Reaction wood may be laid down in wider than normal annual increments, so that the cross section is often asymmetric or elliptical.
The effect of reaction wood is to help maintain the angle of the bent or leaning part by resisting further downward bending or failure.
This movement can occur during the milling process, making it occasionally dangerous to perform certain operations without appropriate safety controls in place.
For instance, ripping a piece of reaction wood on a table saw without a splitter or riving knife installed can lead to kick back of the stock.
For instance, hunters in north Eurasia and the American Arctic were known to harvest compression wood for bow staves, because the increased density and compression strength of this wood enabled them to make functional weapons out of tree species that would otherwise be unsuitable for this purpose, due to their low strength and low density.