Has anyone devised an effective way of straightening plastic catenary masts once they have been bent or warped by incorrect tension?

And...for that matter...is there a trick to straightening wires that are a bit bent?

Bent Catenary : You need a pair of bent duckbill pliers , these do not have serrations on the inside of the jaws & are very smooth instead almost to a high polished state Try at your local electrical wholesale supplier or similar as these were a specialist tool used by telephone technicians , may be rather hard to find these days as there are no electro mechanical exchanges in use anymore . The pliers are the normal shape at the handle end & the jaw ends protrude about 25mm from the hinge & then shaped at a right angle with the flat blades part of the jaw .

I have a pair somewhere in the garage from when I was a old school technician , will see if I can find them . In use hold one end with a pair of pliers then stroke the rest of the catenary with the duckbills to remove kinks & bends . I think your biggest problem will be obtaining the tool but maybe try a ex BT technician who is retired , might be like finding chook teeth .


Cheers Tom in Oz .

You could also try vise grip type pliars with sheet metal jaws. These are wide (about 3" wide and 1 1/2" deep. estamated) and flat and smooth inside.

A roller on a hard flat surface will work also. Lay the catenary with the bend up, and roll. Too much pressur and it will curve the other way, so it will take some practice.

Good luck,
Woody