative, i found the article to be more a grip session than anything. I have the Etch-Mate and find it very useful for the little PE I do use. Lee good job of pointing out the downfalls of both tools. I personally feel the Etch-Mate is a fine tool and it really helps for the long peices of pe like those on the PZ IV AUSFH set i got from aber, and it also did well on the small stuff for the Grille M setr from show modeling. I guess it all comes down to preference. Now alls we need is for someone in Love with his Hold and Fold to post here so we can get his Biased point of veiw. stug

Well Stug, you wont get a rave review of the H&F from me, I'm an etchmate guy too..

Lee mentions the scribed line as a drawback, and I find it a feature..I know I have the blade in place and will get a 90deg bend.

Since I'm left handed the issue of use is a non-issue for me, especailly since I use it sitting flat on a surface.

I've not run into parts that are too deep, yet, to fit on a tine or finger, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

I find the long blades, flexible though they may be to be VERY useful for those long folds you mentioned, I do lots of PE Panther fender/skirt hangers and they're a breeze.

I do very much appreciate how Lee was non-judgemental and avoided the "my tool is better than your tool" attitude in his very comprehensive article.

Like I said, I do lots of Panther fenders and also M113 interiors and find that for long folds and box shapes, this a a superior tool to anything else I have tried. Razor blades and rulers, flat pliers, bench vise with angle stock in the jaws for a regular mating surface..

My bottom line reccomendation to people (good for either tool I suspect) is that it takes folding etch into the realm of a lap-top , TV tray, while watching the tube enterprise.

My US$0.02 (before tax cut.. oh wait, I'm not filthy rich, I'm not GETTING a tax cut..-grin-)
Mike

OK I'm going to put in my 2 cents also, I'm another satisfied etch-mate user. I haven't had any problems using it yet. There are times when I still use my needle nose pliers for some of the small pieces, but I have found it to be very useful especially for some of the bigger pieces. My biggest gripe with the hold n' fold doesn't even have to do with how it works, it concerns its availability. Last Summer I tried to order the hold n' fold, well after over 2 months nothing. I was told they were expected to ship soon, a few weeks later still no joy, so I finally cancelled the order. When the etch-mate came out I ordered one and it arrived in days. I understand that hold n' fold service has improved ( there was nowhere else it could go) so hopefully those of you who choose to go that route can get ahold of one. Lee I think the article is well done, I'm not really saying one is better than the other I just wanted to relate my experiences.

Cheers,
Mike

Very good article. I ordered a H & F in September 2002, and finally got it in March of this year. About two weeks before I actually got it, I started seeing the reviews for the Etch-Mate. I was very, very happy to finally get my H & F, and your article helped ease any doubts I had concerning getting it instead of cancelling my order and getting an E-M. Both tools can do good work in the right hands, so it's really personal preference that should determine which one a person gets if they decide to get a bender. Your article makes informed buying that much easier.

Hi Lee

Many thanks for the well written and thoughtful article.

I am not in the market for one of these devices (I use very little PE, and thus far pliers and a blade work fine), but read the article with interest nonetheless. It sounds like a trial run with both devices would be the trick for all users. Of course that involves dropping 100 quid, which is not feasible for most of us!

I think it's frickin' hilarious the Etchmate is green! Over 10% of the male population has color vision problems. I guess the Hold 'n Fold can count on a solid 10% of the market at a minimum!!

Cheers
Andy

I stopped using PE aftermarket products because the bending is such a mess. I read about these new tools, but the article really spells things out. Very very useful. Thanks for all the work you put in there. Good pictures, thorough work. Thanks !

thanks for this article. we planned to do one ourselves, but this is now almost obsolete.
it is interesting, that my etch mate differs to pic 13 as the "claws" jut out the groove.
so it seems mine has an error in construction..

regards-werner

Nice article. I have two points two add. 1. The smaller etchmate seems to work much better for most jobs than the 8 inch one. 2. The stainless steel 6 inch machinist rule makes an almost perfect "folding blade". I have also used the back edge of the etchmate for some parts that where clumsy otherwise( instead of turning the head around).
Capnjock

Hi. Thanks for the well thought, out informative article.

I really like the use of all the photographs and the comparisons.

I would have liked a price comparison as well (euros or USD wouldn't matter with all the currency converters out there).

I am still a virgin PE user (though I have a few sets waiting to be used).

A member of Track Link sent me some pics of his home made PE bender which is made from a door hinge.

I will try this method because it is cheaper. I will look for the Email and post the photo later...

Cheers, MSW

I guess I am lucky.
I live about 65mi from The Small Shop, so they show up at the local shows and I have been able to buy their stuff directly. I have all 3 of their bending sets plus the optional clamp for the 4" H&F. All my sets have been pre-assembled, although my 2" and 4" are early models so came as all bare aluminum finish. This can make seeing the parts tough sometimes, so I may break down and paint the bases a different color.
I think my favorite is the little 2" H&F. 90% of the PE bending can be done with this tool as most of your PE is small fittings anyway. I have read with interest about the Etchmate, but the major difference to me looked like the groove, and I have never had a problem with bending parts without it, so never got one.
I can tell you one thing, a small pliers and a razor (my original tools also) are no match for the H&F (or Etchmate for that matter)! The clamps actually make assembling PE (almost) fun!!! I also use the H&F edges to hold PE parts for cleaning off burrs from the 'sprues.' I clamp the part so just a hint of the PE burred edge sticks out the side, then hit the edge with a tri-grit sanding stick going from rough to smooth and take off all signs of the burr. Works great!

First of all, welcome to the site Ray.

Secondly, I bought a 4" H&F back in March 2002, prior to Etch-Mate hitting the market. I wonder how I lived without it when bending PE. Back in March 2003, at my local AMPS meeting, Charlie (used ID Tuna) brought his in and we did a little comparison. The EM was professionally done and a quality piece of equipment.

That being said, I don't really have any complaints about my H&F. My one major gripe is the rounded grip. The EM has a lever used to tighten it, the H&F has a rounded knob. Obviously it is easier to tighten and loosen a lever than a small, smooth rounded knob.

The EM was also much more than my H&F, but it was longer.

The article was great!

It's really important to have the pros and cons of expensive tools explained, so no-one has to find out the hard way whether or not they're going to be useful (like Holdfast, I think I can do without...).

I'm looking forward to more in depth review/comparison articles. How about one on airbrushes and compressors?

All the best

Rowan

The article was amazing. It is typical of the information I get from this web-site! One visit to this great center is more helpful for me (a middle-aged beginner) than all my meetings with my local IPMS chapter.
Someone that thorough with a comparison of a tool, obviously, is an amazing modeler,too.
Sealhead
P.S. I hope one day to contribute a fraction of what I am getting back from you all. Thanks.

Where is a good place in the U.S. to order an EtchMate?

Steve,
You can order one direct from Missionmodels.com.

Mike

Thanks a lot. Steve