Douglas fir crossarms: solid sawn vs. laminated comparison

This paper covers the economical and structural comparison of laminated wood crossarms versus the conventional solid sawn wood crossarms for overhead power line applications. In recent years, environmental concerns have had a significant impact on the cost and availability of solid sawn Douglas Fir crossarms. These concerns have led to increased efforts by crossarm manufacturers and electric utilities to research alternatives to solid sawn wood crossarms. One of these alternatives, laminated wood crossarms, has become an economically attractive option. A review is made of the various factors that affect the strength of these crossarms. A comparison is made of the strength through destructive testing of laminated and solid sawn wood crossarms