The Science of Wood Laminate

Did you know that according to the building industry, “engineered” wood (laminated wood) is 50% stiffer than solid sawn lumber? Not surprising, really, when you consider the advances in adhesives and resins that have been made in the past 10 years.

Without disclosing exactly how laminate wood blanks are made, let’s just say that a very special adhesive is used that is pushed into the very fibers of the wood as the individual layers are pressed together under heat and great pressure. This process helps to bond the adhesive to the wood fibers at the microscopic level, and helps to cure the adhesive as it infuses into the individual wood fibers, actually becoming a part of the wood.

It’s no secret that the adhesive used in wood laminates helps to stiffen the wood and make it much stronger. That’s the beauty of resins; they are excellent stiffeners, bonders and waterproofers. With all those qualities and benefits coming from just one lamination process, you can see why engineered hardwoods are far superior in strength and rigidity to solid wood. And, rightly so – because the wood laminate has been “enhanced.”

When you look at the science inherent in the production of wood gunstock blanks, you realize that a Boyds gunstock is more than just a piece of “laminated wood” that’s been carved into the shape of a gunstock; it’s truly a marvel of science and technology. With adhesive impregnating the tiny spaces between the wood fibers, it bonds permanently, giving the wood fibers 50% more rigidity, more strength, and much more durability than solid wood.

Wood is a wonderful, beautiful, natural product that can be shaped, bent, cut, glued, sanded, and finished into just about anything imaginable. It’s strong, rigid, colorful, warm, soft, hard, stiff, stainable, paintable and workable. And now with the advent of space-age adhesives, it can be laminated into the strongest wood material on the planet. But strength isn’t all that is special about Boyds laminated gunstocks. Shape and color come into play, too.

One really cool feature about the Boyds laminated gunstocks is that the color in each individual layer of wood is actually infused into the wood fibers themselves. The color doesn’t sit on the surface, it goes clear through, front-to-back, each wood laminate layer. And that’s what gives Boyds gunstocks those deep, bright and rich colors.

With 13 colored laminates, 6 solid woods, and 19 different stock shapes offered in over 255 gun brands and over 1,200 different models within those brands, Boyds gives you more choices than any stock maker on the planet. If you want to shoot better, with more accuracy, with more comfort, and look good doing it, then it’s time to upgrade your gunstock to a Boyds. It’s easy.