> I have had mixed success with the first strip. It is highly dependent on
> the wood

I have redwood.

> On method that really looks nice is to taper the ends of the strips to
> make them more flexible where it is required.

Do you mean taper the thickness of the wood or the width? If you mean width then it seems that "cheater strips" would almost be a requirement. If you mean across the thickness I may be in luck... I wasn't the best at ripping my strips and some ended up a little thinner than others. Oh well.

chris