Tongue with pre-folding section

A method of operation of a tongue of a rod forming apparatus, the method comprising:

• shaping a column of shredded material into a desired form by drawing the column of shredded material along a forming channel of a tongue, the forming channel having at least a first portion having a first curvature that has a first radius;
• and
• introducing at least a portion of a web along at least a portion of a forming surface of the forming channel such that the introduced web portion is operative upon the drawn column of shredded material as a source of additional drawing action, the portion of the web introduced by an arrangement separately constructed from the forming channel and joinable to the forming channel to form the tongue, the arrangement including at least a second portion having a second curvature that has a second radius that is greater than the first radius.

A tongue comprising:

• a first piece, the first piece being constructed as a first separate piece, the first piece at least partially defining a forming channel configured to shape shredded material, the first piece including at least a first portion having a first curvature that has a first radius;
• a second piece, the second piece being constructed as a second separate piece, the second piece including at least a second portion having a second curvature that has a second radius that is greater than the first radius, the second piece located along a side portion of the first piece and joinable to the first piece to form the tongue, the second piece including an upstream end portion, the upstream end portion having an arcuate surface partially defining a slot and a guide channel,
• the guide channel of the second piece converging into the forming channel of the first piece, an edge portion of a web being drawn into the forming channel of the first piece through the slot and the guide channel of the second piece, and at least one of the first piece and the second piece including a scalloped surface.

A tongue configured to transfer a moving column of shredded material from a column forming element to a column wrapping element, the tongue comprising:

• a working surface including at least a first portion having a first curvature that has a first radius, the working surface being constructed as a first separate piece, at least a portion of the working surface having a scalloped surface;
• and
• an arrangement including at least a second portion having a second curvature that has a second radius that is greater than the first radius, the arrangement being constructed as a second separate piece, the arrangement joinable to the working surface to form the tongue, and the arrangement configured to reduce friction along the working surface by routing a moving web into sliding contact with at least a first surface portion of the working surface of the tongue.