Wood blockboards for construction fabricated by wood welding with pre-oiled dowels

Abstract

Holding wood pieces together by rotationally welded dowels can be used to make blockboard panels with the dowels inserted in the side of the wood substrate slats. Pre-oiling the dowels with sunflower oil: (i) eases their insertion in the pre-drilled substrate, (ii) allows the insertion of dowels to a much greater depth by its lubricating action for welding, thus allowing more layers of wood to be joined and (iii) provides an improved water resistance to the welded joint. The strength of the joints prepared with this system is comparable to those already obtained with other welded dowel systems but with improved water resistance.

Keywords:

• blockboard
• wood panels
• wood welding
• dowel welding
• rotational welding
• dowel insertion angle