Conduit bending (NEC 2026 Articles 344, 352, and 358)

In 50 minutes, your students learn what the code asks of a field bend: no damage to the pipe, no loss of inside room, a radius no tighter than Chapter 9, Table 2, and no more than 360 degrees of bends between pull points. The bend math (take-up, multipliers, shrink) is trade practice, so it lives in the Conduit Bending cheat sheet and the bend calculators, not in the code book.

At a glance

Level

First-year apprentices

Time

50 minutes, with a 90-minute variant

Sections

358.24(A), 358.24(B), 344.24, 352.24, Chapter 9, Table 2, 358.28(A), 352.28, Chapter 9, Informational Note 1, 358.30(A)

Students need

Their own 2026 code book, open to Chapter 9, Table 2, a tape measure, and the bending cheat sheet

Edition

2026 NEC

Last checked

November 2026

Class plan by minutes

1. 0 to 5 minWarm-upAsk: how many degrees of bends can you put in one run before you need a pull point? Take guesses and leave them up.
2. 5 to 20 minBoard workTeach the bend rules on the board through the 360 degree limit. Draw one example run and have students total its degrees before you show the answer.
3. 20 to 35 minSimulationPairs play Conduit Bending jobs 1 and 2 (Stub-up, Offset onto a column), then job 3 (Offset in a tight spot). Each pair says the degrees added before they bend.
4. 35 to 45 minQuestionsAsk the three quiz questions below, one at a time. Students write an answer alone, then you give the answer and its section. They can use the code book.
5. 45 to 50 minWrap-upCheck the warm-up guesses against the 360 degree limit. Ask: what does a pull point fix?

For a 90-minute block, give the simulation 35 minutes so pairs finish all six jobs, and add a 10-minute talk where each pair counts the degrees in a crew-bent run on the board, then finds the smallest Table 2 radius for the pipe size it uses.

What students learn

By the end of the period, each student can add up the degrees in a run and say how much room is left under 360, read the smallest bend radius for a trade size from Table 2, name the three things a bend must not do to the pipe, and say where EMT is strapped.

358.24(A)

An EMT bend must not damage the tube or shrink its inside room, and its radius can't be tighter than Chapter 9, Table 2.

358.24(B)

Between pull points, the bends in an EMT run add up to no more than 360 degrees.

344.24

Rigid metal conduit has the same two rules: no damage, and a 360 degree cap on the bends in a run.

352.24

Rigid PVC has the same 360 degree limit, and field bends use identified bending equipment.

Chapter 9, Table 2

The smallest bend radius for each trade size, by bender type, measured to the centerline of the pipe.

358.28(A)

Ream the cut ends of EMT so the edges can't scrape the wire insulation.

352.28

Trim the cut ends of PVC inside and outside.

Chapter 9, Informational Note 1

A bent run can call for a bigger pipe or less fill than the table allows.

358.30(A)

Fasten EMT within 3 ft of every box or other end, and at least every 10 ft along the run.

Section numbers only. Read the full text in your code book.

Quiz questions

1. 1. What is the most that the bends in one run of EMT may add up to between pull points?

   Answer. 360 degrees. (358.24(B))

2. 2. What is the smallest bend radius for 1/2 inch EMT bent with a one-shot or full shoe bender?

   Answer. 4 inches. (Chapter 9, Table 2)

3. 3. A cut end of EMT has a rough edge. What must be done to it?

   Answer. Ream it, or finish it another way, so no rough edge is left. (358.28(A))

Teaching notes

Before class

Students need their own 2026 code book open to Chapter 9, Table 2, and a calculator. Open this lesson and the Conduit bending cheat sheet on your teaching computer before class, and project the lesson. Students can play the simulation on a phone or a laptop. If they have neither, you can project the simulation and have the class call each mark. This lesson uses 1/2 inch EMT. Offset and saddle math is practiced with the cheat sheet and the bend calculators; this class stays on what the code asks of the bend.

How to use the simulation in class

• Run Conduit Bending job 1 (Stub-up) after you cover Table 2. Students mark the stick with the take-up stamped on the bender and count the degrees in the bend.
• Then pairs take job 2 (Offset onto a column) and job 5 (Box offset). Each pair counts the degrees of the bends before they bend.
• Job 3 (Offset in a tight spot) shows why the 360 degree limit shapes the angle you choose. Ask which angle fits and what it costs in degrees.
• Early finishers play job 4 (3-point saddle) or job 6 (Pull point in a long run). Job 6 is a good homework job: count a crew-bent run and say where a conduit body goes.
• When a run fails, ask whether it broke the degree limit, the radius, or the strapping. Those are three different problems.

Two discussion questions

1. 1. A helper bends a 1/2 inch stick tighter than the bender allows, and the crown flattens a little. He says the wire will still pull. What do you say?

   Look for: A flattened bend has damaged the pipe and cut its inside room, and 358.24(A) rules out both. The radius is measured to the centerline and cannot be tighter than Chapter 9, Table 2.

2. 2. A run has two stub-ups, two offsets, and a saddle, and the total is 330 degrees. The crew wants to add one more 45 degree bend. Can they?

   Look for: Look for students who add 45 to 330 and see 375, which is over the 360 degree limit in 358.24(B). The fix is a pull point or a conduit body before the extra bend.

Mistakes to watch for

• Counting only the large bends and leaving the small bends of an offset or box offset out of the degree total.
• Measuring the Table 2 radius to an edge of the pipe, not to its centerline.
• Using the one-shot column for a bend made with a different bender.
• Resetting the 360 degree count at a bend, not at a pull point.
• Forgetting to ream a cut end before the wire goes in.
• Strapping EMT at 10 ft and skipping the strap within 3 ft of the box.

If a student’s book is a different edition

This lesson follows the 2026 NEC. The 360 degree limit and the Table 2 radius rules are the same ideas students will find in the 2023 book. If a student has an older book, tell them to find the same topic and compare, and to check which edition your authority having jurisdiction enforces.

Ask Shorty is independent and is not affiliated with NFPA. Check every answer against your adopted code and your authority having jurisdiction. This lesson follows the 2026 NEC and was last checked November 2026. See something wrong? Tell us and we will check it against the code.