Installing Tech Lighting Bendable Track

TerryD

I have a question about installing bendable track systems, preferably Tech Lighting brand. I have installed a few of these systems in homes. I bent the track by hand using something curved as a guide. I am now bidding on a commercial job were there will be quite a few of these track lights. My question is, do they make a bender for this. One of the other contractors that are also bidding on this says that they have one and it costs $ 35,000.00. I have checked Tech Lightings web site and other web sites and have found nothing. As a Electrical Contractor, I know that tools can be very expensive. But I find it hard to believe that a bender for this would be this expensive. Thank you for any help on this.

mdshunk

Yeah, they make a bender that will work for that. It looks a lot like the one sheet metal guys use to roll bend tin. Three rubber covered rollers with a crank handle. It's certainly not many thousands of dollars. Let me see if I can scare up a picture...

Here you go. See figure 20 and 21 in this picture and see if this will work for your track:
http://www.lightolier.com/MKACatinstr/IS-FX04.PDF

mdshunk

That one I just linked to above wasn't the one I was thinking of. Here's the one I was thinking of. It's pretty universal:
http://www.lightinguniverse.com/prod...x?family=11566



EDIT.... I just noticed that in the picture above, that's actually Tech Lighting MonoRaili that they're bending with the tool in the picture.

mdshunk

The bending instructions from Tech Lighting say to use a plywood circle or a Wiremold bender to bend the track. What a joke.

http://www.techlighting.com/Instruct.../920MONRAL.pdf

Sparky Joe

35k for something that can be done by hand.
It'd take a while to re-coop that money

mdshunk

The 35K models are the one's that bend the old-school hard square lighting track. The stuff that's not really designed to be bent. They're digital controlled, and normally intended to be owned by a lighting supply house to custom make curved lighting track for contractors. The one I pictured above is about 150 bucks. Still sorta pricey for al the more it is. I did a big curved MonoRail job a while back by hand that worked out okay. Let me see if I have those pictures around someplace...

mdshunk

Here we go. They're pretty crappy pictures. I probably took these with my old cell phone, but you'll get the idea. It's a huge irregular spiral, maybe 20 feet in diameter.

Magnettica

35k for something that makes the tracks look like that?

IMO, that is some ugly looking lighting.

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Sparky Joe

That is an odd configuration(spiral) especially since it does not cantrast well from the background. I installed it once before in a GE showroom, the radius just matched the tile edge on the floor so it was pretty simple to bend it by hand. Although it was only hung 6 inches from the ceiling so it did not stand out very well.

mdshunk

No, that's all bent by hand there. Yes, it is ugly, but it's exactly what they wanted. Who am I to say any different.

Magnettica

I hear you.

How much per foot is that track?

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mdshunk

The track is surprisingly cheap, but where they get you is with all the associated hardware. The heads and other fixtures for on the track is where you rack up the real money. The track itself is maybe only a few dollars a foot. You generally start out with one of the "kits" which give you all the main stuff for a decent price, then buy the extra pieces and parts you need to accomplish the actual layout. It's a good bit cheaper that way if you start with one of the prepackaged kits and build from there. That big spiral, fixtures, hangers, transformers and all is about 2 grands worth.

Sparky Joe

What's the other fixture in the picture.
Looks like a shower hear spraying out fiber optic starnds?

mdshunk

Another piece of crap low voltage fixture. I forget exactly. It took those little plug-in lamps sorta like what you use in the dome light of your truck.

Tmrrptr

Well I like the spiral... and looks like you did a fine job, too...

Fun stuff is better than running keyless fixtures through attics and buildups.
r

Sparky Joe

It is funner doing tricky stuff, which makes me curious; How did you place your supports MD, put the spiral on the floor and use one of those sheetrock framers lasers?

mdshunk

Yes, but I used an electrician's laser. Rackatiers makes a laser plumb bob marketed for electrician's use.

Sparky Joe

I just said the framer's type because they have a standoff of about 2 inches that also shoot a laser down even with the laser going up so there is no measuring involved.