While the stem blanks were steaming, I rounded off the thwart blank and sanded it. It's a bit lighter than the other one, but I can probably match them up by bleaching the old one or slightly staining the new one.
I soaked stem blanks overnight in the bathtub and then steamed for about an hour at around 190F. I probably should have made the steam box smaller, so I could have gotten it hotter, but this seemed to work okay.
Bending the wood has to be done slowly, but you can't take all day either. There is a limit to the working time where the wood is still pliable. You can't have too many clamps, or clamping points. I added three more holes to clamp to after I was finished. The first board cracked, which give you a reference point for bending the next one so you don't use too much force, or bend to quickly.
All clamped up, I'll leave this on the form to dry for a week or two.
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