Enhancing the exterior performance of wood joined by linear and rotational welding

Application of rosin, a wood derived, non-toxic, natural, inexpensive and easily and abundantly available natural material, to the wood faces to be joined by either linear vibration welding or rotational dowel welding has shown to greatly enhance the water resistance of welded wood joints. The method of application has been shown to have a marked effect on the results, with the application and drying of a diluted rosin solution to the wood surfaces before welding yielding the best results. The considerable improvement in water resistance does not still allow classification of the joints as fully exterior grade. However, dowel welding can now be used for protected exterior joints due to a combination of rosin waterproofing and joint geometry. Welded dowel joints holding together for longer than 455 days immersion in water indicate this to be the case. Rosin-treated linear vibration joints held together well in excess of 30 days but retained a measurable strength, in the best case, only up to 18 days water immersion. The wood anatomy and chemical reasons for the effect of rosin were determined by X-ray microdensitometry and CP-MAS 13C-NMR analysis.