Structural performance of finger-jointed black spruce lumber with different joint configurations

In Eastern Canada, black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) is used for producing engineered wood products. However, little information is available on the influence of finger-joint configuration on the structural performance of this species. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the behavior of finger-jointed black spruce for three joint configurations: feather, male-female, and reverse. Isocyanate adhesive was used for all types of joints studied. All of the three joint configurations performed well and strength values were found to meet the Canadian standard requirements. Significant differences were found for bending strength between the three joint profiles. The same trend was observed for tension strength but differences were not statistically significant. The analysis indicated that the feather configuration performs better than male-female and reverse profiles, especially for horizontal structural joints. In tension and bending tests, wood failure was mostly produced along the joint profile but with some failure at the finger roots, indicating an excellent performance of the gluelines.

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