Has any body strightened a radius rod

I sawed part way thru the radius rods with a hacksaw in several places (depending on the amount of bend), then I MIG welded the cuts and ground off the excess weld metal.

Turned out excellent! You have to be careful, as the pull from the weld shrinkage can easily make it come too much.

Best to clamp it, so it cannot come back too far.

I've used this same method to straighten or bend lots of things. Just don't stand in-line with anything that is likely to break and go flying!

You also need to use a block of wood (even used an old phone book one time) to spread the load and not crush or kink things.

Jeff

I have a 25 foot logging chain. This chain has about 2-1/2" x 1/2" links, and it is strong enough that I"m not real worried about breaking it with a 2-ton jack.

I just put the part I want to bend or straighten on one side of the jack and the chain on the other side of the jack. then attach the chain at each end with BIG bolts and washers through the links.

Then just start working the jack and as you take up the slack readjust things so I get the bend just right. For most things there is some spring-back and I have to go a little beyond what I want, so it springs back perfect. That is trial and error. Just go a little, let the pressire off, and see what happened. Sometimes a floor jack will work better than a bottle jack if you have room. A floor jack also gets your hands and body a little further away in case something slips.

They sell hydraulic "porta power" setups for doing work like this, but I always liked the manual jacks since they slow me down and give me time to watch and think about what I"m doing.

CAREFUL! Pinched fingers hurt and you might even amputate something. For working on smaller parts I do have a regular 12-ton shop press.

Wouldn't mind having a press like yours either.

Jeff

Tim