Hi Mike,
To start if your going to make tight bends you really need good 1/4 sawn strips. I'm no expert on picking strips and I did have my share of broken strips. If your looking to make real tight bends ash is easiest. Cedar bends but the strips need to be thin. In some places I used multipule layers to get it thin enough. As far as my steaming method I tried the iron and quickly gave up. I had tried it in despiration and ended up not thinking, and tipping it up side down, spilling the water in it into the bottom of the boat. Never tried it again. My methods were crude. I used the same PVC pipe method as the pic shown in an earlier post. I also used the biggest skillet I could find on the stove in the kitchen (when the wife was at work). I recently bought some 1/4 sawn veneer 1/42" thick from Certainly Wood to make Leidy Cradles. Boy does that stuff ever bend nice!!