Apparatus for deforming an object and securing it to a support member

Apparatus for forming a curvature in a deformable angle bar and for securing said bar to a support member which is rigid enough to hold said bar in the curvature to which said bar has been deformed, said apparatus comprising:

• a first structure to which is secured the support member,
• at least two spaced-apart thrust bearings designed to receive the deformable bar and hold it in proximity to said support member, said spaced-apart thrust bearings being oriented so as to support said deformable bar only at its ends so that said deformable bar is unsupported by said apparatus intermediate said thrust bearings,
• a track mounted on a second structure and having a curvature that has the same shape as the curvature to which it is desired to deform the deformable angle bar,
• a carriage mounted on said track and movable thereon through the curvature on said track,
• means mounted on said carriage for bending said angle bar into the shape of the curvature of said track, said means comprising first and second rollers mounted at a fixed distance from said track and positioned to grasp opposite surfaces of the angle bar, said rollers cooperating to bend the angle bar into substantial conformity with the curvature of said track as said carriage is moved along said track, and
• means mounted on said carriage for attaching the deformable angle bar to the support member while it is being bent by said bending means.