"SteveB" wrote in message
news:hkIHb.41662$BQ5.11749@fed1read03...
I want to spiral some small square stock. Probably 1/4" and 3/8"
dimension.
What is the easiest practical way to do this? Hold one end in a vise and
twist the other with a crescent? How do I keep the whole thing straight,
or
do I straighten it later? I want to spiral sections along a longer piece
rather than spiral the whole length.

And when I do want to spiral the whole length, will it spiral equally
along
the length?

Steve


My kids and I do this all the time (decorative twists in 3/8" sq. steel,
that is).

Always done cold, because heating is unnecessary and too difficult to do
evenly.

Can be done with a shifter, but its difficult to keep it straight and
aligned (especially for 13 y.o. kids). I made a T-shaped jig, with a long
crossbar-style handle and a pipe section that fits neatly over the area to
be twisted. The rest (under the twist) is held in the vice.

Piece of cake. Dead easy. Perfectly uniform, too. Resist the temptation to
twist too many turns. A couple will do.

If you (subsequently) want to twist the *whole* length, there is no way on
God's earth you will get it even. Do all the twisting you want in one go,
not in sections, unless irregularity in the twist doesn't matter.

Jeff