How do you make those arches?

Quite often, when people see one of Unalam’s custom manufactured arches, they imagine a slow and painstaking process to mold the wood into the correct shape.

The truth is, the process of actually bending the wood is quick – but the planning and precision are painstaking.

We start with a template cut from the engineer’s specifications. Boards of the specified dimensions are bonded with special glue, then prepared for bending.

A series of metal forms on the plant floor shape the molded beam to fit the template. The shaping takes only about 20 minutes. Because we use forms that are moved manually, instead of a hydraulic press, we are able to achieve far more flexibility and variety in shapes.