Nathan Say Posted February 22, 2002 Share Posted February 22, 2002 I told a guy at work about John Brookfield bending that crescent wrench & he said that it's amazing (IMO it belongs in the Liar's Club with all the rest of his feats :p ), but there's a trick to it. He said that just bending across a 'line' (line of symmetry I guess) is harder thaan twisting it as well because the force is concentrated on a point. My experience with physics, if it matters, is really limited (even though I'm a math student), is that guy onto something? He doesn't look like he's done anything physical all his life, so I wasn't sure whether I should believe him, but he knew the trick to tearing a phonebook, so it made me think. Of course if it would work on a crescent wrench, it would work on any other sort of flat piece of metal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Black Posted February 22, 2002 Share Posted February 22, 2002 Yes, it is easier to bend a wrench "in a line" than twist it. But easier is a relative term. It is also easier to lift the Inch dumbbell compared to the Millennium bell! Both are hard. There is no proper comparison to phone book ripping. There is no "trick" in bending a wrench. Ask him to show you Better yet, ask him to show you a phone book tear since he mentioned that (use at least a 2" phone book). I've had people tell me the trick of ripping a phone book, but they've never actually tried and can't do it when they do. Even after breaking the binding for them I have found the average guy can't do it. I even had a guy who couldn't finish off a phone book that was only 3/4" thick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Black Posted February 22, 2002 Share Posted February 22, 2002 Oh, and one last thing, I estimate that it would take over 500 pounds of force to bend an adjustable wrench. Let your armchair physicists duplicate that! You could actually test it yourself. Take a wrench and put it below a smith machine bar. Put 500 pounds on the bar. Grab both sides and lift the smith machine bar using the wrench as a handle. I think it would probably withstand this, but you might have a hard time holding on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terminator Posted February 22, 2002 Share Posted February 22, 2002 Trick my a**! There is certainly a technique to bending, but it still requires amazing strength and coordination. There's a trick to Olympic lifting also, it's called perfecting your technique AND becoming brutally strong and quick. I'm with Tom on this, let the armchair guys talk all they want. They can try all the tricks they want, but we'll still have some perfectly straight adjustable wrenches when they're done. Personally I think it might be much more than 500lbs, but very dependent on the quality of wrench. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest woody36 Posted February 22, 2002 Share Posted February 22, 2002 The reason for my question to Mr Sorin yesterday was because i bent a cheap quality 10"inch adjustable to the sticking point,if i had known at that time Brookfield braced his to finish the bend,i think i maybe? could have finished mine. Remember this was a cheap wrench,not a brand name! i'm still proud of how far i got it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Black Posted February 22, 2002 Share Posted February 22, 2002 Excellent Woody. I'd like to think that Brookfield braced that bend. It seems surreal too me that anyone could bend an adjustable wrench all the way to a U-shape without some type of bracing (The wrenches that are almost an inch across). When I spoke with Stanless Steel on the phone I seem to remember that he said that everyone who bends the really big pieces of steels braces them on their leg. I’ve bent the big 12”x3/8” spike to the sticking point by bracing (much cheaper to bend than a wrench), and I think I have a lot of training to do to get it beyond that point. Part of the obvious problem is that I am exhausted just to get it to the sticking point and in order to go further the momentum there needs to be high, whereas the momentum is zero for me at that point. Hardly a trick, brute strength and a little craziness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryduty Posted February 22, 2002 Share Posted February 22, 2002 Nice bending, Woody! Maybe you should give a better quality wrench a try...with bracing, you might even surprise yourself! Train smart! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TDOGRPAGE Posted February 22, 2002 Share Posted February 22, 2002 That's awesome to be able to bend a wrench like that. 60 penny nails are hard enough as it is, a wrench is just plain awesome. Does anyone know if John Brookfield uses padding of any kind when he bends or is all bare-handed? I know in his book he talks about making sure that you use cloth to protect your hands while bending and I saw him in a picture once doing scrollwork in what appeared to be weightlifing gloves of some sort. I have tried bending bare handed but it is just too painful, especially with uncut nails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Say Posted February 22, 2002 Author Share Posted February 22, 2002 I know some guys wrap a towel around nails & stuff & here Broookfield uses gloves to do his scrollwork http://www.sorinex.com/Images/livingstrong02/04.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryduty Posted February 23, 2002 Share Posted February 23, 2002 Here's a link to John Brookfield bending a "large spike" barehanded: http://www.samson-power.com/JV_showdown_si...ghts_part_3.htm So, it seems that he bends both with and without hand protection. Personally, I prefer to bend using hand protection since this reduces the likelihood of injuries which might slow down training. Train smart! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cliff Stamp Posted February 26, 2002 Share Posted February 26, 2002 In regards to phone book tearing, there is a "trick" that allows them to be torn quite easily. Lay the phone book on your leg, and roll it backwards towards your feet with a grip across the top. This will splay out the pages and you can rip them a few at a time and pull them apart a few at a time. It is *far* easier than a break through a spine, a lateral tear or a horizontal tear opposite the spine which is the hardest. For a challenge, and to get the most out of the phonebooks, reduce the contact area and tear off narrow strips. The stronger you are, the more narrow the strips you can tear off. In regards to bracing, if you allow the object to be held in place then you can eliminate grip strength from the task for the most part. At the extreme for example just vice the wrench, place your hand right behind it and push. You don't have to actually grip the wrench at all, you just need enough force on the drive and can come from any large muscle group. If you are bracing it with your other hand against a body part, there is still a lot of grip strength involved as your offhand has to stabilize the object and you can't just push with your strong hand because that will just move the base. You have to torque with your strong hand which will involve a lot of wrist strength. Still in any case it does decrease the amount of grip strength involved as it allows you to push from other muscle groups. Regardless, even with bracing against your body, it is still an extreme feat of strength to bend a large quality wrench. -Cliff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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