I'm designing a pirate treasure chest out of stained/varnished softwood. All the best pirates have brass-bound treasure chests, and I'll be using brass fittings, reclaimed decorative ones if possible.
Rather than real brass-binding though I'd spray-paint hardboard, but how tight can I bend it for the domed top? I'm expecting a radius of about 180 mm (depth 360 mm). This would be the normal 3-ish mm hardboard sold in UK DIY shops, and I've got plenty of time on my hands to bend it wet and let it dry, but I don't want it to crack. I reckon it would crack if I tried to bend this radius dry.
Here's a model (Inventor) of what I'm intending to build (without handles/latch). All the flat "brass" is hardboard (real brass is either heavy and expensive or thin enough to have sharp edges). The visible screw heads (I'm not sure how many I'll use yet) are decorative (no.8 x 1/2" slotted brass) with structural screws and glue hidden under the bands.
Its 480mm (W) x 360mm (D) x 575mm (H)