That is very interesting, something I'd like to try - but can't do because of the list of furniture my grandchildren want. They come first. Regarding bending wood, do you think it's possible to put the strips in boiling water for a few or 10 minutes? Just a curiosity question, I have a tendency to think about alternative methods.
OT, I've just soaked thin strips (1/8" cherry) in room temp water overnight and had good bends. thicker 1/4" jatoba in hot tap water could bend nicely for a arch strip like I used in my Harvey Ellis mirror, but I'm sure the hotter the better for the sharper bends (obviously from Rick's marble ramps!)
Steam is of course the ultimate and plenty of info on doing that, but wood species/grain plays a big part in success
Thanks for the responses MrRick and SplinterGroup, much appreciated. If I need do something like this, it'd be into boiling water on the wife's stove top. I'm a kinda easy and quick guy for most things, except when using molding planes of course.
I've used a similar method to make back scratchers. Works great. I didn't use boiling water, just soaked the wood overnight. Minor scorching on the wood but it sands out easily. I used a broken sanding belt for pressure on the back side of the wood, helps prevent splitting on the outside curve.
"Duck and Bob would be out doin some farming with funny hats on." chrisstef
If you use this method, then put into a form for the shape you want, clamp up the part in the form and keep it there, and let it cool and dry completely you'll have an awesome part. I've done this many times. You can make some awesome things!
