: Hi Everyone,

: I'm having all sorts of trouble finding a readily-available timber down here
: in Australia I can steam-bend for my ribs.

: I have tried Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans) Alpine Ash (Eucalyptus
: delegatensis) & Messmate (Eucalyptus obliqua) which are all sold under
: the generic title of Tasmanian Oak and are noted as suitable for steam
: bending, but without success. I'm bending around a 2" radius using a
: Brian Nystrom style bending jig.

: Out of desperation I tried a few ribs of Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata)
: and it bent without splitting every time. From what I can read on the
: internet, WRC is not usually suitable for bending so I'm a bit surprised
: at what I'm seeing.

: WRC is quite soft & isn't known as a 'structural' timber so do you think
: it'll be a suitable timber for ribs ?

: Thanks in advance!

Most any wood that'll bend will work for ribs, just have to size it to match it's strength. While 1/4" would be normal for something like ash or oak, WRC is not nearly as strong and might need to be more like 1/2" to be strong enough. Might just laminate two pieces both bent first?

Bill H.