Manufacture of wooden beams

A method of forming a butt-joint between adjacent ends of abutting lengths of timber sections using a pair of joining plates each having a base part and side parts along opposite side edges of the base part, at least the side parts having a plurality of projections extending therefrom, comprising the steps of

• (a) supporting the timber sections in end-butting relationship;
• (b) supporting a first one of the joining plates with its base part engaged with co-planar surfaces of the abutting timber sections;
• (c) embedding either projections extending from the base part or fasteners passing through the base part into the abutted timber sections;
• (d) bending said side parts about opposite edges of said co-planar surfaces of the timber lengths to form a substantially U-shaped plate with the projections extending from said side parts embedded in opposed sides of the abutted timber lengths;
• (e) supporting the other of the joining plates with its base part engaged with the co-planar surfaces of the timber sections opposite those engaged by the base part of the first joining plate;
• (f) embedding either projections extending from the base part or fasteners passing therethrough into the timber sections;
• and
• (g) bending the side parts of the second joining plate about the edges of the timber surfaces to lie substantially co-planar with the side parts of the first joining plate and to form a second U-shaped plate, the projections of the second joining plate side parts being embedded in the opposed sides of the timber sections.