Incl. the 1967's "The Analysis of Paneled Plate and Carcass Furniture"

October 25, 2015 6:55 PM

The website of Carl A. Eckelman, Ph.D., Professor of Wood Technology at Purdue University. Probably more than you wanted to know about joinery and cabinetmaking.
posted by Monday, stony Monday (29 comments total)

I still want to build this bookcase (PDF).
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 7:02 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]

Probably more than you wanted to know about joinery and cabinetmaking.

I doubt it.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 7:06 PM on October 25, 2015 [14 favorites]

Finally, the baffling nuances of woodworking meet the dense inscrutability of academic writing.
posted by teponaztli at 7:14 PM on October 25, 2015 [19 favorites]

Well I personally *hate* MDF, so "The Withdrawal Strength of Screws from Medium Density Fiberboard" is more than I want to know.
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 7:14 PM on October 25, 2015 [4 favorites]

Heh
posted by clavdivs at 7:20 PM on October 25, 2015

This is both what I picture a Professor of Wood Technology looking like and what I picture their website looking like--thanks for this.
posted by box at 7:20 PM on October 25, 2015 [3 favorites]

Looks like Dr. Eckelman has really

*puts on sunglasses*

carved a niche for himself
posted by BitterOldPunk at 7:28 PM on October 25, 2015 [14 favorites]

Roy Underhill weeps
posted by clavdivs at 7:33 PM on October 25, 2015

I bet he and Norm Abram would have one hell of a conversation.
posted by COD at 7:34 PM on October 25, 2015

Also, last modified Thu 21 May 2009 02:38:30 AM EDT.
posted by COD at 7:38 PM on October 25, 2015

Don't worry. He's still publishing.

In printed journals, of course.
posted by schmod at 7:44 PM on October 25, 2015

Holy shit. His lab has a gigantic CT scanner that can scan an entire tree trunk.
posted by schmod at 7:47 PM on October 25, 2015 [4 favorites]

So this is where Treebeard gets his CT Scans.
posted by clavdivs at 7:51 PM on October 25, 2015 [2 favorites]

Well I personally *hate* MDF

But you're cool with Low and High Density Fiberboard?
posted by srboisvert at 8:04 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]

Performance tests of school chairs constructed with round mortise and tenon joints.

I can remember testing a few of those to failure, though we weren't smart enough to get a publication out of it.
posted by Dip Flash at 8:04 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]

I have no idea how these people got their trees wedged into their scanners, or why.

aaaaaand g'night
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 8:34 PM on October 25, 2015 [6 favorites]

And now I know that for shelving a deflection of L/180 is 'discernible but not objectionable' but L/160 is 'bordering on objectionable'.
posted by TheJoven at 9:04 PM on October 25, 2015 [2 favorites]

I've been wanting to get into carpentry, this seems like a perfect place to start!
posted by Joe Chip at 10:06 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]

For more fun, you can search for spam lengths for deck framing, which are based on the deflection limits of various lumber dimensions and species.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:43 PM on October 25, 2015

And now I know that for shelving a deflection of L/180 is 'discernible but not objectionable' but L/160 is 'bordering on objectionable'.

That's suspiciously exactly the same as the code deflection limit for subfloors in residential construction. Some shadowy group somewhere has decreed that L/180 is the limit.

I've seen a lot of bookshelves deflecting more than L/180 in my life, but I'm not sure I'd call them objectionable.
posted by ssg at 11:01 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]

L/160 is generally at the limits of detection; at least for standing. Not too surprising that it's the same for shelving.
posted by Mitheral at 1:09 AM on October 26, 2015

Holy shit. His lab has a gigantic CT scanner that can scan an entire tree trunk.

An entirely new meaning to scanning through the logs!
posted by Dr Dracator at 1:54 AM on October 26, 2015

I'd love to know what kind of furniture he has at home. Is it all beautiful, handmade, heirloom-type stuff? Or is it Ikea flatpack because doing something for your day job kind of takes all the enjoyment out of it as a hobby?
posted by lollymccatburglar at 2:39 AM on October 26, 2015

Looks like Dr. Eckelman has really

*puts on sunglasses*

carved a niche for himself

I saw what you did there.
posted by mcrandello at 4:47 AM on October 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

The Withdrawal Strength of Screws from Medium Density Fiberboard

Having lived in lots of cheap apartments, I can say with confidence that the answer is less than required to secure a cabinet door hinge with three 3/4" #6 screws.
posted by [expletive deleted] at 4:59 AM on October 26, 2015 [2 favorites]

This is great. I'm researching and brainstorming designs for a small, timberframed, A-frame, off grid (and perhaps covert/not to code), and very much diy cabin damn near constantly these days and that L/180 value for deflection tolerance/design is actually going to come in really handy when I finally get around to doing some statics calculations for the framing timbers (which the mechanical engineer in me has been yearning for more and more here recently).

Thanks for the links and if anyone wants to chat about a frames or any of the above stuff hut me up on memail.
posted by RolandOfEld at 6:20 AM on October 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

I saw what you did there.

Boring.
posted by RolandOfEld at 6:21 AM on October 26, 2015 [4 favorites]

This is awesome!

Now I want to copy some of the more inscrutable figures and equations from his papers onto the whiteboard I just scored for my woodshop. You know, to lend an air of intellectual rigour to the piles of wood shavings and scattered tools.
posted by Harald74 at 7:06 AM on October 26, 2015

Some of the other papers he quotes are works intended for the wood structure aircraft industry. Which makes perfect sense, as that's a crowd that's sure to appreciate a bit of thought going into their woodworking projects.
posted by Harald74 at 7:09 AM on October 26, 2015