DTSFab.com (Desert, Trail and Sand)
The Machine Shop => Tools/Tips and Tricks => Topic started by: komelika on November 20, 2009, 06:19:41 PM
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There must not be much competition in the bender market because JD2's customer service sucks. I placed an order for nearly $800 on the 12th. I've been waiting for a notification for shipment for a while so I e-mail them through their contact page asking for a ship date or order status. Two days and no reply. I then call them and leave a message with my order number and ask for a call back. Two days and no reply. I finally got someone on the phone today and they look me up by name, nothing. Look me up by phone number, nothing. Look me up by order number, "Oh, it never made it out of the database." He puts me on hold and then comes back and says they have most of it in stock and it will ship soon. I told them to cancel the order and I'll call Pro-tools. He says, "OK." Not a hint of an apology. What the hell?! I think the biggest thing that pissed me off was that he didn't even respond when I told him about the e-mail and voice message. If their customer service is that bad before the sell then I can't imagine if I needed something after they have my money.
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Sad and funny (in a sad way) at the same time.
I do agree with that kind of service and attitude they do not need anyones buisness.
The fool on the phone shoulda been apologetic and tried to get you a lil something extra for the bender for free.
The owner of the company should be told too.
But I guess if thats how he runs his shop (not knowing) he deserves what he gets.
If I owned a company like that I would want EVERY order to come right to me. Then I would know who and when and drop the hammer if my guys were not hot footing it to get it out.
Plus to know how much was being sold for profit reasons alone!
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http://www.jd2.com/shop/ (http://www.jd2.com/shop/)
Maybe the "Over 27 years" in the banner at the top of thier screen is estimated shipping time?? LMAO
From you and many others I have heard of thier slow service it might not be reading to much higher...
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I'm going to call pro-tools tomorrow and see if the price is similar. If I can match it I will go with them. If not, then I may call JD2 back and speak to a "manager". My luck, the clown on the phone probably was a manager!
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http://www.gottrikes.com/Tube_Bender.htm (http://www.gottrikes.com/Tube_Bender.htm)
Might consider that. Can be built to take JD dies or Pro Tool dies. Lotsa guys make em and really seem to like them.
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I'm starting to think you work for these guys! LMAO
I like the setup, but it takes up some some floor space. I like the storeability of the pedestal benders.
I'm just pissed that the clock starts over on getting my tools! I thought I'd have them by now. I just picked up all of my tubing today and converted my welder to MIG and now it is all sitting there waiting for a bender... bummer!
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One like the Gottrikes is easly moved and rollers on them is common if not mandatory.
You ever messed with a pedastal one? They need a SOLID place to be bolted down to (cement) You need tube clearance for feeding in the tube AND especially where ever your bends go.
MY PT-105 was on a pedastal and I hated it. Making an nice electric over Hydraulic one a moveable stand.
Might take a peek at these before you do much more. Might get some ideas that make you a happier camper in the long run??
http://www.offroadfabnet.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=95
Particuallarly this thread.
http://www.offroadfabnet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=531 (http://www.offroadfabnet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=531)
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What about one of the vendors that carry JD tools?
Call them all until you find one that has everything in stock.
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What about one of the vendors that carry JD tools?
Call them all until you find one that has everything in stock.
Not a bad idea if you really want JD stuff but if I got the response Komelika did I would be looking elsewhere myself too.
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WTF is wrong with a pedestal bender mounted to the floor? oh yeah takes up more floor space than most people have in their entire shop. ;D ;D. Personally I like the pedestal mounted ones though.
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WTF is wrong with a pedestal bender mounted to the floor? oh yeah takes up more floor space than most people have in their entire shop. ;D ;D. Personally I like the pedestal mounted ones though.
Mine was not to bad when I was in Indy with a six car garage.
Aside from the tube being bent moving around the long lever you pull on takes a fair amount of space. I think a lot of people do not realize this when they buy one. Some find out the hard way if they do not have a large space to use it!
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Yeah if you are bending something like the rorty r16 that has a couple of front to rear tubes it takes approx a 24 x 20 area. But a vertical unit will need 15' + ceilings!
