Exactly, that's the beauty of wood, it's flexible so doesn't snap like a carrot. There seems to be a trend recently with people wanting to make wooden machines, they've probably been looking on US forums.
Personally I don't have the strength to keep saying, "don't do it", so all I'll say is that after building a steel and aluminium machine there is no way a wooden contraption is going to come anywhere near, and I've been working with wood for a long, long time.