Frictional wood welding, a technology already applied to weld thermoplastics and metals for several years, is used here to weld wood. The aims of this work were to put together welded wood joints either by linear or rotational welding as well as to study the parameters which have an influence on the characteristics of welded joints: thus, the wood species used, the orientation of the wood grain, the construction design of the joint and the welding parameters (such as the vibration frequency, displacement, welding pressure and welding time). The mechanical performance of the wood joints prepared were tested in shear, in tension as well as according to the principles of fracture mechanics. For rotational welding, a new planar joint design has been proposed with a zig-zag positioning of the welded dowels which led to joints that can be used for non-structural applications under exterior unprotected conditions for brief periods of time (up to one year). For linear vibration welding it was determined that the welding parameters used are determinant to the quality of the joints. Much improved joint strengths and water resistance were obtained as a consequence. Analysis by X-ray microdensitometry coupled to scanning electron microscopy have allowed to observe and follow the densification of the welded interface as a function of welding parameters. FTIR and 13C NMR analysis of the welded line have pointed out marked chemical modifications at the welded interface contributing to the improvement of both joint strengths and water resistance. Furthermore, gas chromatography analysis coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) has allowed to determine the non-polluting nature of the mix of gases emitted during welding (Predominance of water vapour, traces only of CO2, absence of CO and CH4) and to list exactly the traces of the decomposition products issue during welding from the degradation of lignin and hemicelluloses.