Doug Berch

The reinforcement strip and back braces are being shaped with chisels and scrapers. The chisel in the center is a crank necked paring chisel. The cranked neck of the chisel keeps my hand clear of the work.

The sides are dampened with water and sandwiched with a flexible thermal blanket between two sheets of flexible steel. A thermostat controls the temperature. After a few minutes I can smell steam coming from the wood. A few minutes later I can hear the steam starting to sizzle at which point I clamp the assembly against the form.

I let the sides cook for a minute or so and then turn off the heat. An hour or so later I heat the sides for a minute or two to speed up the drying process.

The sides are left in the form until they are cool.

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