There are just two things you need to bend glass tubes with and these are (1) a Bunsen burner[99] and (2) the glass tubing, both of which you can buy of Eimer and Amend, Fourth Avenue, Cor. 18th Street, New York.
[99] Complete instructions for making a Bunsen burner will be found in The Magic of Science by the present author and published by Fleming H. Revell Co., New York.
What a Bunsen Burner Is.
—This is a burner in which a jet of ordinary illuminating gas is mixed with air, the amount being regulated by a ring which opens and closes the air holes in the burner.
A Bunsen burner makes a very hot flame because the gas in the tube moves faster than in an ordinary burner and the oxygen in the air aids the gas to burn. A plain Bunsen burner is shown at [A, in Fig. 87]. If you have no gas in your house you can use an alcohol lamp[100] which you can either buy or make for yourself.
[100] How to make an alcohol lamp out of an ink-bottle is explained in The Magic of Science.
Bending the Glass Tube.
—To bend a piece of glass tube you should have a fish tail jet set in the end of the Bunsen burner to give a wide flame like an illuminating burner as shown at B. Hold the tube over the flame of the burner, or alcohol lamp until it is heated red hot all along the place you want to bend it.
Fig. 87. kinds of bunsen burners