So as it turns out I was unable to repair the bending iron I got. Instead I just ordered another and it works fine, it's a little big to do the C-bouts well, but it does the job. The first step I had to take for the ribs is preparing the pieces as they came from the supplier. They start off about 2mm thick and 40mm wide. I need them to be about 1.2mm thick and 33mm wide. First I used a low angle block plane to reduce the thickness. This was challenging because the figured wood chips out easily (meaning chunks of wood get broken out instead of getting nice clean shavings). Once the plane was set properly it worked well. Then I used a scraper on both sides to achieve a more finished look and a fairly even thickness. The last part of the preparation required me to square one of the edges, then cut the other edge to get my 33mm width.
The bending part was a bit trickier than I imagined. I ended up cracking my first C. But the second one went much easier. Going really slow and getting a feel for how much the wood can be bent and when are the keys to getting it right. It takes patience bending and re-bending before the curve is fitting in such a way that when clamped the ribs fit the edge of the mould more or less perfectly. Once the rib is fitting the rib only needs to be glued and clamped.
scraping the ribs to get the appropriate thickness
bending the rib using an old belt to help press the wood against the iron without burning myself
the clamped rib
finished C-bout profile
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