Bendywood® is steam-treated wood that is compressed along its length and subsequently dried in this compressed form. In order to maintain this compressed length, no water should be able to penetrate the wood. If it does get wet, the wood will expand in length and will also shrink again when it dries. The wood surface will roughen up, it will need to be sanded and varnished again. Therefore:

DO NOT USE BENDYWOOD® OUTDOORS,
AS BENDYWOOD® IS NOT WATERPROOF.

Since Bendywood® is compressed wood, it is more compact than normal wood. For this reason, we suggest to comply with the following instructions when WORKING Bendywood®:

Sawing and sanding:

• Saw and sand as with normal wood. 

Planing and milling:

• Only dry Bendywood® can be milled (at a moisture content of about 8%), as moist Bendywood® can tear out.
• Do not plane and mill against the grain: first try on the surface planing machine in which direction the wood can be worked best. 
• Mill at a high rotation speed, if possible at 12.000 rotations per minute.
  Ideally use HSS-tooling, in order to avoid tear outs. 
• Small profiles are best milled on the edge of a board and subsequently cut off at the circular saw. 

Gluing and jointing:

• Do not use water-based glues, only synthetic ones, such as polyurethane adhesives and synthetic resin glues.
• Pay close attention when Bendywood® needs to be glued/jointed in length, as it is the case, for instance, with handrails or with lippings around round table tops:
  • Never use butt joints, as they will open up in the long term. Only use "open" butt joints if indispensable and provide them with a "shadow gap".
  • Always glue/joint by means of a diagonal cut:
     
    The length of the diagonal cut should equal 3 times the cross section of the parts that need to be glued/jointed

Staining and varnishing:

Do not use water-based products, only synthetic stains and varnishes, such as "Danish Oil" (Rustins) for instance, especially when it concerns thin sections. Thicker sections, such as handrails for instance, better endure water-based substances as long as these are dried well immediately after their application. A deep penetration of water should be avoided!

Final assembly of curved parts:

• The optimum moisture content for bending tight radiuses is about 12%. Prior to the final assembly, Bendywood® should be well dried to about 7-8%. As it has already been artificially dried during the production process, Bendywood® will not suffer any damage during this final drying process. 
• Important: Bendywood® will shrink in length as long as its moisture content decreases! Especially when mounting long handrails this needs to be taken into account!