Development of engineered wooden drumsticks

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Lawrence Wood Products Ltd. (Lawrence Wood) of Hanwell, New Brunswick, is a small-scale companyproducing drumsticks, about 80% of which are made of hickory. Hickory is a widely-accepted wood species formaking drumsticks due to its high density and good shock absorbing capacity. Lawrence Wood purchaseshickory mainly from USA. However, the price and availability of hickory may become uncertain due topossible renegotiation or even termination of the North American Free Trade Agreement. To overcome thisrisk, an alternative way is to seek local hardwood species and/or engineered wood material(s). The proponent,Dr. Meng Gong, has recommended to use, via the thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) densification technology,densified wood to make drumsticks. It is expected that the THM densified wood will have an increased densitythat reaches or exceeds the density of hickory, and therefore will have similar or even superior mechanical andacoustic properties. Dr. Meng Gong has successfully conducted a series of research projects on theimprovement of the surface properties of low density wood in the last decade. He and his team have developeda set of THM densification processing parameters for aspen and balsam fir locally grown in Atlantic region.This THM technology can be easily transferred to other wood species such as white ash, by optimizing thedensification parameters. From the outcomes of this proposed project, the ultimate goal of the follow-up R&Dresearch will be the development of a production line for making densified wood, and commercialization of thedensified wood drumsticks. This project is expected to take 6 months to complete. The THM densified wood tobe developed will ensure that Lawrence Wood has a long-term source of sustainable wood for makingdrumsticks. It will no doubt enhance the competitiveness of Canadian wood products on the global market,create new products for wood products manufacturers, and furthermore add new job opportunities.