As red58 states, bending the front axle front-to-back seems to be an unnecessary operation. The tie-rod toe-in adjustment should suffice. fletch seems to describing this type of distortion and asking if the distortion is normal.
The up-down bending (when both the king-pin and camber inclinations are out by approximately the same amount) was commonly and successfully done in both shops and under shade trees (usually done incorrectly - see below).
Oh yes, people also used to heat the axles to bend them. Even the shop manuals yell at us: "ALWAYS STRAIGHTEN FORGINGS COLD - UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD HEAT BE APPLIED."
Also stated is: "As a general rule, when extreme bent conditions exist, minute fractures hardly visible will occur. Failure under ordinary conditions usually results." I have never known an axle to fail but I would not like to present when one does.
Tim