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Yeah if you are bending something like the rorty r16 that has a couple of front to rear tubes it takes approx a 24 x 20 area. But a vertical unit will need 15' + ceilings!
Wheels on a Gottrikes takes care of that problem. As long as you wait for a nice day to bend outside!!
Also in some garages with open rafters you can go up between them pretty dang high.
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Wheels on a Gottrikes takes care of that problem. As long as you wait for a nice day to bend outside!!
Also in some garages with open rafters you can go up between them pretty dang high.
Must be nice to have a nice flat driveway! Mine is sloped and a pain the ass to work in. I hate that about this area. Can't even check the damn oil in the driveway. Oh well. I have a fairly decent two and a half car garage. I can mount it to the floor in the middle and unbolt it, put it in the corner, and park the wife's car at the end of the day (nope, she refuses to give up her side of the garage to my endeavors). I also plan on making attachments to use the pedestal for my vise, and bench grinder cause I don't have much bench space.
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Even a mean sloped drive can be compensated for with the right adjusting feet.
The bender requires bolts to stick up from the floor and or sunken anchors to screw bolts into.
As for the middle of a two car garage.... Gonna be TIGHT. Even a 2.5 nmight be tight. You will likely need to favor one side so that the tube being bent has somewhere to go.
The handle has to stick out one side over four plus feet (unless you go Hydraulic) and the other side will need enough room for whatever length you decide to bend.
Being you need the other tools mounted yah might consider just making a moveable bench with it all on it lol.
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Even a mean sloped drive can be compensated for with the right adjusting feet.
The bender requires bolts to stick up from the floor and or sunken anchors to screw bolts into.
As for the middle of a two car garage.... Gonna be TIGHT. Even a 2.5 nmight be tight. You will likely need to favor one side so that the tube being bent has somewhere to go.
The handle has to stick out one side over four plus feet (unless you go Hydraulic) and the other side will need enough room for whatever length you decide to bend.
Being you need the other tools mounted yah might consider just making a moveable bench with it all on it lol.
You gotta have more room on the feed side.More length anyway. If it were me I'd cut a hole it the driveway ,use anchor cement to bury a hitch receiver in the driveway and put a square tube on the end of the pedestal and insert it into the receiver . At the end of the day,remove bender,put receiver plug in it to keep shit out and you got all the room you need AND an unobstructed driveway.
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Yah I assumed a person would feed the long tube in the garage door from the driveway. Once again its practically outside anyways. Just make it portable and do it all there! lol
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I think he was hinting that his drive is at a steep slope. The one on rollers might not work too well for him.
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I think he was hinting that his drive is at a steep slope. The one on rollers might not work too well for him.
Yah he was. But if a car can manage to drive up it the angle cannot be tooooooooooo bad and I would think a person whos gonna build a buggy can at least make reallly long threaded adjustable feet.
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LMAO I said I'm going to try to build a buggy! It might be good at one thing when I'm done... doughnuts!
I figure I would mount it in in the middle of the floor with the feed side coming in from the driveway. I would have roughly 8 feet on either side to work with. The cuda's longest bar is the hip frame, which is 13.5 ft. total. I really don't see it being that big of a hassle to deal with. I don't have the space to work with to build rolling tables. I have a functional garage that we park one vehicle in and the buggy will need a home as well. So use and stow pedestal mounted tools is the most viable option I have.
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This is interesting. So, I called and ordered a pro tools 105 today and asked for a 3.5/180 die for 1.25" tubing. He said they don't offer that one, but he would get his eng. to do it anyway. After I place the order they call back and he says he cannot have the die made because his eng says it isn't possible to make bends that tight for 1.25" with any reliabilty. Now I have another delimma. Do I go with JD2 since they do offer the right die? The upside is they have better prices, the downside is they have terrible customer service (still plan on speaking to a manager about that when I call back).
On another note. How much trouble will I run into if I use a 4" CLR instead of the 3.5" that the plans call for? I am really trying to avoid altering the plans since this is my first build and I don't want to complicate things. Thanks!
