RE: How to bend 1/4 X 1/2 balsa
A little moisture will do it most of the time if it's a gradual bend. Super Sportster 60 from GP had the hood sides that had to be bent about 30 degrees. It was 1/4"x 1" if memory serves me. It was however over about 14" of run. I just glued the one end. Applied a little water and twisted it slowly. there was some excess that was going to be cut off anyway. So i lightly clamped some Vise Grips on the other end and let the weight of them bend the wood. Just wet a little and walk away for a little. For wet, I just sprayed a little water on it and rubbed it evenly in with my fingers. the whole process took maybe a couple hours for both sides. I had a friend use a jig he made to do the same thing. Both ways worked, but my way took 1/4 of the time. Once I had the bends close, I just applied some med CA, taped it all down and let it sit overnight.
david