jakethesnake Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 Hi everyone, I have become highly motivated to bend in the last year. In the last month I have bent half a dozen 1/4" grade 5 bolts from FBBC (picture 1), but today I attempted to bend a grade 5 that I got at Tractor Supply Co. awhile ago (picture 2). The bolt in picture 2 was not only VASTLY more difficult to bend, but it seemed to behave differently, with a bit of perceived recoil after each small bend. What was intended to be a routine bend turned out to be a max effort 20 minute wrestling match. Does anyone else have experience with bolts with the markings from picture 2? I'm curious if this is consistent from this manufacturer, or if I just have an anomalous hulk batch of G5's here. Any input here is appreciated. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingsrule92 Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 That is definitely normal for those. We call that a Linear S bolt. According to the calibration site from Aaron Corcorran those calibrate around 425 at 6". In comparison a "normal" G5 is about 375. A 6" G8 is about 460. So that is a big step towards bending your first G8!! Congrats! When that bend becomes easy and routine then you should be about ready for a triangle G8! 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devinhoo Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 I was going to go to the hardware store tomorrow with some stock from FBBC in my pocket and see if I could find more grade 5 and grade 8 bolts. Guess I need to be careful about what I buy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingsrule92 Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 2 hours ago, devinhoo said: I was going to go to the hardware store tomorrow with some stock from FBBC in my pocket and see if I could find more grade 5 and grade 8 bolts. Guess I need to be careful about what I buy. Nonsense. All steel varies all the time. I'm always looking for new head markings, especially on G2 bolts. Keeps it interesting If you're extra neurotic try to bend different markings one after the other and notate which feels harder and by how much. Makes for a fun way to progress in small increments. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakethesnake Posted June 3, 2020 Author Share Posted June 3, 2020 13 hours ago, vikingsrule92 said: That is definitely normal for those. We call that a Linear S bolt. According to the calibration site from Aaron Corcorran those calibrate around 425 at 6". In comparison a "normal" G5 is about 375. A 6" G8 is about 460. So that is a big step towards bending your first G8!! Congrats! When that bend becomes easy and routine then you should be about ready for a triangle G8! Thanks the info! I have to say, I'm glad to hear it. I've been training hard to hit my first IM Red Nail, so the fact that I inadvertently took a big leap toward that (and toward G8's, which honestly weren't even on my radar yet) is awesome! Thanks again for the input. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wobbler Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 For the red nail, you'll have to start working on 7" stuff. Hardware store, grab some 3ft sticks of 5/16 HRS and CRS and cut it to length. For another cheap 6" option, you should be able to do a 5/16×6 grade 2 if you are good with1/4×6 grade 5s that are on the difficult side. But the grade 2s can vary a lot, so don't be too confused if it doesn't go. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakethesnake Posted June 3, 2020 Author Share Posted June 3, 2020 3 hours ago, wobbler said: For the red nail, you'll have to start working on 7" stuff. Hardware store, grab some 3ft sticks of 5/16 HRS and CRS and cut it to length. For another cheap 6" option, you should be able to do a 5/16×6 grade 2 if you are good with1/4×6 grade 5s that are on the difficult side. But the grade 2s can vary a lot, so don't be too confused if it doesn't go. Thanks for the input! I’ll try 5/16x7 HRS next in my next bending sessions along with a couple bends of 1/4x7 square FBBC stock. Seems like this combination might bridge the gap? I tried a red nail about a month ago and put a kink in it, so I’m close. I just need another small incremental step or two. I really appreciate the advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devinhoo Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, jakethesnake said: Thanks for the input! I’ll try 5/16x7 HRS next in my next bending sessions along with a couple bends of 1/4x7 square FBBC stock. Seems like this combination might bridge the gap? I tried a red nail about a month ago and put a kink in it, so I’m close. I just need another small incremental step or two. I really appreciate the advice. I'm in a similar spot. I bought the FBBC advanced bag and my plan is: 1/4 x 6" grade 5 bolt (380) 