Effect of knife wear on finger-joint strength of silver fir (Abies alba) wood

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the effect of knife wear, as measured in hours of use, on the finger-joint strength of silver fir wood (Abies alba), bonded with polyurethane (PU) and polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) adhesives. Wood samples were collected after 1, 32 and 64 h of knife wear. Results showed that as knife wear increased, bending strength or modulus of rupture (MOR) of the finger-jointed samples was reduced by 11.1% (PVAc) to 21.2% (PU) after 32 h of knife wear, and by 19.6% (PVAc) to 27.6% (PU) after 64 h of knife wear, whereas modulus of elasticity (MOE) of the finger-jointed samples was reduced by 10.5% (PVAc) to 12.5% (PU) after 32 h of knife wear, and by 11.7% (PVAc) to 10.0% (PU) after 64 h of knife wear. Tension strength of the finger-jointed samples was reduced by 2.1% (PVAc) to 1.5% (PU) after 32 h of knife wear, and by 5.4% (PVAc) to 16.0% (PU) after 64 h of knife wear.