Influence of Machining Parameters on the Tensile Strength of Finger-Jointed High-Density Black Spruce Lumber

Finger-jointed softwood lumber is widely used in manufacturing of structural or nonstructural applications such as glued laminated lumber and prefabricated wood I-joists. Black spruce is the most frequently used species for finger-jointed engineered wood products in eastern Canada. However, some key machining parameters must be adjusted according to the properties of the wood to obtain a surface quality suitable for the finger-jointing process. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of cutting speed and chip load on the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of finger-jointed high-density black spruce. The variables were four cutting speeds and three chip loads. A feather profile was selected with an isocyanate adhesive and an end-pressure of 3.45 MPa. A factorial analysis showed a statistically significant interaction between cutting speed and chip load on UTS and cutting speed was the most significant variable. The influence of chip load on UTS was lower, apparent only at 3260 m/min cutting speed. Suitable finger-jointing could be achieved at 1860-3960 m/min cutting speed with a chip-load of 0.51-1.27 mm. However, the best result was obtained at 3260 m/min cutting speed and 0.89 mm chip load. These results need to be validated in industrial mills to verify tool wear behavior