I'm not sure I see why it would be prone to cracking... The areas that were weak (with regards to compression strengths) would be quite a bit less reactive to dimension change for climate change. Old panels that are de-ribbed and brought back together and rib crowned rarely ever crack again and are quite stable in the face of climate change compared to fresh wood. The wood that was stronger from the get go would be pretty much as reactive before the process and would account for most of the change in dimension from cross grain expansion / contraction with climate changes. You say yourself the panel would be less reactive to fluctuating RH. I would think that the areas that have experience the most compression set would account for this for the most. What am I missing here ? Cheers RicB I really don't know for sure, but my guess is that the compression set damage would occur locally - most likely in linear bands of lower wood strength (resistance to crushing). So you'd end up with 90% of the panel more-or-less undamaged and 10% of it severely damaged and prone to cracking very easy, etc. It might be a bit more stable with fluctuating RH I suppose, but I suspect you'd be a lot better off by simply starting with a laminated panel to begin with. Terry Farrell
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