TENSILE STRENGTH OF FINGER JOINTS IN PITH-ASSOCIATED AND NON-PITH-ASSOCIATED SOUTHERN PINE 2 BY 6'S.

Finger joints in lumber containing pith-associated wood apparently cause significant reductions in the strength of large glued-laminated timber beams. This probably results from the interaction of the inherent lower strength of the pith-associated wood and strength reductions intrinsic to the joint design. To more fully establish the effect of these factors and thus lead to design criteria for higher strength laminated timber beams, the tensile strength of finger-jointed southern pine 2- by 6-inch dimension lumber with and without pith-associated wood was studied. Author