A hole expansion device includes a cutting portion main, body formed to have a diameter for the cutting portion, main body to be housed within a joint hole and including a cutting blade tool movable in a range from a housed position at which a blade is housed within a diameter for the cutting portion main body to an extended position at which the blade projects out of the diameter, an advancing and retracting member that is constructed to move in an axial direction by an external force and rotate about an axis of the advancing and retracting member, and a link mechanism that converts an advancing and retracting movement of the advancing and retracting member into a rotational movement of the cutting blade tool.

A hole expansion, forming device includes a cutting portion main, body formed to have a diameter for the cutting portion, main body to be housed within a joint hole and including a cutting blade tool movable in a range from a housed position at which a blade is housed within a diameter for the cutting portion main body to an extended position at which the blade projects out of the diameter, an advancing and retracting member that is constructed to move in an axial direction by an external force and rotate about an axis of the advancing and retracting member, and a link mechanism that converts an advancing and retracting movement of the advancing and retracting member into a rotational movement of the cutting blade tool, a tip portion bearing that is provided on a tip end of the cutting portion main body, and serves as a tip end side bearing when being housed in an inner side of the joint hole.

The present invention relates to a method of producing wooden components, wherein in the method a first wooden slat is provided with an adhesive at at least one of its planar broad sides and/or at at least one of its narrow sides and the first wooden slat is glued to a second wooden slat to form a block of a plurality of wooden slats, wherein at least the first wooden slat is in a wet state during the gluing.

The invention relates to a bamboo blank, particularly to produce load-bearing structural elements, characterized in that the bamboo blank comprises a plurality of bamboo lamellae arranged parallel to each other and bonded together by an adhesive, wherein the material for the bamboo lamellae originates from a giant bamboo species, the bamboo lamellae are pressed and bonded together by a pressure of 0.05-1.5 N/mm.sup.2, and the bamboo lamellae have a thickness of at least 5 mm. Furthermore, the invention relates to a bamboo rod, a bamboo layer, a laminated timber element, a sandwich element, and a ceiling or wall element. The invention additionally relates to a method for producing a claimed bamboo blank, bamboo rod, bamboo layer, laminated timber beam, cross-laminated timber element, sandwich element, ceiling element, and/or wall element, combination beam, T-beam, I-beam, and ceiling elements with T-beams and/or I-beams.

Methods for repurposing used chopsticks can be utilized to make various wooden products therefrom. The method can include sorting, stacking, pressing and finishing the product pressed product into a desired manufactured item. The method can include other steps, such as soaking, drying, polishing, and applying a finish. In some embodiments, the chopsticks, prior to pressing, may be modified by soaking, application of a finish or preservative, application of a binder, or the like. Such manufactured items can include furniture, houseware, storage products and the like.

This invention relates to a process for the division of an individual input source log into discrete longitudinal lengths for subsequent processing. The process comprises receiving an individual input source log, dividing the input source log into one or a plurality of output log portions of a predetermined length, wherein at least a portion of said output log portions resultant from said division are of a substantially equal or substantially constant or consistent longitudinal length, and wherein said substantially equal or substantially constant or consistent longitudinal length output log portions are procured as a feed stream of log material for a subsequent processing step. This process provides for the processing of logs and subsequent assembly into an end product formed from a composite of sticks derived from said processed logs.