Evaluating the strength of finger-jointed lumber of Gmelina arborea in Costa Rica

The use of finger-jointed lumber of Gmelina arborea (gmelina) for the production of glue-laminated beams is becoming more important to the wood industry in Costa Rica. At the request of the local wood industry, two different kinds of adhesives, thermoplastic polyvinyl emulsion (catalyzed PVA) and 1-part polyurethane adhesive (PU) were tested on finger joints of gmelina wood and their strength properties compared under dry, boiled, and saturated conditions. The results showed that under the boiled and saturated conditions, the PVA adhesive exhibited low tensile strength and poor distribution of failures while PU showed much more promise. Based on our preliminary results, the PU adhesive can be successfully used for finger-joint boards of gmelina.