In the thread below, I think we all agreed that it would not be worth the time and effort to steam that part, but I regret not getting a free meal out of David Sochar, although I was wanting to change it to a quantity of beverage. And he expressed that he would like to se the setup, so here is how I would bend a piece that big or on up.
That being said, he mentioned that he would like to see how I would manage a bend that thick and tight, so I thought I would share my method.
I already had a cheap pipe bender, which I got from Harbor Freight. It was not hard to adapt a new surface onto the top of the dies which fit onto the end of the hydraulic ram, for the inside radius.
Then, on the two pins which had coved rollers, I simply put a piece of pipe over them, to give them a straight roller.
I still use end compression straps, and even have a wood stiffener outside of the straps, which aids in preventing reverse bending from the substantial amount of wood on the inside of the radius looking for any relief.
Other tips. This time of year, if it is cool or cold out, I would lay out a length of foil to quickly wrap around the part to be bent. Not only is this good to cut heat loss, it would prevent evaporation, which would carry the heat away faster than if it was dry.
You need to make sure the wood is up to about 210º F all the way to the core, and it needs to stay that high all the way through the duration of the bend, so anything that can be done to keep it there helps ensure success.
Pumping this jack handle is slow enough to allow the cells to creep. You can't push it too fast.
After you reach the full bend, the foil can be knifed off, allowing the air to start the cooling and setting the new memory.
There is always some discussion concerning compensation for springback. When it has set, I have measured across the hypotenuse, and written it on the side, only to find that there was contraction, due to the shrinkage across the grain through the bend as the wood dries on down. So always try to plan for some means of dealing with those issues toward the end.
I don't get that many jobs which require steam bending, but I always enjoy the challenge, and feel good when I succeed.
I already measure the temp in the chamber, but on my next thick bend, I'll have one of those internal thermometer fitting in a close fitting hole into the middle of the thickest part, so I know exactly when the middle is right, not having to depend on the one hour per inch shot in the dark.