Archimedes Plutonium schreef
I suspect all of the references in the present literature were never
really conducted as per a "full fledged scientific analysis" and that the
numbers achieved in all books on wood to date are mostly numbers got from
less than a scientific laboratory would get.

I suspect too much alterior motives in the books listed above that
provide number comparisons.

Trouble with too much of the old literature on wood with number data
is that the testing was not done under Science Rigor.

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How much of this "old literature" did you see?
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To get a hickory to beat out oak and ash is as simple as finding a
hickory with narrow tree rings to compare with oak and ash of wide
tree rings.

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The other way about. Probably would not work either ...
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I have the hunch that if a Proper Scientific Analysis were done of
woods for their superior characteristics that most of the old
literature would be found flawed and that is because no-one has done a
proper Science testing.

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Well, it is Official now. Iris is right.
PvR