We studied the mechanical properties of an ergonomically designed handle for a shovel produced from plywood, aviation veneer panel, laminated veneer lumber, and bent laminated veneer lumber. Panels were made from beech veneer with a thickness of 1.2 mm and dimensions of 1300 mm × 430 mm. Cross veneers of plywood were sawed and bonded again at width direction with the thread. The same technique was used with bonding veneers with the aviation veneer panel for which an angle of 26° was needed. The final thickness of the panels was 32.5 mm, so 27 layers were glued. For bent LVL, we first cut the model from the MDF material on a CNC machine and connected the individual parts with dowels and then glued them together. For gluing all layered wood composites, one component polyurethane adhesive ICEMA R 145/12 was used. We produced 5 handles from each panel and tested their mechanical properties. Since snow shovels are mainly used at low temperatures, 2 handles were tested at -18 °C and 2 at room temperature of 22 °C. We determined that low temperature improves the mechanical properties of the wood, since the measured forces applied at the freezing handles were slightly higher. The bent LVL handle was able to bear very high forces, followed by the handle from the aviation panel, while the plywood and LVL handles handled approximately the same force. We also tested an aluminium handle that is currently on the market. In comparison with the layered wood composites, it transfers small loads but has a larger elastic module.
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