A study was undertaken to evaluate the bending and tensile strength pe
rformance of both vertical and horizontal finger-joints on three hardw
ood species using a melamine formaldehyde (MF) and resorcinol formalde
hyde (RF) adhesive. Tensile and bending strength results from small sp
ecimen tests showed that neither finger-joint orientation nor adhesive
had a decided influence on strength. Significant differences in bendi
ng strength properties were measured in exposure test results; however
, no clear patterns could be established. It was concluded from this s
tudy that similar end-joint connections can be made using the horizont
al and vertical orientation with either the MF or RF resin. Exposure t
est results suggest that no immediate advantage is provided by end-joi
ning red oak, red maple, and yellow-poplar with a more costly resorcin
ol resin. However, additional test efforts are warranted to further qu
alify the performance of finger-jointed assemblies for full-sized lumb
er products under more severe test exposure conditions.