Yesterday I bent a board by steaming it 20 minutes on each side instead of 15 minutes. I took a look at it today to see how I did. It looks pretty good. It did not split, and it is round without any signs of egginess.

The Hoop is Round

This bend went better than the others did, so I am officially amending my procedures to steam the wood for a minimum of 20 minutes on each side. It is the correct size, coming in at 13" across.

The Hoop is 13" Across

Actually, it is a tiny bit less than 13". Looks like about 12 7/8". This is good because that means that I will spring it apart slightly to make it 13" and that will tend to hold the two ends together, whereas if it were slightly larger than 13" I would have to squeeze the ends together, and they would want to pull apart. I think that the hoop wrapped a bit tighter around the form because I had steamed it longer.

The Hoop is Actually 12 7/8" Across

That one is going to become a hoop for sure. I put it aside for now so I can go work on the one that I started a week ago.

I found the old hoop that I had started building earlier, on April 1st..... appropriately enough. That was started using the board that I bent on March 24, my first successful bend using maple. I clamped it in the vise and started cleaning up the ends with the block plane.

The Old Hoop I Started Earlier

The block plane makes quick work of the glue line on the end of the board. I also made the ends square in all directions to get a better seam where the two ends come together at the heel block.

The Plane Cleans Up the Ends Quickly

That is all I did today. Slow day.