1. Why does it work? It works because Cold-Bend™ hardwood can stretch. When steamed wood is bent, it compresses to the inside of the curve and also wants to stretch on the outside of the curve. Wood can't stretch, so it tends to split easily on the outside of the curve beyond anything but gentle curves. Moderate curves can be steam bent as long as a steel backing strap is used to drive compression to the inside of the bend and preventing stretching on the outside. However, even for extreme bends, Cold-Bend™ hardwood does not need steaming or a backing strap.
2. What should I do first if I've never worked with Compressed Wood before? If you are new to using Compressed Wood, the first thing you could do with it is to re-saw a piece about 1/4" x 1/2" and bend it into a ring. Tie it in a knot and keep wrapping or weaving it. You should be able to reduce the radius to about 1 1/2" (3" circle). Most people are not aggressive enough in bending it the first time.
3. Why does the grain tear out when I use a router or planer on the wet wood? Cold-Bend™ hardwood has been modified structurally. The wet material does not mould as well as when wood is dry. Grain will tear on standard planers and routers. Sanding or sawing of any kind is the best way to work with it when it is wet. We achieve round overs on a soft pneumatic drum (ballon sander). Cross grain hand planing is effective on the wet wood, as is woodturning (which also cuts against the grain). Production shops have worked out their own methods for molding Cold-Bend™ hardwood and consider their techniques a competitive advantage that they don't usually share. More information on this is available at http://www.puretimber.com/discovery/woodworking.html .
4. Does Compressed Wood hold its shape after bending? Yes, after bending, then drying, and even after re-wetting if it is fixed in an assembly. This gives you the ability to work with the bend for as long as you need to, then fix the shape with drying. See http://www.puretimber.com/discovery/benddryandglue.html for more information on drying. There is a similar product on the market from Italy that is "dry bendable". It doesn't fix its shape and remains flexible. We can manufacture this dry bendable product, but haven't found a commercial use for it yet. If the Compressed Wood will be subjected to immersion, or weather exposure, it should be treated on all sides with penetrating epoxy sealer. Smiths and System Three are two companies that make it.
5. I'm looking for species you don't have listed as available. Can you supply softwoods, exotic hardwoods or other less common woods as cold bendable woods? No, only the temperate hardwoods offered are good compression woods. We are testing other species. Note that figured woods do not compress evenly, and don't bend evenly, so are not offered. Softwoods do not compress at all (and are not steam bendable either). Exotic hardwoods such as Teak, Mahogany, Ipe, and Purple Heart do not compress (and are not good steam bending woods either). To establish a new species as compressible, it usually takes about a $10,000 to $15,000 investment and about 6 months to have bendable wood. If you are in a position to finance the testing for new species, or have clear, green, fresh sawn wood in the required dimensions, available to ship for testing, by all means, please enquire.
6. Is there a minimum order for Compressed Wood? Yes. $100 for Sample pieces or small orders and $250 for custom orders.
8. Can I send you a dowel or piece of molding for you to compress so that I can bend it? No. Compressed wood is created in a production process in large planks in fixed dimensions, with careful control of the moisture content at every stage. Compressed wood may be re-sawn to your size needs from these compressed planks.
9. Will you dimension the Compressed Wood to our specs? It is best dimensioned prior to use. It retains its flexibility best when kept wrapped in full planks. However, if you require re-sawing services, we simply bill our shop time at $55/hr.
10. Can I receive a sample for testing? Please order from the Sample page for your testing needs. We don't ship free samples.
11. I have stored my compressed wood for over a year. Is it still good? Yes, probably. As long as you didn't allow the wood to dry out. Compressed wood stays bendable as long as it has sufficient moisture. You'll receive it at about 20%+ moisture. If left wrapped and stored cool, it should last a long time. We store and test-bend Compressed Wood that is over 5 years old, and has dried to about 15% moisture. It has lost only a little bending performance. Poorly stored wood that has been allowed to dry a little may be bendable after soaking if its shape hasn't been fixed from excessive age or drying. Mold may grow on the moist wood during storage, mainly with Beech and Maple, and this can be easily sanded off. Discoloration from the mold is possible, but not usually undesirable.
