Method for forming structural components from dry wood fiber furnish

A method of forming a product of wood fiber, said product having non-uniform cross-sectional shapes and a substantially uniform density, comprising the steps of pretreating said wood fiber with adhesive, providing mold means, providing movable porous mandrels within said mold means, providing removable perforated plate means in said mold means through which said mandrels may move, providing removable compacted mat forming means on said plate means, causing an air flow through said mold means and said mandrels, supplying said pretreated wood fiber in a dry condition into said air flow to cause said wood fibers to deposit in the spaces between said mandrels on said plate means while said mandrels on said plate means while said mandrels are in a first position in said mold means, first compacting said deposited wood fiber, repeating said air flow step and said supplying wood fiber step while said mandrels are in a second position in said mold means, again compacting said wood fiber while simultaneously moving said mandrels out of contact with the thus compacted mat of wood fiber, removing said mat with said plate means and said frame means from said mold means with said mat being held in said compacted condition by said plate means and said frame means, and completing the forming of said product from said mat by inserting a rubber pillow and a solid block into the cavity and producing additional vertical compaction before deforming the pillow on said mat using said frame means and said plate means externally of said mold means.