Now turn the tube in the flame with your fingers until it is heated evenly all around and becomes soft; take it from the flame and quickly but gently bend it as you will which you can do very easily. With very little practice you will be able to make a good smooth bend just where you want it.
How to Blow Glass
To Round the Ends of a Tube.
—When you cut a tube either with a file or a glass cutter the edge of the end will be sharp but not smooth. All you have to do to round it is to heat it in the flame until it begins to melt, when the glass will run and make a smooth edge.
To Border the Ends of a Tube.
—To border a tube means to spread the edge out a little all around so that a cork can be put in easier or a liquid poured out better.
Fig. 88. bordering the end of a tube
Take a piece of charcoal and shave it down with your knife to form a cone the size you want the border to be. Heat the end of the tube by turning it in the flame until it is quite soft and then push in the charcoal cone, as shown in [Fig. 88].