| Howdy MIB, Mark,
Well short of buying a spring, heres a little trick I have often used at work when bending conduit, copper or aluminum tubing without a bender an any sort other than a vise. This should work well on plastic tubing while applying the heat.
Tape off one end of the tubing securely, fill the tubing with a fine sand (salt will work), then seal the other end of the tubing like before.
Heat with a hair dryer the area you want to bend (we use a torch for conduit, copper or aluminum tubing), making sure not to actually liquify the plastic, as the plastic softens, bend the tubing as desired, the sand/salt filling will keep the tubing from collapsing at the bend point (meaning the tubing will retain its round shape).
Once you have reached the desired shape, allow to cool, remove the tape and pour out the salt or sand and cut to length.
One other note, if you use salt or something like sugar, even if this material becomes embedded in the heated plastic, a warm water rinse will remove any embedded "filler".
This method is also great around the house for little "plumbing projects" for sinks, toilets ect.
i hope this helps,
Greg |