Conduit Bending Calculator — Stub-Ups, Offsets & Saddles
Who this is for: For apprentices and journeymen working a hand bender who want the take-up and multiplier marks without shaking the paper chart out of the truck — and DIYers bending their first stub without ruining a stick of EMT.
Not the right tool for: Factory elbows and hydraulic/mechanical bender layouts — different shoes, different deductions · PVC and sizes above 1-1/4" — PVC is heated and formed, not hand-bent
Pick a bend — 90° stub, offset or 3-point saddle — enter the rise or obstruction, and get every pencil mark plus the shrink.
Quick answer: Stub length = rise + take-up (1/2" = 5", 3/4" = 8", 1" = 11", 1-1/4" = 14") — a 25" stub on 1/2" EMT marks at 30" from the end. Offset marks = rise × multiplier (30° = ×2.0), shrink = 1/4" per inch of rise at 30°. Pick a bend below for every pencil mark.
Finished height, deck to back of the 90°.
| Take-up table — mark for a 25" rise | 1/2" | 3/4" | 1" | 1-1/4" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Take-up / mark from end | 5″ → 30″ | 8″ → 33″ | 11″ → 36″ | 14″ → 39″ |
| Take-up (90° stub) | 1/2" = 5" · 3/4" = 8" · 1" = 11" · 1-1/4" = 14" |
|---|---|
| Offset multipliers | 10° ×6.0 · 22.5° ×2.6 · 30° ×2.0 · 45° ×1.4 |
| Shrink per inch of rise | 10° 1/16" · 22.5° 3/16" · 30° 1/4" · 45° 3/8" |
| Stub example | 25" rise on 1/2" EMT → mark at 30" (25 + 5) |
| Offset example | 30°, 6" rise → marks 12" apart, shrink 1-1/2" |
| Status | Hand-bender teaching reference (Benfield take-ups, multipliers and shrink), compiled September 2026. Brand shoes vary — the chart stamped on your bender wins. Factory elbows, hydraulic and mechanical bender work are different methods. |
What does this conduit bending calculator do?
Hand bending is mark-and-bend: the whole skill is knowing where the pencil marks go before you lean on the bender. This calculator runs the three everyday bends from the standard teaching numbers (the Benfield method printed inside most bender guides). Stub-ups: stub length = rise + take-up, where take-up is 5" for 1/2", 8" for 3/4", 11" for 1" and 14" for 1-1/4" — so a 25" stub on 1/2" EMT marks at 30" from the end. Offsets: the distance between marks = rise × the angle's multiplier (10° = 6.0, 22.5° = 2.6, 30° = 2.0, 45° = 1.4), and the bend shrinks the run — 1/4" per inch of rise at 30°, so a 6" offset eats 1-1/2". Saddles: center mark on the obstruction, side marks at depth × the side-angle multiplier, with the total shrink shown. Pick the bend type, enter your numbers, and every mark is listed with the order to hit them.
Common uses
- Bending a 90° stub to land exactly on a panel knockout
- Kicking a 6" offset over a doorframe or duct run without a dogleg
- Hopping a 4-inch pipe or strut with a 3-point saddle on the first try
- Cutting stub stock to length the first time instead of burning scrap
The three marks on a hand bender
Every hand bender carries three reference points. The arrow is the stub-up mark: add take-up to your rise, measure from the conduit end, line up the arrow. The star sits exactly one take-up behind the arrow and serves back-to-back bends — measure the leg, line up the star, and the deduction is handled for you. The front rim is used for relative-bend tricks like saddles' second and third hits, and for keeping multiple bends in one plane. Knowing which mark the numbers on this site assume is half the skill: every mark printed here is arrow-method, measured from the end of the conduit.