Wood bending is an ancient craft that is of key importance in many industries today, especially in those that manufacture furniture, boats and ships, agricultural implements, tool handles, and sporting goods. Of the several methods commonly used to produce curved parts of wood, bending is the most economical of material, the most productive of members of high strength, and perhaps the cheapest. Long experience has evolved practical bending techniques and skilled craftsmen to apply them. Yet commercial operations often sustain serious losses because of breakage during the bending operation or the fixing process that follows. There is a longfelt need for more reliable knowledge about: (1) Criteria for selection of bending stock; (2) better methods of seasoning and plasticizing wood for bending; (3) more efficient machines for the bending operation; (4) techniques for drying and fixing the bent part to the desired shape; and (5) the effect of bending on the strength properties of wood.
