Bent steel rod

You have to heat it if you want a tight bend. You can
take a couple of pipes and tap a hole in each one for a
set screw, then clamp the pipes to your rod with
perhaps 3” of rod exposed in the middle. Heat it red hot
with a torch if you want a tight bend. If you want
less tight bend you can do it cold. Clamp a 3/4” pipe
upright in your vise and use it as a fulcrum to pull the
pipe handles towards you.

There are lots of ways to do it. If you try to do it without
handles you’ll get a bulging affect near the bend. It
won’t look like a straight rod with a clean bend in it.

I think I would pay a visit to a guy that makes wrought iron fences and stuff.

-- Joe

I bet a local machine shop could do it fairly reasonable was well….... A local welder could also do it….

-- What we do in life will Echo through Eternity........

Ditto on the local welding shop They will have the rod and the means to bend it. Most likely the best price option also.

I’d do the same as loren

-- Joel -- http://diversitywoodworks.wordpress.com

Give it to a1Jim, this is him doing it:

The radius of the bend will match his neck

If you need smaller radius thread the rod through two pieces of pipe, step on one and pull the other. With couple feet of leverage ½” rod will bend like butter (done that).

If you can’t find a welder, a muffler should should be able to as well if you don’t feel like cranking up a torch or even a BBQ pit with a little charcoal.

It doesn’t take a lot to bend 1/2” stock.

-- Woodworking shouldn't cost a fortune: http://lowbudgetwoodworker.blogspot.com/

VA must have a ton of blacksmiths to handle the horse trade. if not, then I think time and a lot of MAAP gas with a vise will work (probably have to cool it from time to time so welder’s gloves/grippers are in order as well).

Depending on the radius you require, a pipe bender as used by plumbers will do this. I have seen 1/2” re-bars bent to make ground anchors using one. I thought at the time there’s no way that’ll do that, but it did and I was amazed.
No heat required. Got a mate who’s a plumber?

-- Do or do not, there is no try

Do you need the bend toward the end of the bar? Put it in a trailer hitch of a car or truck and start pulling out toward the side of the car. I watched guys bending rebar like that for inside a concrete footing.

Heat it w/ MAP gas until cherry red, put in a mechanics vise and bend away. Easy.

-- Bondo Gaposis

Merchant grade steel bars (the ones found in big box stores), are not good enough quality to bend without breaking. Dependind on how sharp a bend, you can heat it up before bending. Hot rolled steel (black) rods will bend better than cold rolled steel (shiny) rods.