[Public-List] Bending Teak for Toe Rails

[Greg Roberts]

Hi Folks,
I'm in the process of making new teak toe rails for Ayla. As best I
can tell the original rails were 1.25" wide and 1.75" tall with a
rounded top and shallow groove along the center of the underside. The
wood I have is a little over 8' long so that's the length of span that
I've been looking at. Any given ~8' span needs 2 to 2 1/2" of
curvature.
So far I've had some success with steam bending but haven't achieved
the full 2 1/2" of curvature.
Process:1. Pattern the deck edge using cheap 5mm plywood sheet.2.
Transfer that to a 2"x8"x10' board3. Increase the curvature by 1" over
~4' to account for spring back. (Total guess)4. Bolt blocks of wood
along the curve5. Steam teak for 4 hours. Rule of thumb is 1 hour per
inch of thickness, double for Kiln dried wood. Call it 3 hours for
1.25" and add in an hour for good measure.6. Remove from chamber,
quickly clamp wood to the blocks, and leave for a few days. I don't
think leaving it on the form once it's cooled does much but I've been
busy with work.
I've managed to achieve about 1.75" of curvature. My guess is that
adding a bit more over-bend will do the trick. 
I've gone to fair bit of effort to get where I am. My steam rig is
controlled and monitored by a microcontroller etc.. and it's been fun
but I'm wondering if I shouldn't have done something simpler. Perhaps
bolt one end to the deck. Clamp a steel rail to the teak to get
leverage and bend it, install a bolt, shift the rail, repeat.
Does anyone know how Whitby achieved the curvature?
Regards,
Greg