I discovered I had some Nichrome wire, 24 gauge, lying around from a hair dryer. I wrapped Kapton tape around black pipe and wrapped the nichrome around it. I bought a $6 dimmer from home depot, wired it up and plugged it all in.

Success! The makeshift wire reach 200 F before the tape I used to hold it together melted.

I then proceeded to slice my finger open while building an enclosure. Never used dull drill bits and always clamp down the workpiece folks! The drill quickly snagged the workpiece and split me open pretty good. No stitches will be needed.

Also, I printed most of the parts for the PVC pneumatic cylinder.

I am also working on a laser cut tumbler to finish the 3d printed parts.

Next steps:

I need a reliable way of winding Nichrome around the pipe evenly. I plan to make a jig out of threaded rod and power drill to wind the Nichrome. I will probably use a gloved hand to apply tension as it winds.

I need to figure out how to secure the heater while pressure is applied by the ram. I think the answer is a coupler for black pipe...