Engineered Wood Product and Method of Making Same

Abstract

A novel engineered wood product and method of making same that withstands the stresses, both natural and man-made, that cause warp, twist and bow.

1 .- 4 . (canceled) 
     
     
         5 . A method of making a wood product comprising:
 providing a first board and a second board,   forming a flat surface on each of the first board and the second board by milling a first face of the first board and a first face of the second board,   providing a first strip of reinforcing fiber selected from the group consisting of warp bias fiberglass, carbon fiber and combinations thereof,   saturating the first strip with a polyurethane resin (PUR),   arranging the PUR saturated first strip between the first face of the first board and the first face of the second board, and   compressing the PUR saturated first strip between the first face of the first board and the first face of the second board to thereby forming the wood product.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein each of the first face of the first board and the first face of the second board is formed by an outer tree-ring side of the respective boards. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , including adding a fire retardant preparation to the PUR. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein each of the first board and the second board has a moisture content of 5% to 9%. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 5 , including milling the first face of the first board and the first face of the second board to each have a flatness with a tolerance zone of +/−0.005 inches per 60 inches of length. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 5 , including saturating the first strip with the PUR by placing the first strip in a vacuum chamber, purging oxygen from the vacuum chamber by displacing the oxygen with nitrogen, creating a vacuum in the vacuum chamber, applying the PUR to the first strip and maintaining the vacuum for an amount of time sufficient to fully saturate the first strip with the PUR. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein each and every filament of the first strip is completely surrounded by the PUR. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein all voids in the strip are displaced by the PUR. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the filaments that compose the first strip are realigned and a thickness of the first strip is decreased to an average thickness of about 0.0165 inches to an average thickness of about 0.0065 inches. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 5 , including providing a first veneer, a second veneer, a second strip reinforcing fiber and a third strip of reinforcing fiber, saturating the second strip and the third strip with PUR containing a fire retardant, and compressing the PUR saturated second strip between the a second face of the first board and the first veneer and the PUR saturated third strip between a second face of the second board and the second veneer to thereby form a fire retardant wood product. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 5 , including applying a mist of water to each of the first faces of the first and second boards prior to compressing the PUR saturated first strip between the first face of the first board and the first face of the second board. 
     
     
         16 . A method of making a wood product comprising:
 forming a flat surface on each of a first face of a first board and a first face of a second board,   providing a first strip of reinforcing fiber saturated with a polyurethane resin (PUR) selected from the group consisting of warp bias fiberglass, carbon fiber and combinations thereof, and   compressing the PUR saturated first strip between the first face of the first board and the first face of the second board to thereby forming the wood product.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein each of the first board and the second board has a moisture content of 5% to 9%. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , including milling the first face of the first board and the first face of the second board to each have a flatness with a tolerance zone of +/−0.005 inches per 60 inches of length. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , including saturating the first strip with the PUR by placing the first strip in a vacuum chamber, displacing oxygen in the vacuum chamber with nitrogen, creating a vacuum in the vacuum chamber, applying the PUR to the first strip and maintaining the vacuum for an amount of time sufficient to saturate the first strip with the PUR. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein each and every filament of the first strip is surrounded by the PUR. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein essentially all voids in the strip are displaced by the PUR. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the filaments that compose the first strip are realigned and a thickness of the first strip is decreased to an average thickness of about 0.0165 inches to an average thickness of about 0.0065 inches. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 16 , including providing a first veneer, a second veneer, a second strip reinforcing fiber and a third strip of reinforcing fiber, saturating the second strip and the third strip with PUR, and compressing the PUR saturated second strip between the a second face of the first board and the first veneer and the PUR saturated third strip between a second face of the second board and the second veneer to thereby form the wood product. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 16 , including applying a mist of water to each of the first faces of the first and second boards prior to compressing the PUR saturated first strip between the first face of the first board and the first face of the second board. 
     
     
         25 . A wood product prepared in accordance with the method of  claim 16 .