I’ve been bending nails and steel for about 18 months and I’d like to share some of my experiences and offer some ideas for your consideration.
STRATEGIES
When it comes to bending steel, I’ve tried four main training strategies. I’ve progressed by bending the same thickness of metal in shorter and shorter lengths; by bending the same length of metal in thicker and thicker diameters; by bending the same length and thickness of tougher and tougher kinds of metal; and by a combination of shortening the length of the same diameter of tougher and tougher metal. I’ve even experimented with drilling a progressively smaller hole through the center of a nail or bar. Don’t be afraid to experiment to determine what works best for you!
Bending the same thickness of metal in shorter and shorter lengths: Find a length that you can bend and then shorten it by 1/4” (or 1/2”) until it reaches your goal. One advantage to this strategy is that it’s relatively inexpensive to buy a box of nails (or rods of metal) and cut them to shorter lengths. Another advantage is that the metal usually has the same strength. But a disadvantage is that if there’s a sizable gap between the metal you can currently bend and the metal your goal is to bend, you’re likely to be using different muscles (and possibly techniques) at the start than you’ll eventually be using when you’re close to your target. This is because the metal you start out bending would be MUCH longer than your target.
Bending the same length of metal in thicker and thicker diameters: Start with a thickness that you can bend and gradually increase it. On the plus side, this lets you use the same muscles and technique for bending. However, the problem I found was that since I don’t have easy access to a machine shop lathe, the changes in thickness represented a large jump in the strength that I needed to bend the next piece of metal!
Bending the same length and thickness of tougher and tougher kinds of metal: one of my favorite strategies was to bend progressively more difficult kinds of metal that had a constant length and constant gauge (or diameter) of thickness (e.g., 6” X 1/4” Aluminum, 6” X 1/4” Brass, 6” X 1/4” Hot Rolled Steel (HRS), etc.). If your goal is to bend a 60d nail, then you’d advance by bending progressively tougher 60d nails (Aluminum, Copper, Steel, etc.) or 6” cut metal until you could crush your target. An advantage to using this strategy is that you get to use the same muscles and technique for your bending, but the problem I ran into here is similar as before. Since I don’t have easy access to foundry, the types of metal available to me to bend are very limited.
Bending the same thickness of tougher and tougher kinds of metal in shorter and shorter lengths: Using a combination of these three strategies can greatly increased your options! My brother has measured the strength needed to bend different kinds of metals/nails. Using those results, I know the approximate “yield” strength of different metals. Suppose your goal is to bend the Ironmind Blue “nail”, try this approach. Since the Blue is 6” x 1/4“, try to bend 6” x 1/4“ aluminum. If successful, try 6” x 1/4“ brass. If this is too challenging for you, try a longer pieces of 1/4“-thick brass until you find a piece that you can bend. Each training session, shorten the length of the brass piece that you’re working with by 1/4” (or 1/2”) until you reach your goal-in this case 6”. After you can bend 6” x 1/4“ brass, advance to HRS and repeat as needed until you reach your final target.
OK, so we have a strategy, what next?
GOALS
As is true for all training, it is important to set specific goals. What are your long-range goals? U-shaping a 60d nail? The Ironmind “Red” nail? The 60d nail is 6” long and 1/4” thick in diameter and the Ironmind “Red” nail is 7” long and 5/16” thick in diameter. So, you should establish your training program accordingly. Remember to also set short-range goals to establish milestones. These will be stepping-stones to achieving your long-range goals!
TRAINING SESSIONS
I really think that technique combined with the right mental attitude is the answer! My advice for your training session is as follows:
Mental toughness – Bending is 99% mental! You need to attack the metal like your life depends on bending it! Before you pick up the metal you’re about to bend, imagine yourself bending the metal easily - really see it in your head! OK, pick the metal up and bend it - don't *try* to bend it...explode thru it! You will absolutely destroy it!!!
Technique is the other 1% - but a very important element, nonetheless! Experiment with slightly different body, hands, and metal positioning until you find what feels perfect. If you have access to a video camera, this can provide you with valuable feedback. I recommend that you go thru a mental checklist every time you prepare to bend. “Metal is set properly, feet are set properly, body weight is distributed correctly, arms are set properly, etc.” Eventually, this will become automatic and you won’t even consciously think about it.
An area that is occasionally overlooked is “crush-down” training. If you are tackling a strong piece of metal that you can only kink, you may not be giving your crush-down a good workout because it isn’t bent enough for you to crush the ends together. How much of a bend do you have to put in your metal before you can successfully crush it down? 60 degrees? 45? 30? Having a powerful crush-down could mean the difference between just a “kink” and a successful U-shaping! So, my advice is to take a piece of that strong metal you’re working with but can only kink and by bracing it, bend it into a 90 degree angle (it’s OK to use a vise here). Next, try to crush it down. If you can crush it down in your first attempt, the angle is too big. Reduce the angle until it takes multiple training sessions to crush it down. After you’ve finally crushed it down, repeat these steps until you can crush it in one session. After that, reduce the angle again and repeat the steps.
Very important: make sure that *something* in each session is an improvement over your previous session! This guarantees that you're improving! Using this approach, you can only get stronger! Never let yourself have a training session that isn't in some way better than your last!
Finally, I recommend that you use a training log to record and monitor your progress. There is a great sense of personal satisfaction to review your log after you’ve been training a few months and you see the progress that you’ve made!