Steam Bending Rattan How-to
So I rigged up a steam chamber for bending rattan:
Basically all it is is a kettle hooked up to a 5' piece of 2 inch PVC pipe via a 1.25 inch ID clear vinyl tube.
I epoxyed one end of the vinyl tube into a 1.5" X 1" reducer, epoxyed the 1.5" X 1" reducer into a 2" X 1.5" reducer, and popped the 2" X 1.5" reducer on the 2" pipe (didn't glue it so I could remove it for storage). Then I tore the whistler off of the kettle, slid the 1.25" ID tube over the spout and secured with a hose clamp. Heat the kettle (with water inside, of course) and you have a steam chamber.
I stuck a piece of .75" rattan in the tube, plugged the hole up a bit with a rag (not completely, just a little bit. You want a good bit of steam still coming out of the pipe) and left it there for about 20 minutes. Then I pulled the piece out and wedged it into my jig:
Let the rattan dry and then you can pull it out. Do two and you end up with something like this:
Viva la ManCatcher!