Tube Bending

Hi All, As a hobbyist, I do not often have the opportunity to
contribute worthwhile tips to this illustrious band, so I am jumping
at the opportunity to share one I picked up recently.

A few weeks back we had an on-going discussion about tube-bending. I
was trying to use a small one bent in a gentle curve as a slide for a
pendant. My local supplier suggested the following which worked very
well. And I did not see it mentioned during that discussion.

He suppested inserting the string from a string-trimmer – a
WeedWacker type of garden equipment. I went to the local Home Depot,
found their generic string was packaged so one end was exposed for
sizing purposes, and tried the various sizes until I found one that
was a close fit t0o the tube’s I.D.

This line is a very hard type of nylon so it does not compress much
during bending. It is also flexible enough that it can accomodate
most curves. And it has a slick outside surface so you can fairly
easily extract it after your bend.

And I have to give credit where credit is due. The idea came from
Hans Cohen at Just For Fun Jewelry Supplies in Atlanta. If you’re
ever in the area, he has been in the business a long time and always
has useful plus a well-stocked shop.

Doug Jewett