I got my Lee Valley Kettle yesterday and proceeded to steam bend my PVC pipe also! (I wonder how many they sold after that post by Rob?) I think my PVC pipe bent because I did not build in a drain so the hot water pooled in the middle. I am going to try it again tonight and see if a drain hole and slight tilt to the pipe minimize the problem.
A Question: How long should you let a steam bent strip cool and dry before gluing in place? I steamed the strip for about 15 minutes, clamped it in place and let it sit for about two hours before unclamping, gluing and reclamping. I would like to speed the process up.

Steve
building a Mill Creek 16.5 with strip deck
: 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