The manual gives a design for the bender but suggests using the wood flat. The Orndorff video and the Vans 24 Years of RVator book suggest using the wood in the vertical - so I tried the latter and it works very well. I used 2"x 8" and the lengths are 51" and 49". NB (as seen in Image 3) YOU NEED TO USE SOLID HINGES (4" wide). My first attempt used smaller ones and they were not up to the job - there is a large leverage force! I bolted the device to the bench using M12 x 120mm with butterfly nuts for quick fitting - pleased with the result. I have heard suggestions of using 1/8" dowel in the traing edge to stop overbending, which seems a great idea but I couldn't source the dowel locally. What I did find that works a treat is a 1/8" fibre glass rod from a local fabric shop for 40p! They are used in the making of Roman Blinds and there are usually off cuts - 4 ft is fine and I secured them to the bend with blue tack.
Post Note Please note The width of the bender needs to be 5 feet to cater for the ailerons. Mine was 4' 3" and though the ailerons came out OK it would have been much easier if the brake covered the full length.
