Mike, I tryed some close-grained fir for the first attempt at dry bending. Te strips seemed to crack close to the radious each time I tryed to bend them dry. So.... soak about a foot of the ends that will make the tight outboard bends, in water overnight. Next day, clamp them up in the nail jig and let them dry a couple of days. When they are completely dry (you may have to re-assemble them in the clamping device if they are not completely dry) When comepletely dry, lay the strips out and coat them with T-88 or whatever glue that you are using. If using T-88 and hard to spread, add a "very small" amount of acetone to thin. When you have thim covered, stack them and re-clamp in the nailing fixture. The next day you can remove the bow from the clamps. I purchaced a electric hand planer for the job of shaping the TE. Before using the planer on the wood, remove any buildup of epoxy with a belt sander. This worked well for me! Steve