The aim of this project was to assess the impact of Moisture Content (MC) on the performance of black spruce fingerjointing for structural applications. Joint performance was assessed using phenol-resorcinol type adhesive with black spruce blocks of the same MC, at various MC levels, and with blocs of different MC. Black spruce blocks were face-glued at four different moisture contents (8, 12, 16, 20%) and tested in shear parallel to grain to evaluate the performance of the adhesive bond. A phenol-resorcinol adhesive curing at room temperature was used. To complement the study, mill data on quality control tensile test was observed to confirm the laboratory findings on the impact of wood moisture content on the process performance.
Although, a trend was observed in joint performance with a peak at 13,5% MC on the shear MOR, no statistically significant differences were observed between MC levels in the range of 8 to 20% on the joint performance of phenol-resorcinol glued black spruce. The bond performance appeared to be more variable though with green wood (20%). Marginal differences were found on shear strength with four groups of MC differential (0%,4%, 8% and 12%).