1/4 x 7" square CRS (390) 5/16 x 6 grade 2 bolt (400) 1/4 x 5.5" grade 5 bolt (410) 9/32 x 5.5" CRS (420) 1/4 x 6" grade 8 bolt (420) 5/16 x 7" CRS (450) It's old so I don't know how helpful it will be to you, but I found this progression in a Diesel Crew article by Greg Amidon and Dave Morton. http://www.dieselcrew.com/articles-pdf/gregdavebend2.pdf#page=14 Edited June 3, 2020 by devinhoo tried to make the image smaller 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakethesnake Posted June 4, 2020 Author Share Posted June 4, 2020 2 hours ago, devinhoo said: I'm in a similar spot. I bought the FBBC advanced bag and my plan is: 1/4 x 6" grade 5 bolt (380) 1/4 x 7" square CRS (390) 5/16 x 6 grade 2 bolt (400) 1/4 x 5.5" grade 5 bolt (410) 9/32 x 5.5" CRS (420) 1/4 x 6" grade 8 bolt (420) 5/16 x 7" CRS (450) It's old so I don't know how helpful it will be to you, but I found this progression in a Diesel Crew article by Greg Amidon and Dave Morton. http://www.dieselcrew.com/articles-pdf/gregdavebend2.pdf#page=14 Nice! Thanks for the reference. I have made great progress in the last two months using square stock from FBBC, as it is, to me, extremely painful to bend. This improved pain tolerance has allowed me to move ahead to some tougher bends. Perhaps swap the 5.5x9/32 CRS for a 6.5x1/4 square CRS? Should be similar rating but closer to the same length as the Red Nail. Just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anwnate Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 A bastard harder than a 6.5" Red? Could be, but I wouldn't assume that. It's totally batch dependant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devinhoo Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, jakethesnake said: Nice! Thanks for the reference. I have made great progress in the last two months using square stock from FBBC, as it is, to me, extremely painful to bend. This improved pain tolerance has allowed me to move ahead to some tougher bends. Perhaps swap the 5.5x9/32 CRS for a 6.5x1/4 square CRS? Should be similar rating but closer to the same length as the Red Nail. Just a thought. I don’t have any 6.5” stock at all right now, but I think you’re totally right. The one piece of 5.5” stock I bent didn’t go great and I’m not keen on going that short again. Maybe it’s time to buy some bolt cutters and head to the hardware store again. 35 minutes ago, anwnate said: A bastard harder than a 6.5" Red? Could be, but I wouldn't assume that. It's totally batch dependant. The article is from 2005, so maybe it was true at the time. I only got into bending a few weeks ago, and I was 8 years old when the article was written. Kind of out of my depth of knowledge. Edited June 4, 2020 by devinhoo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingsrule92 Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 Comparing progression across lengths is not ideal. Depending on your build, experience, flexibility, and areas of strength you might be (relatively speaking) a MUCH better short bender or MUCH better longer steel bender. There seem to be a lot of newer benders in here. Would any of you be interested in a thorough bending progression thread? I would probably do an all lengths list (so stock that can be bought/obtained in any length) and a 6" list (due to several achievement bends being 6" like 60d, G5, G8). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakethesnake Posted June 4, 2020 Author Share Posted June 4, 2020 6 hours ago, vikingsrule92 said: Comparing progression across lengths is not ideal. Depending on your build, experience, flexibility, and areas of strength you might be (relatively speaking) a MUCH better short bender or MUCH better longer steel bender. There seem to be a lot of newer benders in here. Would any of you be interested in a thorough bending progression thread? I would probably do an all lengths list (so stock that can be bought/obtained in any length) and a 6" list (due to several achievement bends being 6" like 60d, G5, G8). I would be very interested in this^^^ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottledCitrus Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 On 6/4/2020 at 12:01 AM, vikingsrule92 said: Comparing progression across lengths is not ideal. Depending on your build, experience, flexibility, and areas of strength you might be (relatively speaking) a MUCH better short bender or MUCH better longer steel bender. There seem to be a lot of newer benders in here. Would any of you be interested in a thorough bending progression thread? I would probably do an all lengths list (so stock that can be bought/obtained in any length) and a 6" list (due to several achievement bends being 6" like 60d, G5, G8). Did you ever get around to this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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