Is old wood really "weaker" ???

[Prof. Euphonious Thump]

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 




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