[Josh MacD]

I'm learning MIG welding with a small hobart 120 and am mostly farting around with some scrap parts and making some simple projects to learn different aspects. I see people making little creative figures and sculptures out of miscellaneous bolts, nuts and such. When making these things, how would I bend those pieces into shape? I have a standard small propane torch, bench vise with anvil and lots of elbow grease. Is it a matter of heat it up and muscle it into the shape you want? or is there a trick that'll save me some sweating and swearing but doesn't involve a $200 tool?

[Farmwelding]

You can bend a lot of stuff with the tools you have especially with small peices. I've bent 1/8" strips of steel by hand in a vise to make parts. Vise and vise grips along with a propane torch will do you pretty good. A hammer may be needed at times as well.

[Mihtu]

Make the tools you need,all kinds of ideas an plans on the web,if you hAve a welder an the ability to cut stuff,you can make what you need,or buy it,somewhere on here I posted a square tube bender,that I built because I had no way of doing it,it worked great

[Poleframer]

Put some heat to it and you might be surprised how soft steel gets when its red hot, and how easy it is to get it there, weather with a oxy torch, or throwing it in a wood fire for a few minutes. Both of my grandfathers in montana shod horses, and worked iron with little more than a fire made of cow dung, ironworking goes back many centuries, ya just gotta get some heat to it. Or more leverage if its cold.