Hi! I am a high school art teacher in Houston, TX, and am interested in having my Sculpture students create 3D artworks with 1/8-inch and 3/16-inch square and round dowels. I am struggling to find any literature or online resources about working with dowels. Specific information I am wanting to find: (1) Best dowel type...Balsa? Basswood? Pine? (2) Hand tools that work well for cutting dowels, besides a utility knife. For example, do the Multi Angle Miter Shear Cutter Hand Tools that I see on Amazon work well for dowels? (3) Best way to bend dowels? Steam? Thanks so much!