How to bend zinc came

by June Baxter
(Atlanta, GA USA)

I have not worked with bevels before this project but I am going to use zinc came. Is there a secret to bending zinc came?

Milly's reply: Thanks for your question June. It's quite difficult to bend zinc came, especially if you're making small pieces. As you don't specify size - to give you a clue, it's hard to get it to curve round a bend with less than a 4' radius.
To do this, fix your work securely on to a board with horseshoe nails and then hold one end of the zinc came over the edge of the glass with more nails. Gradually ease the came along the side of the glass, making sure it follows the shape of the edge. When you're happy you've got the shape right, mark where you need to cut, and use a fine-toothed hack saw to cut it.
If your piece is much smaller than this, you can use dykes or clippers to snip the top and bottom edge of the zinc came, before bending round a sharper angle. Is this of any help?

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