gene, don't that do that to make rocking chairs?? Or maybe they used to...now it you look at the grain, I think they just cut the rocker out instead of bending it. Agrihawg here on the site did alot of bending a while back. I do not remember what he was using it for though. He had a jig to wedge it in and a PVC pipe and hot plate with a pot to boil the water. Worked well. Just like you described.

I love the pine look. I always liked to go back and pick my one by's. We used to get alot of sap or heart wood one by's around here. They had a really cool color in the grain when unstained, but when you stained it, it would do some really loud things. You either loved it or hated it. Great job by the way!!!