Bending Strengths of Hardwood Used in Upholstered Furniture Frame Construction

Allowable design stresses for wood as it is used in upholstered furniture frame construction have never been defined. To provide the strength data which is fundamental to the establishment of such stresses, a study was undertaken in which the bending strengths of 1,104 wood parts salvaged from upholstered furniture frames were evaluated. Results of the tests indicated that the strengths of the materials in the frames averaged 90.5 percent of the values given in the Wood Handbook (1974) for MOR of clear specimens. The corresponding standard deviation was 28.5 percent. Tolerance limits were calculated for the test results at various confidence/probability levels. The lower tolerance limit at the 95 percent confidence/ 97.5 percent probability level, on the average, amounted to 32.1 percent of the Wood Handbook values for MOR. It was felt that this result provides support for establishing one-third MOR of clear wood to define design stresses for wood in upholstered frame construction. This standard does not contain an allowance for duration of load or for other safety factors, however.

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