Preparing Rattan.

[Phil Mar Nadela]

I recently purchased a bundle of sticks from frank's cane and was wondering on how to prepare or harden rattan sticks.
I came across a site that shared his 'secrets'. Is this reliable?, here is the link http://www.stickman-escrima.com/Prod...f%20Rattan.htm

I also searched the forum and found PG Michael B recipe on stick preparation. I will try it as well. But any other suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you

[gagimilo]

Oh, you can rely on Stickman's advice. He was doing it for years while still selling rattan, and I believe that his sticks were held in high regard...

[Phil Mar Nadela]

I will try to follow his instructions, unfortunately I do not have all of the equipment he described. I'll try to improvise. I will post how well (or bad) i did soon.

[geezer]

I will try to follow his instructions, unfortunately I do not have all of the equipment he described. I'll try to improvise. I will post how well (or bad) i did soon.

Definately get back and post how your experiments turn out. You may try soaking the sticks in (salt) brine first and see how that works. I've been planning to do some experiments too, but I never seem to find the time. I end up just using cheap raw rattan and a lot of tape!

[Phil Mar Nadela]

gezzer,

So far i made five sticks already. The first two i wasn't satisfied with. I discussed about it in another thread with photo's, here is the link http://www.fmatalk.com/showthread.php?p=24475#post24475

I am still working on the other three right now but i will try to post them soon.

[Phil Mar Nadela]

Hello everyone,
Here is three more rattan that I have prepared. As you can see there are differences between the three of them. I experimented a little for I do not have the tools or the environment ideal to preparing rattan.
I followed two recipes, Stickman’s and our fellow member PG Michael B. Michael’s recipe did not work for me because of my environment; there is barely any sunlight here were I live. I still tried it though but it did not dry at all therefor I was not able to finish.

Stickman’s recipe sounds easy but this was the hardest to follow. I have no tools, so I had to do it mostly by hand. I sanded the nodes by hand and the tips as well. Although I have a blowtorch, I believe this is the hardest part. Blowtorching the stick tip and nodes not just make the stick stronger but also lift the oils of the stick, which gives its shine after baking. The problem with this is that one has to be really skilled. All of the sticks that I made using Stickman’s recipe got burned or blistered (the skin) during blowtorching.

Baking the stick took me longer than 15 minutes, maybe because we have an older oven. I was amazed have much steam from the tips came out of the stick. Monitoring the stick during baking was hard cause it is hard to predict where it will ‘cook’ first. So I had to constantly check and rotate the stick during baking.
Buffing the stick was easy because of the natural oils of the rattan.

Both recipes are good but I like stickman’s recipe cause it works for me. I found it very relaxing preparing the sticks, but I do need more practice in making them.

Phil

[Phil Mar Nadela]

Hello everyone,

I made another pair, This time I experimented with stickman's recipe and i combined it with PG Micheal's recipe. It looks allot better but i'm still not satisfied.
I'd like to know what you guys think.

Thanks in advance,

Phil Mar Nadela

[tanod]

do you mind posting the other recipe?

[Phil Mar Nadela]

do you mind posting the other recipe?

I don't mind at all. I made it mostly by hand so feel free to modify the method to make it faster or improve the recipe accordingly.
Materials that i used: sharp knife,Hand held blow torch, oven mitts, oven, paint brush and polyurethane paint (satin).

Steps:
Prepare rattan,sand or smoothen the sticks ends. I bought mine from frank's crane so it is all prepared and no sanding the ends is necessary.

Using the Knife,smoothen out the nodes (you can also use a sander). I find it easier to do with the knife but it takes allot longer to finish. Also make sure, if you are using the knife not to go all the way; you will skin the stick and live a ugly line when torched and baked.

Next, use the blow torch to set the nodes.You can also do this to the ends of the stick. Make sure you don't burn and the blow torch should be in constant movement. If you leave it in one spot to long the skin would blister. The stick will also be hot so where some mitts.Oils will lift from the stick when blow torched, so after the stick cools down, rub them with a rag to spread it allover the stick.
Preheat your oven(375' degrees). Bake your stick for about 15 minutes, depending on your oven. You should always monitor the stick so it bakes evenly. Steam will come out of both ends of the stick, if this stops then the stick is ready. While the stick is still warm, using your rags, rub them to buff it even more.

When the stick is cooled down, coat the stick with polyurethane paint. I do this to make it water tight and harden it more. And your done.

So far that's how i do it, but this may not work for everyone. Hope this helps though.

[tanod]

thank you! salamat