O.K. Here's the part I'm not convinced of : ( From an old post of Del's, I believe, that Ric kindly resurrected. ) > Across-grain, though, we have a problem. There > has been a lot fiber > compression due to compression set and the old > wood is now much > weaker across-grain than it was when it started > out. Has this been proven ? From what I've observed ( ever tried to drive a nail into an old board ? ) and Dale's comments about sparks at the sawmill, when cutting old boards, old wood GAINS some strength. So why would it be weaker ??? Indeed: If wood is compressed, it's also more dense, and denser ( usually ) means stronger. Yes, I understand some fibers may be crushed, but wouldn't that be offset ( somewhat, or entirely ) by the rigidity wood gains with age ??? ( Again, by oxidation of the resins within the cells: which eventually turns to amber, which is classified as a "mineral" and "gemstone". ) It is also > considerably less resilient so we can't just dry > it out and > compression-crown the whole thing all over > again. This I understand, 100%. If you tried to CC old wood, it'd probably crack, pronto ! Thump ____________________________________________________________________________________ Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping
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