Cold-Bend™ Hardwood - Compwood® - for Extreme Wood Bending™ - Order Page
Order in Sample Packs or by the linear foot
3 ways to order...
- online for stock orders (below) - email tom.rogers@flutedbeams.com for larger commercial orders and purchase orders - or phone Tom Rogers 1-253-495-4747 for credit card payment by phone
-Resawing services billed at $75/hr if desired.
-Orders are custom compressed and we don't usually have stock ready to ship with short notice. Our backlog is running one to two months so order at your earliest convenience to get in our queue. You may always change the order later before it is compressed. Mixed species orders may take longer to make it through production rotations.
-Plank lengths up to 8'. Some of our stock can be a little longer (up to 100").
Sizes and Pricing: Sold by the linear foot in widths of 6", or sample packs. Minimum order is $150.
Group 1 Species: Ash, Red Oak, Beech, Elm*, Sassafras, Soft Maple* Group 2 Species: White Oak*, Hard Maple, Black Locust*, Hickory, Sycamore**, Cherry Group 3 Species: Walnut, Osage Orange**
* limited supply ** sold out
36" Sample Pack of Cold-Bend™ Hardwood - Group 1 species only Contains more weight for the price than orders priced per linear foot. Sizes will vary from 36" to 40" and widths from 1" to 6", and thickness from 3/4" to 1 3/4". Use order notes to specify species and plank size or length needs. Sample pack species is limited mainly to Beech, Maple, Red Oak and Ash.
48" Sample Pack of Cold-Bend™ Hardwood - Group 1 species only Contains more weight for the price than orders priced per linear foot. Sizes will vary from 48" to 52" and widths from 1" to 6", and thickness from 3/4" to 1 3/4". Use order notes to specify species and plank size or length needs. Sample pack species is mainly limited to Beech, Maple, Red Oak and Ash.
5/4 Cold-Bend™ Hardwood - net 1 1/8" thick. Priced per linear foot Use quantity to specify number of linear feet and notes to specify species and plank lengths Available 5/4 Group 1 Species: Elm, Sassafras Available 5/4 Group 2 Species: Maple, Hickory, Cherry Available 5/4 Group 3 Species: none
8/4 Cold-Bend™ Hardwood - net 1 3/4" thick. Priced per linear foot Use quantity to specify number of linear feet and notes to specify species and plank lengths Available 8/4 Group 1 Species: Ash, Red Oak Available 8/4 Group 2 Species: White Oak, Maple, Cherry Available 8/4 Group 3 Species: none
9/4 Cold-Bend™ Hardwood - net 2" thick. Priced per linear foot Use quantity to specify number of linear feet and notes to specify species and plank lengths Available 9/4 Group 1 Species: Ash, Red Oak Available 9/4 Group 2 Species: White Oak Available 9/4 Group 3 Species: none
Species Engineered into Compressed Wood...
Species Mat: 10 Species, From Left to Right - Ash, Elm, Walnut, Red Oak, Beech. From Top to Bottom - Maple, Hickory, Cherry, Black Locust, White Oak. Strips are 3/8" x 2 1/2".
Species Notes:
We offer 13 Extreme Bendable species. Red Oak, White Oak, Ash, and Elm are our best extreme bending woods. The rest bend almost as well. Walnut and Cherry are available in limited quantities and sizes. Black Locust, Sassafras and Hickory were new for us in 2009. Sycamore and Osage Orange were added in 2010. Black Locust is performing very similar to White Oak - good for extreme bending, but slower to dry. Like White Oak, Black Locust is decay resistant, a property valued for boat building and restoration, but the tight pores that give it decay resistance does slow the drying down. Black Locust has an amazing color and grain pattern, and we call it a "domestic exotic". Sassafras is now also available. It has tested very well in extreme bending. Sassafras looks a lot like Ash, but it is lighter in weight and more porous. Hickory is tough and durable. It bends well, but can check and crack if dried too fast.
We are always running experiments with new wood species and expect to be testing Alder, Honey Locust, Koa, Jatoba, Sapelle and Brazialian Rosewood during the next year. Recent tests with Ipe and Purple Heart have failed (quite spectacularly) - placing them in the list of "not bendable", along with all softwoods and most exotics.
Please Note: Compressed Wood is a natural material and as such will have variation in grain pattern, and color. There may also be minor defect such as natural pin knots, or compression defects from the engineering process. This will not affect bending a full plank, but sawn into small strips may cause bending failure in those areas. Just as in planning a project with any lumber product, you should count on ordering about 15% more material than you expect to need to ensure you have a consistent and adequate supply and in case of breakage, or shape deviations during drying. You should also order extra length so that you have leverage on the parts when bending. Bent parts will need some surfacing after they are dried, and this should be factored into your size needs. Many applications you can think of to use Compressed Wood in will be new or only partially tested. Compressed wood is best employed by the inventive and experimental craftsperson who is willing to go beyond some of the conventional wisdom commonly used in woodworking. Early experiences may be immediately rewarding, or may require some re-thinking and additional attempts. Our user information provided on this site is not complete, and is evolving as we and our customers push the product into new and ever challenging projects. You are invited to share your experiences, pictures and videos with us and we would be pleased to include certain works in our galleries.
