Model 3 here. It’s what I learned on and will handle anything you want to build. Air/hydraulic is a must because it increases the versatility of the machine. You can build or attach the bender to anything you can imagine so it’s mobile, can be stored or put into service quickly, keep your work space open and move it around as you bend longer tubes or move it outside. I also have the swag cylinder mount. Legit and is the safe way of mounting the cylinder.
I can speak for the notchmaster and reach around arm but haven’t dropped the coin. Worth it but it’s a substantial investment. I notched 90% of my chassis with a pimped out HF notcher. To me a notcher is only a short cut. The quality and amount of planning and the final finishing of the joint with a flap disc is what is most time consuming and determines the final fitment. Doesn’t matter how expensive of a notcher you use when it’s the same $5 hole saw making the rough cut. That being said, I will definitely appreciate the investment some day of a fancy notcher because they are far more versatile than the HF style.
Software is fun and easy to use and makes bending pretty easy. I still calculate everything long hand and use bendtec to check my work. After awhile you can almost run the calculations in your head.
My recommendation is to learn everything the hard way and earn the fancy tools/methods. Very satisfying. I watched videos and read forums for months after I watched someone bend tube for the first time. I made dummy bends, cost of material gauges, collected generic carpentry tools from Home Depot and started bending actual chassis pieces. There’s more than one way to do it and as you go, you’ll find that necessity is the mother of invention. I love every little tool that I’ve made along the way. All you have to do is just get started.
