Interior stems

So I get the question a lot, "How do you bend the boards around the sharp corners?" Do I use steam or soak the boards in water or a half a dozen guesses. The reality is quite simple, I use clear oak for the interior stems and do this in three pieces. I rip strips just shy of a quarter inch, apply a liberal amount of glue, and bend them around the end forms and clamp, clamp, clamp. Oak is a nice hardwood but it is also flexible when cut into thin strips. Seldom will it crack or splinter while bending as long as you go slow and steady. These stems give a good surface to glue the body strips to as we start to come up the sides.