Rotational wood welding of Dalbergia sissoo wood: forming longitudinal tongue-and-groove and butt joints

Abstract

Wood joinery is an essential part of woodworking for product manufacture. Wood sections are mostly joined together with adhesives. Wood welding brings a new dimension to joinery by using mechanical friction to induce a flow of wood components ensuring adhesion. In this study, a customized spin wood-welding machine was used to join wood sections of Dalbergia sissoo. Butt and tongue-and-groove joints were prepared and welded using the machine. The tensile strength of the joints was tested. The impact on joint strength of increasing the friction area by introducing tongue-and-groove joints was tested and analyzed. The tensile strength for butt joints at 1,200 rpm welding was estimated at 5.3 MPa. Joint strength was found to increase substantially (by 66%) with a tongue-and-groove welding section. Weld line temperatures at different spin times were also investigated. The aim of this study is to apply welding technology to Dalbergia sissoo to achieve greater joint strength.