Bending The Rim (Done)

I ruined about 10 strips of maple before I succeeded in bending my first mandolin rim.  I took the thickness down to from 1/8^th of an inch (.12) to .09.  This time I made sure there were no saw marks at all on the strips of wood before I attempted to bend.  On some of the last attempts, they were not sanded well enough and that’s where the cracks happened the most.  A 1/8^th of an inch was way too thick on my last attempts.  I had much better success this last go around.  Using a bending strip is also key to keeping the bend uniform.  I think I am now ready to try some fancy wood.  There is one alteration I would make on the bending iron.  The smaller tube for tighter corners is not getting hot enough.  I will have to make a separate bending iron next time.  I also have my first loss of skin....  First Blood part one.  I sanded right through my glove on the belt sander.  I still have one good middle finger if needed for an outburst :)