Reinforcing Hardware At Work

When doing curved projects out of species other than Southern Yellow Pine you can run into issues with radial tension. Radial tension occurs when forces cause a curved beam to straighten, resulting in the plies and wood fibers internally trying to separate. Since Douglas Fir is weaker in radial tension, it can require extra hardware to "stitch" the wood together, preventing wood fibers from separating.


Here is an example of radial tension reinforcing hardware being used to reinforce a curved beam made of Douglas Fir. On the back of the curved beam you can see the tops of stitch screws used to reinforce the curved portion of Douglas Fir beams. 

One of the great benefits of using glulam is the manufacturer's ability to fabricate, and in some cases fully assemble, members in the plant. This way you won't be "stitching" your curved Douglas Fir beams together on site.