BendCraft Pro
Three-Point Saddle Bend Calculator
Enter the obstruction height, its distance from the conduit end, and your center angle to get all three bend marks and the total shrink — no shop-table rounding.
Side bends are set to half the center angle — currently 22.5°.
How a three-point saddle works
A three-point saddle crosses a single pipe or obstruction with three bends: a center bend directly over the obstruction, and two matching side bends on either side. The side bends are always exactly half the center angle — a 45° center pairs with two 22.5° side bends, which is the classic combination taught in the trade.
Because a saddle has two ramps (up and over, then back down) instead of one, its shrink is roughly double what a single offset of the same height would produce — this calculator accounts for that automatically rather than requiring you to double a single-ramp shrink value by hand.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the side angle always half the center angle?
The center bend needs to fully reverse direction, then the side bends need to bring the conduit back to its original line. Because the two ramps are symmetric, each side only needs to cover half of the total direction change the center bend makes.
What center angle should I use?
45° is the standard choice and works for most obstruction heights. Use a smaller center angle (30°) for very low obstructions where a steep saddle would look excessive, or a larger one (60°) for taller obstructions in tight spaces.
Is this the same as a four-point saddle?
No — a three-point saddle crosses a single pipe with one peak. A four-point saddle crosses a wider obstruction with a flat plateau between two ramps, using four bends instead of three.
Need more than saddles?
BendCraft Pro for iOS covers all 10 bend types — offset, stub-up, kick, saddles, rolling offset, concentric, segment, and compound — plus voltage drop, conduit fill, and PDF reports you can hand off on-site.