Fig. 469.
To bend the ends of pieces like skis, hockies, etc., a big kettle or common wash-boiler full of boiling water can be used. An apparatus for long sticks, as ribs for a canoe, can be made with a piece of iron pipe of suitable size. Plug one end tightly and stick it firmly in the ground, so that the pipe is fixed in a slanting direction. Put water in the pipe, build a fire underneath, put the sticks in the pipe, stuff a rag loosely in the upper end and the apparatus will be in working order (Fig. 469).
Fig. 470.
You must often have some sort of form or mould for bending the piece and for holding it while drying. For some kinds of bending, where there is no occasion to be accurate, you can often bend a piece around some corner or common object, as a barrel, log, etc., and tie it in place until dry, or fasten it with cleats, but for nice work you should make a form or mould. If you wish to bend ribs, for instance, which should be accurate in shape, you can cut a piece of board or plank to fit the concave side of the desired curve. Fasten this piece upon any flat surface, as an old plank, and bore holes for wooden pins around the curve at such a distance from the pattern piece or mould that the piece to be bent can be firmly wedged against it, as shown in Fig. 470; or you can attach blocks instead of pins—any arrangement by which the bent piece can be wedged in place. A strap of hoop iron or other metal or even a thin piece of wood can be placed outside of the stick to be bent, to prevent the wood splitting or splintering on the outside, as it is liable to do if bent much, unless of good quality and straight grain, but there is no need of doing this in many cases.
Fig. 471.
Another way is to have the mould or form in two parts, as the two parts of a board or plank through which the curve has been sawed (Fig. 471). The piece to be bent is put between the two forms, which are then pressed together by clamps, wedges, or a lever. This is a good way for short pieces which cannot easily be bent, or which do not readily cling to the required curve.
