: So I spent an hour last night bending ribs and managed to break all of them,
: all but 2 irrepairably. I'm using 1" x 1/2" pine, kerfed, soaked
: 2 days in water, then soaked for 15-30 minutes in boiling water (I don't
: have a setup to keep the water boiling the whole time, so I have to pour
: some new water in.)

: I'd appreciate some thoughts. I know that I may need a better setup for
: heating the water, but what woods are more forgiving than pine, and where
: do I get them? On a previous project I used some cedar, and it may have
: worked a bit better, but not that much. Part of the problem is I haven't
: found anywhere that has specialty wood, so I'm making do with lumberyard
: fodder- cut down 2 x and 1 x. I've heard ash is a possibility, and I'll
: try the cedar again if need be.
: Thanks

I'm getting pretty close to putting the fabric on my first SOF. I made laminated ribs and forgot the whole steaming bending process. You can get 1/16" maple or ash veneer from www.certainlywood.com. I happened to have the maple veneer, so I cut a bunch of ribs using a metal straightedge and a Fiskars mat cutting wheel. Then laminated 4-5 pieces together using PU glue. worked great, no hassle, took a long afternoon to do 28 ribs. They're very strong. I had already laid out my stringers over the forms, so I applied the glue to the laminate pieces then simply used cable ties to hold them to the forms while they dried.