A Study on the Technique and Process of Bending Wood

Abstract

Materials are such an important factor in designing furniture. Wood is the biggest part of furniture materials. While wood is soft, eco-friendly and natural material, it is variable because it is characterized by severe expansion and contraction. Thus, if the changeable characteristic of wood is not considered in furniture design, the good design of furniture cannot be produced. As one of the skills dealing with woods, bending is such a useful way for making various forms of furniture. While it has been used in furniture-making for a long time, wood processing techniques like steaming bending, bending with ammonia and high frequency bending has been advanced. As wood is a viscoelastic material and has some plasticity, beautiful curves can be created when force is applied. Therefore this paper studies the types of bending methods for furniture and each characteristic of them. Furthermore, this study classifies wood process according to suitability for mass production or small-scale production and researches the proper wood process by the forms and the way of furniture production. Also this study aims to help furniture designers and cabinet makers with wood bending.