12. Can I mix compressed wood and non-compressed wood of the same species in the same project. Yes. The two are indistinguishable, though there is considerable variation in grain and color among the same species. If you need a perfect match (say to match straight millwork with radius millwork), we can sometimes supply non-compressed boards from the same batch if you provide sufficient lead time.
13. What is the widest and longest compressed wood I can get? The maximum size is 2" x 6" x 100". Longer lengths may be scarf or finger jointed.
14. Can you sell compressed dowels? Minimum orders for dowels is 500 ln ft. If you need to make just a few dowels from compressed wood, Lee Valley Veritas makes a low cost effective dowel maker that works something like a giant pencil sharpener. It can cut dowels from 1/4" through 1".
15. How much does shipping cost? About 10 to 20% of the cost of the wood in the continental USA. Three 5/4 x 84" planks are about 50 lbs. Fed Ex will ship this by ground for about $40 to $50 within the US. International shipments go by Fed Ex International Economy for smaller orders, and the shipping cost is often close to 50% of the wood cost. International Sea Freight orders can ship for as little as 5% to 10% of the wood cost.
16. What are the best finishes for Compressed Wood? All finishes work well with Compressed Wood because it is dried after bending and before finishing. There is no change in its ability to be finished because it was compressed. One of our favorite indoor finishes is modified Tung Oil (Waterlox). If the Compressed Wood will be subjected to immersion, or weather exposure, it should be treated on all sides with penetrating epoxy sealer. Smiths and System Three are two companies that make it.
17. What species should I choose for outdoor projects? The Compression process does not reduce the woods decay resistance. Of the hardwoods, only White Oak, Black Locust and Osage Orange are suitable for outdoor projects. Other hardwoods that are bendable do not have decay resistance (Beech, Maple, Cherry, Red Oak, Ash) are not suitable for outdoor use, compressed or not. The exotic hardwoods that are known for decay resistance (Teak, Ipe (Ironwood), Mahogany), are not bendable, either with steam or compression.
18. Can Compressed Wood be used for curved handrails. Yes, but we do not recommend Cold-Bend Hardwood for handrails because of the difficulty of managing the drying process on site. The handrail needs to be built in an environment where it is easy to fully dry the parts before installation, and often there isn’t enough time in a production setting. Since handrails need to be very precise, it is best to create the parts in a shop environment rather than on-site. The planks of wood should be fully supported on the inside of the curve. Once bent, planks will need at least a week, probably two weeks of drying, at about 100 to 110 degrees F. If you can’t raise the temperature that much, you can reduce humidity and increase drying time, but it takes heat to dry it in any kind of reasonable time. Any laminations that you will be gluing together will need to be surfaced (sanded flat) after bending and drying to ensure you have a flat and fresh surface for gluing.
19. Compared with regular hardwood lumber, compressed wood seems expensive. What influences the price? Compressed wood is engineered from the highest grade, clear, straight grain hardwood – found in the best veneer logs. The process must also be started with green wood, and we have to order it direct from the saw mill 6 months or more before you place your order in order to get it to our target moisture content. There are a lot of losses in compression, and our yields are frequently only 50%. So you can begin to imagine the expense that goes into the product well beyond the wood that is sold. A board foot of wood that makes it to compression costs at least $10/bd ft. Manufacturing costs add about another $10/bd ft, but sometimes much more due to losses in production. The wood is also trimmed, planed and shrunk in the process. Add packaging, storing, production losses, and our investment in the process can quickly exceed $30/finished board ft. Our customers often find that the labor savings experienced when working with our wood more than makes up for the initial price of the product. We hope you appreciate that the Compressed Wood you are receiving is a highly engineered product that is uniquely suited to your most demanding extreme wood-bending projects.
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