Pressed Wood

a building material, wood subjected to compression at right angles to the grain under pressures as high as 30 meganewtons per sq m (300 kilograms-force per sq cm). Pressed wood has a density of 1,200 to 1,450 kg per cu m; depending on type of pressing, it is designated as compressed from one side or two, or as compressed to contour. One-sided compression is done by pressing beams of wood in a single direction across the grain, and two-sided compression involves pressing in two directions. The second method provides greater density. Pressing to contour is done by pressing a cylindrical stock of wood into a metal cylinder of smaller diameter. The breaking point for pressed wood under static bending or compression with the grain, as well as the hardness of the butt-end surface, is two to three times that of natural wood. Pressed wood replaces ferrous and nonferrous metals and textolite in industry and is used to make loom picker sticks, sliding bearings subject to abrasive wear, and other products.