It turns out that the wood is

Wood is a very malleable material. In life, we can see all kinds of wooden furniture, wooden musical instruments and wooden handicrafts, but with a variety of designs, they no longer completely retain the original straight shape of wood, and they all have unique curved shapes.

The work of designer Gustav Reyes

The work of designer Gustav Reyes

The famous rocking chair Maloof

How is wood given its various curved shapes?

①The simplest method is the cutting method. Draw a shape on a solid piece of wood and then cut and shape it to match the shape, just like cutting paper. However, this method has great limitations and it is difficult to continue if the bending range is large and the shape is difficult to cut, and it is a waste of material.

②The splicing method is to splice slightly curved wood one by one, so that the bending range of the finished product will be larger. Compared with the cutting method, the residue generated is relatively smaller.

③ Another way is to "bend" the wood. The most important thing in this method is how to soften the wood, otherwise the wood is easy to break. There are two principles of softening: physical softening and chemical softening.

chemical bending

There are potions to soften the bend. Ammonia (liquid, gaseous) or alkali is mainly used, which can have a pungent odor.

physical bending

Conventional bending methods: hot bending, high frequency bending, microwave bending, some equipment must be used. Finished products produced by these methods have better integrity, more varied shape, and fewer restrictions.

1. Cooking and hot bending: The steam-heated wood is repeatedly pressed against the mold, and finally the contour approaches the surface of the mold, forming a thermal curvature. Most often used in solid wood.

2. High frequency heating: High frequency generator is the main equipment of high frequency heating, which achieves the purpose of softening by processing molecules.

3. Microwave Heating: Everyone must have used a microwave, and the principle of heating is the same.

After the wood has softened, the wood is quickly shaped, and finally the wood is dried and hardened.

What factors affect the bending of wood?

Different types of materials have different bending properties. Even the same type of wood has different bending properties in different parts of the same wood, and the thickness also affects this.

In general:

Hardwood bending characteristics are better, followed by softwood, and softwood is relatively poor;

Young wood and sapwood have better bending properties than old wood and heartwood;

The bending characteristics of straight grained wood are better than those of twill.

Broad-leaved wood with thicker fibers is easier to bend, while hard and dense wood cannot be bent. Such as elm, oak, ash, beech, birch, etc. have better bending properties;

Among conifers, preference is given to pine and spruce.

Wood moisture has a great influence on the quality of bending and the cost of processing. If the humidity is too low, the wood will break and damage easily, if the humidity is too high, static pressure will form due to excess moisture, and it will break easily, and it is necessary to prolong drying. time of curved parts.