Before you begin bending solid pressed pipes always put the thickest
part of your pipe _at the back_. Lead, in a good plumber's hands, may
be twisted into every conceivable shape; but, as in all other trades,
there is a right and a wrong way of doing everything, and there are
many different methods, each having a right and wrong way, which I
shall describe. I shall be pleased if my readers will adopt the style
most suitable for their particular kind of work; of course I shall say
which is the best for the class of work required.
For small pipes, such as from ½ in. to 1 in. "_stout_ pipe," you may
pull them round without trouble or danger; but for larger sizes, say,
from 1¼ in. to 2 in., some little care is necessary, even in stout
pipes.
Fig. 37 illustrates a badly made bend, and also shows how it comes
together at the throat, X, and back, E; L is the enlarged section of X
E, looking at the pipe endways. The cause of this contraction is
pulling the bend too quickly, and too much at a time, without dressing
in the sides at B B as follows: After you have pulled the pipe round
until it just begins to flatten, take a soft dresser, or a piece of
soft wood, and a hammer, and turn the pipe on its side as at Fig. 37;
then strike the bulged part of the pipe from X B toward E, until it
appears round like section K. Now pull your pipe round again as
before, and keep working it until finished. If you find that it
becomes smaller at the bend, take a long bolt and work the throat part
out until you have it as required.
[Illustration: FIG. 37.]