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They(PT) feel that 3.5" dies will have too great a possibility of crushing,kinking,breaking your tube for them to stand behind it. JD2 on the other hand either feel differently OR don't care. From your PR experience with them -you be the judge who to trust. The look will be nearly identical and if you post up the original plans for a component needing bent I'm betting there's several here willing to recalc your bend start points for you if you buy the 4" PT unit..
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This is what I'mgoing with next. Bends vertical, is mobile and no leaning down. Used Pro-tool 105 dies, air hydraulic or manual.
http://www.probender.com/products.asp?cat=15 (http://www.probender.com/products.asp?cat=15)
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Komelika I KNOW you are trying to do this and learn along the way and this maybe an idea you can learn AND save some loot towards the rest of the build.
Call around to the local race car building shops. See if they have the die you seek and would bend the tubes for you. Some shops may even let you watch or even help if Insurance is not an issue.
The cost would be a bargain likely. If you reallly like this kind of thing after doing it this way you can then see about a personal bender for yourself when time/funds permit.
Then you could learn a good bit AND get your tubes done. You will likely be able to talk to them and have the tubes all figured out for the bends and CLEARLY marked (This is where you will learn a LOT!) then have them tweak the tubes to the right angles.
Just an idea.
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This is what I'mgoing with next. Bends vertical, is mobile and no leaning down. Used Pro-tool 105 dies, air hydraulic or manual.
http://www.probender.com/products.asp?cat=15 (http://www.probender.com/products.asp?cat=15)
To much like the Got trikes bender for him! lol
You can get the same bender right from Protools too so shop around first. I beleive they (protools) started to make it due to the popularity of the Got Trikes design.
http://www.pro-tools.com/ (http://www.pro-tools.com/)
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First of, I would like to thank everyone of you for your interest in JDSquared products. My name is Kaleb, and I am the foreman of JDSquared and now taking over the customer care and service department. I understand that JD2 has been on a big back order of over a month and a half due to a severe busy season we did not expect with the introduction of the model 32 coming out at the beginning of last year. I have brung the back order down to 2 weeks and will be bringing that down to a 2-3 day order time frame very soon. Now I am trying to figure out the problems customers are having aside from the back order which is being worked on. I am interested in the views and opinions with every single customer. Attached is my personal email that anyone can reach me anytime. Or you can email to sales@jd2.com. Whichever is more convenient for you. I want to approach every issue head on to see what can be resolved. Thank you for your time and good luck with your work.
Kaleb Arnold
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There ya go! a company that realizes it has had some issues and is working on correcting them. Good to see!
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Yah I sent a note to them (You can see it below) and this is what I got back (Kinda to my surpise but a good one)
William,
I have logged in to that account and posted publicly to find all issues
with JDSquared. I have taken over the Customer Service and chagning a lot of
things around here. I have made massive results happen quickly and bringing
more people in to expand. Email me back if you have any other concerns or
and ideas for me. Thanks for the heads up William.
Kaleb
----- Original Message -----
From: "William" <nutz4sand@aol.com>
To: <sales@jd2.com>
Sent: Friday, November 20, 2009 8:31 PM
Subject: PDshopNet Contact Us Form
> JD Squared:
> Email Address: - nutz4sand@aol.com
> Name: - William
> Phone: - 231-742-2273
> Comments: - http://dtsfab.com/index/index.php?topic=2371.new#new
>
> Looks like people skills and promptness of orders needs looking at. Its
> not my dime but hopefully this will fall to the RIGHT person.
>
The bottom part is what I sent and the top part is what I got. Its just a cut and pasted email. So it looks sorta backwards. Good to see him posted here and hopefulley a situation like Komelika had will be a thing of the past.
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Good to see someone giving JD2 a heads up.
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Kaleb, I appreciate what you are trying to do and I hope you have success. Customer service, in my opinion, is as important as quality when it comes to running a company. Unfortunately, I think CS is practically an afterthought in this country anymore. When a company's culture starts to move away from CS it can be a difficult thing to turn around. I was about to spend nearly $800, which may not be much in JD2's point of view. To me, especially with Christmas coming up, it is a lot! Pro-tools' customer service was top notch and I would have spent more for their product if they offered the die that I needed. Your guy could care less that he was losing me as a customer, while PT called me back three times to try to fit my needs. Good luck with JD2.