I ordered
this bender, upgrade from a 10$ one which kinked more then bent. Seems good as far as I can tell, and the price is reasonable.
I'm really a novice too, but it seems a propane torch is fine for racks since the work area is small enough: brass melted quickly. I'm sure silver would work but brass is cheaper.
BTW (no mean to hijack), for my next project I'll put some vent holes near the joints. Is it OK to plug them with solder instead of brass?
EDIT: I tried the bender you showed it worked quite well, but only does up to 90degs. There is a 180deg one too.