Spline/tenon strength

[Eric Mims]

Has anyone done testing on the strength of miters done with multiple splines
vs. mortise/tenon? I have a 50 degree angle miter that I cut three 1/8" notches for splines. I typically do this for picture frames I make, but this project will have more weight. I am confident they will hold fine, just wanted to hear any anecdotal stories.

on 2" material, would a 1/2" tenon be stronger than a a few 1/8" splines, or would the splines win due to the grain being cross-direction to both pieces and more glue surface area?

And is there a point of diminishing return with splines? As in, would putting splines every 1/4" of the material thickness be stronger than 3 or 4?

[Sam Yerardi]

I'll have to dig out the article but Fine Woodworking did one a while back on the comparative strengths of M&Ts vs. Biscuits vs, Dowels, etc. They compressed 90 deg joints made with each technique to see which held up the best. Not surprisingly, the M&T was NEAR the top. Double biscuits were also near the top. There was significant difference between them and the other techniques.