I remember once when I was fabricating parts out of 1/4" x 1" hot- rolled. I needed to bend a tight radius, so I hunted through the scrap pile and found a 1" drive ratchet with busted internals. I clamped it in the vise, and proceeded to bend the straps around the ratchet's handle. A judicious application of heat from the cutting torch was making easy work of the job. I'm talking dull orange here.
I finished bending the bars, carefully quenched them, and set em' aside.
I was already planning the next step in the fabrication process, and reached over and grabbed the ratchet to remove it from the vise. No gloves, bare-handed.
The knurling pattern on the ratchet's handle was still branded into my palm and fingers 6 months later.
