Friction welding is a well-known process in the production of tools (see #20 in this story about manufacturing nut drivers) but is a thing of mystery when it comes to connecting pieces of wood. Yes, you can join wood through friction alone. Will you or I ever own the equipment necessary to do this? Probably not, but it’s still cool to see how it’s done. In case you think the video below is some kind of April Fools’ Day joke, see this story from Nordic Forest Research, which as near as I can tell is the Swedish equivalent of the U.S. Forest Products lab at the USDA.
