: Hi All,
: A while back Dick Gamble posted some info on steam bending. And a response
: from Rob Macks (I think) got me to Lee Valley for an electric steam
: kettle. I got it in the mail yesterday, along with a booklet on steam
: bending and promptly tried it out. I decided to give the soaking bit a try
: and found that as Lee Valley stated, it doesn't work. I broke both pieces
: I soaked. I was successful on the next several pieces and am happy to say
: that the kettle and steam box works great. I only had one problem, I found
: that steam bends PVC pipe real good as well. I'll have to replace it with
: galvanized pipe before my next bending project. I'd post a pic but
: Geocities won't let me

Hi Kent

My steamer is a take off of Bill Prices, with a couple of added measures. I electrified the bench and mobilized it. Mine is only 5' long and uses a hot plate and regular tea pot. This picture was taken before I added a drain pipe at the lower end and the hose that comes down and attaches back up to the larger hose at the tea pot. All condensation flows right down and back into the tea pot. I supported the ABS, 3" pipe with a wood elbow type fixture. That way, it doesn't sag. I put 4 holes in the end where I can do 4 strips at a time or, plug some holes and just do a couple at a time. The holes are just slightly bigger than the strips and it gets quite hot in there. I leave my strips in for about 15 to 18 minutes. I was able to bend one strip into a circle and the other, I was twisting and got up to 720* before it broke. Works pretty good.

Rehd