DIY Wire Benders

Copper wire is soft and easy to bend

Wire is a versatile material used for many craft and hobby projects. Some projects may require that you manipulate the wire in order for it to be useful. If you merely need to create bends in wire that do not require exact precision, a DIY wire bender may be for you. While you can indeed purchase a pre-made wire bender, a homemade wire bender is fun to make and will save you the cost of buying a commercial bender.

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4-foot by 8-inch piece of scrap plywood
Hand saw
1/8-inch plastic tubing
Pen
Drill
Wood screws
Screwdriver

Instructions

- 1
  
  Cut 1 foot off the 4-foot length of plywood, using the hand saw. Cut the remaining 3 feet in half so you end up with two additional 1-1/2-foot pieces of plywood. Saw two corners at 45 degree angles off one end of one of the 1-1/2 lengths, creating a pointed end.
- 2
  
  Place the length of plywood with the pointed end on top of the 1-foot length, with the point facing the middle of the board below it. Draw a 2-by-2-inch square in the approximate middle of the top piece of wood. Mark points at the four corners of the square and drill holes. Cut four 1/2-inch lengths of tube. (The tubing will act as a guide for the wire once you start bending.) Insert a screw through each piece of tubing. Screw each tube into the two stacked pieces of wood at the four points. This piece is now the bender.
- 3
  
  Place the remaining 1-1/2 length on top of the base piece, lining up the 8-inch widths of the two pieces. One end of this length should touch the tip of the bender you just screwed down. Approximately 1 foot of this piece will extend beyond the base below. This overhanging board will serve as the rotator for bending the wire. Cut a short section of tube, about 1/2-inch or so, and screw the tube onto the rotator with a single screw so that the board can turn easily.
- 4
  
  Run a length of wire so that it lies down the middle of the 2-by-2-inch square and along one side of the single tube/screw on the rotator.
- 5
  
  Holding the wire steady between the 2-by-2-inch square on the bender, gently turn the rotator piece so that the wire bends around the single tube. You can determine the severity of the bend by how far you move the rotator.

Tips & Warnings

Create bends in opposite directions by feeding the wire a few inches between bends and moving the rotator to alternating sides.
If you are working with very thick wire it may in fact be more economical to purchase a wire bender.
This DIY wire bender is for bending wire only, not pipe.