Bending Capacity of Middle Joints of Upholstered Furniture Frames

This study evaluates the edgewise bending moment capacity of the four most frequently used middle joints in the upholstered furniture frames. The research included the following joints: Mortise and Tenon, double Dowel, Corner Blocks and double Gusset Plates, designed in the form of middle joints and made of beech and poplar solid wood. The test results indicated that regarding the edgewise bending force, the strongest middle joint was the double dowel joint made of beech wood (1896.9 N), while the respective joint made of poplar marked quite a low value of bending force (937.2 N). The strength of wooden corner blocks was proved to be quite powerful, made either of beech wood, poplar wood or the combination of the two wood species (beech: 1881.8 N, poplar: 1237.6 N, beech-poplar: 1783.6 N). The gusset plate joint made of beech resulted in weaker values (1378.2 N), compared to the dowel and corner block joints made of beech, whereas the same joint made of poplar demonstrated very satisfying values of edgewise bending force (1471.8 N). Finally, the mortise and tenon joint appeared to have the lowest strength, both in the case of beech (1306 N) and poplar (634 N). The highest coeffi cient of elasticity (CE) derived from double gusset plate joint, made of beech. All the joints showed good elasticity, except the mortise and tenon joint made of poplar, as well as, the dowel joint made of poplar, which recorded the lowest elasticity values of all. Generally, beech wood resulted in stronger and more elastic joints compared to poplar.