Short Steel Bending

I have dabbled in steel bending as a fun and unique training tool.  I purchased a beginners kit and have yet to get through the (6) bars they sent me.  They were 3/16" bars at 6" (120 pounds) and 5" (140 pounds) estimated force to close.

I got the kit from the Short Steel Bending Company, which is now shutting down the website but is offering the business for sale.  I inquired, but it is not really suitable for me.  I also got a good feel for the market which was interesting.  I have talked with Matt of Short Steel Bending Company, Shawn of FBBC and need to give Devon of EatChalkGetBig a call sometime.  I do not know of any other players in the space.  TSSBCI is bar stock and was going to get into horse shoes.  FBBC does custom implements and bar stock.  ECGB does nails, bolts, wrenches and other random items.

It was really interesting for me to get a feel for the size of the market and the question in my mind was what is the market potential?  My guess is the current market might be 2000 benders who would be actively bending 10 pieces of steel per year.  Those 20,0000 bars at $10/each would represent a $200,000 market.  The majority will be served by people buying steel and cutting it to length themselves.  That leaves another chunk of the market that is looking for commercial sources of steel.  At the extreme end somebody could have a $400/month steel habit while the other extreme would be try it once and not really care for it.

I decided to get another steel order in from TSSBI and opted for (25) 3/16" 6 inch (120 pound bars) and (10) 7/32" (160 pound bars).  The thicker bars are a bridge to hopefully trying 1/4" stock from FBBC.  I would start with 8" which should be around 180 pounds.  I could then work my way shorter until I was at 230 pounds for 7" bars.