[TheForge] Hossfeld Bender and Dies

Fri Aug 30 20:08:00 2002

bill,

i know the guy who worked at hossfeld for 15 years and left to start "american bender". when he started making/marketing the hossfeld clone the  hossfeld co. took him to court. 

since all the patents were expired they had no case and he was free to produce his clone. he has now sold his patterns and stock to the minnesota city machine shop near winona who now make the american bender. is it "right"? well i don't know. it is legal....

that said, the fact that the american bender is being made with cnc machines is meaningless. they are using cnc machines because that's what they have. the use of cnc makes them no more accurate for their intended use than the ones produced at hossfeld on old warner swasey turret lathes etc.

btw i am making the "flat pin" for the new american bender. it's the 6-8" long 3/4"dia pin that the bending dog slot fits over. they looked for a machining solution to making this part and found it cheaper to have it forged.

have you looked on ebay for dies?

bob s.
______________

>Greetings,
>
>I finally found a used #2 Hossfeld right in my backyard, quite by
>accident that I got for a good price.  It came with one set of
>dies(1.25" tube steel) so I need to buy some for flats.  I have American
>Benders literature with price list as well as Hossfeld literature with a
>distributor with stock also in my backyard.  Reviewing and comparing
>prices between the two companies has brought me to consider what I
>consider an ethical question that I'll put to the list to see how others
>feel just out of curiosity, not to judge other peoples ethics.  Hossfeld
>developes, patents, and markets a very useful, economical bending tool
>with an adequate, varied set of dies for years with much success. Patent
>runs out, ex employee copies the whole deal, markets as improved because
>of CNC technology, and cheaper to buy to end user.  Now in all fairness
>to the new guys, I have not seen their dies.  But looking at and having
>used a  Hossfeld, we are not really talking a sophisticated (as far as
>from a manufacturing standpoint) piece of equipment here.  Does having a
>CNC guided machine really benefit the end user?  The holes and pins and
>castings etc. on the original seem perfectly fine.  Is it the price?  My
>search hasn't found the new guys to be significantly better.  Let me
>stress,  I have absolutely no malice nor ill feeling toward the
>principals in this new venture, just trying to decide whether or not to
>support a company who probably hasn't built a better mouse trap.  In any
>case, I'm looking for die sets.  Used is always an option. Anybody?
>
>Regards,
>Bill Woolley
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