the process is *** I described and done by a company called Pure Timber LLC in the states they have a video of the process. The idea is that when the wood is compressed and cooled it puts it all under a certain type of compressive test that it is happy to hve but retains the memory of how it used to be and there when you bend it "cold compress" the inside is happy to be squeeze but the outside actually wants to try to go back to what it was and can therefore stretch. As it was explained to me in layman's terms. they use the term engineered wood but it isn't really as how we would think of it. The blurb from them below
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What is it? Cold-Bend™ hardwoods are engineered, solid, cold-bendable hardwoods, that are uniquely suited to the most demanding Extreme Wood Bending™ projects. It is indistinguishable from clear, straight grained hardwood because that's what it is. It has just been subjected to carefully controlled, but intense, longitudinal thermo-mechanical compression. The hardwood has been engineered to be extremely flexible (as long as it is moist). Once cold-bent by hand (or with jigs, clamps and fixtures), Cold-Bend™ hardwood is dried to fix the shape.
Why does it work? It works because it can stretch. When wood bends, it has to stretch on the outside of the curve, which gets longer. Wood can't stretch, so steam benders use a steel backing strap on the outside of the curve to force compression to the inside of the bend (the inside gets shorter, but the outside stays the same length). With Cold-Bend™ Hardwood, the wood is compressed before it is bent. Therefore it can stretch on the outside of the curve during bending - no steam or backing strap needed. Since the wood is first plasticized in an autoclave and then compressed in a hydraulic press, very tight radiuses can be bent. We can bend it in any direction, make S-curves, twist it, and bend it on edge.
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website
http://www.puretimber.com/
