Abstract: A single piece self-supporting shoe of generally oblong shape for use in a conduit bender. The shoe has oppositely disposed arcuately shaped outwardly facing grooves on opposite side portions and is capable of bending either thin or thick wall conduit of varying sizes, all with the same shoe by employing different radii in the opposed grooves of the shoe.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONPreviously shoes for conduit benders for bending thin wall tubing or conduit and intermediate and rigid conduit depended for their operation upon either an internal pivot point support or upon internal access permitting the application of a sizable force therein such as is often produced by a hydraulic ram to drive the shoe. These internal structures of such shoes were integral with their function and tended to limit their design.

Abstract: A pipe bending apparatus for bending large diameter pipe of either thin or thick walled construction. The pipe bending apparatus includes a bending shoe which is pivotably mounted to a frame member and a follower shoe which is operable with the bending shoe to receive a pipe therebetween for bending. The apparatus also includes a fluid motor which is operable to cause pivotal movement of the bending shoe and a clamping assembly comprising a plurality of rollers which are secured together to clampingly engage the follower shoe and the bending shoe to force them together such that the pipe is forced to conform to the arcuate configuration of the bending shoe as the bending shoe pivots. During such pivotal movement, the rollers of the clamping assembly traverse the arcuate surface of the bending shoe and the rear surface of the follower shoe clamping the pipe between the bending and follower shoe and causing the pipe to assume the configuration of the bending shoe in a rolling mill type operation.