I've been told that spruce and other softwoods are not a good choice for bending, but because of a tight budget I tried it anyway. I just finished beautiful 18ft kayak with 14 - 1 1/2inch SPRUCE ribs. I used a 2by6 from the hardware store with few knots, ripped them into 3/8 strips and cut around the knots. It took 1 hour to put them all in and only one broke (one on the end which I didn't need anyway). I used the same strip for the coaming and simply bent and clamped it around a form under hot running water in the laundry tub. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again however I might use spar varnish on it rather than oil because it is a soft wood. How long will it last? Only time will tell but like I said I would varnish it next time. I would like to build a steam box one day but the last three boats I just put a large metal bucket (the kind for holding lots of beer and ice) on the wood stove in the shed, wrapped the ribs and let them soak til I could felt they were flexible enough. The ribs on the kayak I'm speakingof are east Greenland style so not alot of bent but next week my brother and I are building a tandem for someone and it needs to be stable (24/ 25") so I will do as I did with the coaming to get the almost 90 degree angle. I'll let you know how it goes.