JDarty6173 Posted January 8, 2005 Share Posted January 8, 2005 (edited) Ok, I picked up some of the shiney 60D nails at a local Lowes. Well I don't know what the heck to think about these things.. First off a few days ago I tackled my hardest bend yet which was a 4 13/16"inch x 1/4" inch bar of cold rolled steel. Pretty hard bend being that short and all.. Well yesterday I decided to try the new 60D nails I picked up. Well I hit that SOB with everything I had many times over the course of about 45 minutes. And I ended up bending that thing less than 1/2" inch before I had to quit due to hand pain. So does this sound like an abnormally hard 60D? It just blew my mind that it was SOOO much harder than the 4 13/16" x 1/4" CRS. I have bent a couple of the galvanized 60D nails from lowes, but they were nothing like this shiney one.... Edited January 8, 2005 by JDarty6173 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricMilfeld Posted January 8, 2005 Share Posted January 8, 2005 Your story is almost typical. I believe Iron Mind markets (or use to) market their Blue nails as being equivalent to an average 60D nail, but I've found few true 60D nails that easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmainlands Posted January 8, 2005 Share Posted January 8, 2005 Try the graded bolts if you are looking for a little more consistency. The 60Ds are all over the place. Some are even harder than a grade 8 bolt! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyle Posted January 8, 2005 Share Posted January 8, 2005 Being new to bending, I'm still looking for 3/16th stuff, got lots of 1/4" it's only $.17/foot but I can't find 3/16ths anywhere locally, all they have is 3/16th threaded rod, is this of any use? or is there a graded bolt similar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gamidon Posted January 8, 2005 Share Posted January 8, 2005 (edited) Take a look at the bent bars when you are done with them. The harder the steel the more "V" shaped the bend is. If the bend is a looping "U" it is because it was a softer steel. Best "V" shaped bars I have is the Grade9s I would love to have a graded bolt harder than the 9, I am not sure if they will beak or not. As for new benders there are a couple of things an experienced bender can help you with. I am best when I can see you bend but here are a few tips: 1) Read Benders Website and get your wrists ready to bend, this is the most overlooked step. Bend easy bars for volume and sledge lever or something to strengthen your wrists. Get Erics Ebook for bending if you are an overhand bender. 2) Take a bar that you can do pretty easily and experiment with them. Change your hand position, angle you are bending, hieght you hold the nail when you start, etc and see where you feel the strongest. This is almost always a position where your arms elbows and wrists are in a line and no big angles away from your body. Find where you are strong and then start step 3. 3) Practice practice practice people move up bars before they have their form down. They change their form when the bar is different (example 6" vs 7" bars) you got to have your form down and you have to be confident in your form. 4) Become explosive. This is THE most important thing in my opinion. Practive with a bar you can get pretty easy and EXPLODE into it. Practice hitting the bar harder and harder untill you feel like you will bend it to completion in a one second hit. 5) Overcome your fear. You have to learn to unload into it without fear. This sounds funny to new benders, but overcoming your natural fear is a very important mental aspect of bending. Taking a bar and unloading on it is very difficult if you are worrying about tearing your muscles from the bone or breaking your wrist. The reality is in order to get a "True" max attempt you must be exploding into the bar. Most people I see starting off start generating force into the bar and then increasing it, then quiting when they dont feel movement. This is never going to get you to bend at your peak. 6) Find someone to look at your form who knows what he is doing and see if they can help you out. 7) Cheat kink a bar to varying degrees and work on finishing them. Continue to work yourself back to a straight bar. This is a great way to de-mystify the piece of steel. Some times when you look at a bar you figure it cannot be bent. By bending pieces that are already bent you learn that you can bend it. Sometimes I take a bar a newer bender is going to bend and I DESTROY it. I make it look real easy. Then the person grabbing that type of bar will realize that it can be done and maybe the problem is in his head. 8) Work you form some more, increase your wrist strength some more. I am still doing this and I preach it to others who bend with me. Continue to take easier bars and work on exploding into them, this can never be said enough. You will develop the peak force you need to bend a bar when you explode into it, and then once the bar starts moving, momentum and heating will help you finish it. 9) Mental, Mental, Mental it is hard to believe but let me assure you bending is mental. I was once told by Steve McGranahan after missing a bar and complaining how tough it was, "Its just steel bend it". From this I took away, that he was underimpressed with my complaints. Just bend the thing and shut up.... I dont care if you are under or overhand, Dave is one of the most explosive bender I have seen. I have watched him underhand reds and he just unloads into them. Edited January 8, 2005 by gamidon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smitty Posted January 8, 2005 Share Posted January 8, 2005 Great post Greg! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricMilfeld Posted January 8, 2005 Share Posted January 8, 2005 Yes, excellent, Greg! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricMilfeld Posted January 8, 2005 Share Posted January 8, 2005 Your helpful post gives me an idea, Greg. How about I pin particularly helpful posts like these? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bballdad Posted January 8, 2005 Share Posted January 8, 2005 Great bending advice Greg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigsquat Posted January 8, 2005 Share Posted January 8, 2005 Greg, Great post. I will use your suggestions in my own training.How many times a week do you bend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gamidon Posted January 8, 2005 Share Posted January 8, 2005 I bend twice a week now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrlslee1 Posted January 8, 2005 Share Posted January 8, 2005 Wow thnx for the advice greg! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Steve Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 You have learned well Grasshopper! The words Greg speaks, them is goooood words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt. crushalot Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 JD, I know exactly which regular 60d nails you are talking about. I purchase some recently from Lowes also. If you compare them, they are actually slightly thicker than either 1/4 steel or the 60d spiral nails. They are one tough hombre! These are stronger than the super 60d spiral nails that take 320 pounds of force to bend. I am not talking about the much weaker shiny, loose spiral nails or the slightly harder, tighter spiral gray nail that flakes when bent. The super 60d spiral nails have tighter spirals, and a rough, dull pale gray finish. As far as spiral nails go, I have only seen the easy shiny loose spiral ones recently at Lowes and Home Depot. These smooth shiny Lowes regular 60d nails may actually be a little thicker than 1/4 inch. It would be interesting to see how a red nail bender compares them to the red nail, since they take apparently much more than 320 pounds of force to bend. Remember you are not weak, this nail is just a monster. With time this monster will be destroyed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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