Raising cane
Jun. 20th, 2020 12:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
offcntrI struggle with cane teapot handles. They're never quite the right size, they're stiff, they want to split if you push them too far. I long ago gave up on the things, going instead to to pulled clay handle on the side of the pot.
But last week, I found the elephantsgraveyard tea set in the shed, and someone wanted to buy it, so I had make the handle fit. As you might be able to tell from the first photo, the handle was way too big. The span between the ends was around seven inches; the loops on the pot were closer to four. It looked like I'd tried to force it in the past, as one of the end tabs was starting to split.
I used to work at a Craft Center at the UO that had a lot of woodworkers, and one of the tricks I remember seeing there was steaming wood to make a bent-wood chair. It took a special long, thin pan, which I didn't have access to, but I realized for this project, I didn't need it. Since the handle was already bent, needing only to bend more, I could work with what I had on hand in my kitchen: A low, wide stock pot with about an inch of water in it, and a vegetable steamer basket. I looped some picture wire around the ends of the handle, tied it off as tight as I could, then popped the whole thing in the steamer and put on the lid. Ten minutes boiling later, and I was able to pull the handle out of the pot with gloves, twist on the wire loop with a heavy pair of pliers, and narrow down the opening a good three inches. I tucked the tabs into the loops, slid the little reed rings down to hold them tight, and unwound all the picture wire.
Voila! Teapot handle, perfectly fitted.
But last week, I found the elephants
I used to work at a Craft Center at the UO that had a lot of woodworkers, and one of the tricks I remember seeing there was steaming wood to make a bent-wood chair. It took a special long, thin pan, which I didn't have access to, but I realized for this project, I didn't need it. Since the handle was already bent, needing only to bend more, I could work with what I had on hand in my kitchen: A low, wide stock pot with about an inch of water in it, and a vegetable steamer basket. I looped some picture wire around the ends of the handle, tied it off as tight as I could, then popped the whole thing in the steamer and put on the lid. Ten minutes boiling later, and I was able to pull the handle out of the pot with gloves, twist on the wire loop with a heavy pair of pliers, and narrow down the opening a good three inches. I tucked the tabs into the loops, slid the little reed rings down to hold them tight, and unwound all the picture wire.
Voila! Teapot handle, perfectly fitted.