For small pipes, such as from 1/2 in. to 1 in. “stout pipe,” you may pull them round without trouble or danger; but for larger sizes, say, from 11/4 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.]

BENDING WITH WATER (LIGHT PIPES).

Fig. 39.  This style of bending is much in use abroad, but not much practiced in London, though a splendid method of work.

[Illustration:  FIG. 39.]

It is a well known fact that, practically speaking, for such work, water is incompressible, but may be turned and twisted about to any shape, provided it is inclosed in a solid case—­Fig. 39 is that case.  The end, A, is stopped, and the stopcock, B, soldered into the other end.  Now fill up this pipe quite full with warm water and shut the cock, take the end, A, and pull round the pipe, at the same time dressing the molecules of lead from the throat, C, toward D E, which will flow if properly worked.

You can hammer away as much as you please, but be quick about it, so that the water does not cool down, thereby contracting; in fact, you should open the cock now and then, and recharge it to make sure of this.

SAND BENDING.

This is a very old method of bending lead pipes, and answers every purpose for long, easy bends.  Proceed in this way:  The length of the pipe to be 5 ft., fill and well ram this pipe solid with sand 2 ft. up, then have ready a metal-pot of very hot sand to fill the pipe one foot up, next fill the pipe up with more cold sand, ramming it as firmly as possible, stop the end and work it round as you did the water bend, but do not strike it too hard in one place, or you will find it give way and require to be dummied out again, or if you cannot get the dent out with the dummy send a ball through (see “Bending with Balls").

BENDING WITH BALLS OR BOBBINS.