I just finished construction of my second pipe, a little one incher, and thought I'd share the jerry rigged little contraption with you, along with my simpler, less "rigged" first pipe, a three incher. Both pipes are one foot long. The larger of the two started as a hunk of aluminum pipe I bought online. I needed a way to suspend it above the bench for bending purposes, so I talked to my ever helpful neighbor about it, and he said he knows a guy who welds aluminum, said he'd ask him, and he took the pipe with him when he left. Month later I had a pro looking rig, and nobody will take my money, so it was cheap. It's heated with a 100 watt bulb, the largest I could fit in there, and it takes a good 45 minutes to reach peak heat, but it works well, except I was dismayed to discover I can't bend the tight waist my form requires on a three inch pipe, hence the creation of the 1 inch bending pipe. I acquired the parts for that over time. It's heated by a 1200 watt, 1 inch diameter, 6 inch long heating cartridge, smeared with heat sync compound to give it a snug fit, and wired to a sliding dimmer switch (a setup approved by the manufacturer). I cobbled the fixture for the pipe out of some left over pine and some L and U brackets. You can see it in the pics. The cloth strips are from an automotive store, and are good for up to 1500 F. Originally, Nu Uke, sent me some old asbestos apron strips to use, but I got nervous about the fiber on the ragged edges coming loose and air born over time, so I sealed the edges with super glue, but then when I fired up the pipe, the glue smoked, so I replaced it with the aforementioned strips from the automotive store. Two Dogs Plucking pointed that product out, and I was lucky to walk into an automotive store that happened to sell it by the foot. Thanks to both Nu Uke and Two Dogs Plucking. The little bender works great, and can get hot enough to scorch wood with the dimmer set to 50%. Yes, I did spend too much to build it, but I spent it over time, so it didn't hurt too badly. Anyway, some pics:
I bent up some cherry sides today that fit my form perfectly, which is a first for me.
I bent up some cherry sides today that fit my form perfectly, which is a first for me.
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