Old Nick wrote:

On Sat, 06 Mar 2004 14:58:04 GMT, Brian Nystrom
vaguely proposed a theory
......and in reply I say!:

I have only done it once, to bend a piece of wood. But I understood
that if you met your sort of trouble, you soaked/steamed, then placed
the wood either in situ, but not installed, or on a former. Getting
the wood close to its final shape is enough. You then at worst need a
bit of force to finish it off.

Absolutely. However, If I steam bend the parts in question (kayak ribs)
without soaking, they fit without any trimming and the fit is maintained
when they dry.

When I've soaked wood, all it did was make is swell so it no longer fit
where it was supposed to, such as in a mortise. Either that, or if it
was trimmed to fit after steaming, it shrank as it dried and became
loose. Soaking didn't seem to make any difference in the bend-ability of
the wood.