Glad this worked out well. Myself, I prefer oven heat, as it is very even and temp controlled. I'll start at 225, then go to 250 or 275 if I must. 10 minutes in my shop's toaster oven, which is quicker than a crock pot. Also, an unattended 10 minutes where I do other stuff. Typically, I am going through a collection when I do this, so there are others tasks to occupy my time while the engine heats.
As others say, brute force is a bad idea, as it is easy to bend rods. A good test for a bent rod is to insert drill bits, steel rods if you have them, into both ends of the rod. It will be obvious if bent, and easy to tweak by grabbing the drill bits. A bent rod will create weird binds that can be felt, especially if you have developed good mechanical feel.