Testing Joints to the Breaking Point
Surprising results surface in an analysis of commonly used furniture joints
Synopsis: Using the laboratory at the Wood Science and Technology Center of the University of New Brunswick, Bruce Gray tested joints and talked to experts about why joints fail. They tested traditional mortise-and-tenon joints, floating-tenon joints, biscuit joints, and dovetail joints for load, displacement, rate of failure, strength after failure, and rigidity. He explains how the samples were prepared and tested and how to interpret the charts. The article also offers a guide to the anatomy of the joints tested.
Most furniture makers have an entrenched point of view regarding the strength of different types of wood joints, based as much on speculation as on observation. As a puzzled furniture designer who wondered about the relative strength of various joints, I wanted some reliable answers. To find them, I sought expert technical advice and access to the laboratory testing facilities of the Wood Science and Technology Center of the University…
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