How to Bend a Kick and 90: Formula and Marks
Quick answer
A kick is one shallow bend in the leg of a 90, at right angles to it, that moves the stub sideways. Bend the 90 first, mark the kick from its back, put it on the arrow with the hook facing the 90, turn the conduit a quarter turn and bend. By the multiplier method the mark is kick ÷ sin(angle) from the back of the 90.
A kick is a single shallow bend in the leg of a 90, made at right angles to the 90’s own bend. It moves the stub sideways, so a run that sits out from a wall can still turn up against it, or step over into a box.
What to measure
- Kick: how far the kick moves the stub sideways, center to center.
- Angle: of the kick bend.
- Stub length (optional): to the back of the 90. With it both marks are measured from the stub end; without it the kick mark is measured from the back of a 90 you have already bent.
How to bend it
- Bend the 90 first, as a stub-up. With a stub length, its mark is mark 1.
- Mark the kick Between bends from the back of the 90, measured along the leg (or at mark 2 from the stub end).
- Put that mark on the arrow with the hook facing the 90.
- Turn the conduit a quarter turn, so the kick bends at right angles to the 90 (the marks list says Rotate 90°), toward the side the stub has to move. Bend to the angle.
- Check that the stub is still plumb and sits the kick distance over.
Where the numbers come from
between bends = kick ÷ sin(angle) − setback + OD/2 − start of bendshrink = kick × tan(angle/2) − g(angle)- Kick
- 4"
- Angle
- 30°
- Stub length
- 12"
- Between bends
- 6 3/4" (8" by multiplier)
- Shrink
- 1" (1 1/16" by multiplier)
- Marks from the stub end
- 7" (the 90) and 16 1/4" (the kick)
If it turns orange or red
Red means the kick bend would run into the 90: the kick is too small for this angle on this shoe. Orange means there is too little straight between them for the shoe to grip. On 1/2" EMT at 30°, orange starts at a 2 7/8" kick and red at 2 5/8". Use a smaller angle.
Get the marks for your bender
BendMate works this out from your bender’s radius and deduct, flags a bend that won’t work, and shows you every mark.
Common questions
How far from the 90 do you mark a kick?
By the multiplier method, kick ÷ sin(angle) from the back of the 90: 8" for a 4" kick at 30°. On a 1/2" EMT hand bender, which allows for the setback, the OD and the start of bend, it is 6 3/4".
What is the shrink on a kick?
Shrink = kick × tan(angle/2) less the gain of one bend, because a kick has only one bend. A 4" kick at 30° shrinks 1 1/16" by the multiplier method, or 1" on a 1/2" EMT hand bender.
What is the smallest kick you can bend?
It depends on the shoe and the angle: too small a kick and the kick bend runs into the 90. On 1/2" EMT at 30°, trouble starts at a 2 7/8" kick, where too little straight is left for the shoe to grip, and at 2 5/8" the kick bend would run into the 90. Use a smaller angle.