MikeF. Posted October 9, 2020 Share Posted October 9, 2020 (edited) Hey everyone! Last night, I took down my first 1/4x6” Grade 5 bolt bend, and it was quite the battle indeed! I’ve been bending since just August of this year, and I remember distinctly the feeling that 60D nails and Grade 2 bolts would just always be in the realm of impossibility; needless to say, taking down a Grade 5 Bolt is exciting. When I first bent a 1/4x6” SS Grade 2, I noticed that the crush was actually very difficult, and that’s when I first learned about steel “springing” back. Kinks and sweeps were well, but I have to fight the crush on Grade 2’s. With all that in mind, before I began the Grade 5 bend last night, I made a mental note to observe any differences I would feel, as the Grade 5’s I have aren’t SS. To no surprise for me, the kink and sweep of the bolt was ridiculously hard. I had to keep tension on the bolt for what seemed like an eternity to kink it. After a small break, I learned that the sweep of the bolt was almost even harder. About 2 minutes later, I began the crush, expecting it to be as difficult, if not more difficult, than the Grade 2. Surprisingly, the crush happened quickly, the bolt never sprang back. No surprises at all for the experienced benders here, but I just wanted to share with everyone how exciting it is to realize that there’s such a variety of steel out there, all offering its own unique experiences with bending. With this info I’m learning in the experience, I know that SS will help me build my crush strength, 60D’s to build strength and technique in bending, and I can use Grade 5’s to build kink and sweep strength. Thanks everyone for sharing their experiences here as well, there’s a lot of great info here for a new bender to learn from! Edited October 9, 2020 by MikeF. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donc101 Posted October 9, 2020 Share Posted October 9, 2020 @MikeF. Congrats on the PR bend! Stainless steel is definitely springy and tougher on the crush. It bends more rounded than cold rolled steel too. You can see from the angles of the bends in the pic above, the one on the left is more rounded. Nice progress and keep up the good work! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeF. Posted October 9, 2020 Author Share Posted October 9, 2020 4 hours ago, Donc101 said: @MikeF. Congrats on the PR bend! Stainless steel is definitely springy and tougher on the crush. It bends more rounded than cold rolled steel too. You can see from the angles of the bends in the pic above, the one on the left is more rounded. Nice progress and keep up the good work! That really means a lot coming from you, thanks so much!! It felt good to do something that felt so out of reach. I did notice that too with some other stainless stock, along with the bolts; the round bend is a lot less sharp on the angle! It’s almost more aesthetically pleasing haha. Will keep it up indeed, coming for the Grade 8, after more practice! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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