: 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!

I was recommended to use "tomato Stakes" of the "pale colour" (like ....sort of white) I found quite a few that suited in a local Mitre 10. I cut them down to 5mm, selected them for the "best" and away i went. I broke 3 from 17. Someone mentioned they were "blue gum"?