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Rock Stars
Wood's Strength
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Examples of strong wood
Baseball bats are made from hickory. Hickory is a very
hard wood and won't change shape or splinter when it receives a hard
impact (like from a baseball).
Floors and stairs are often made from oak. Oak is a very dense wood and can endure the everyday walking and moving of people. A less dense wood would be worn away more quickly.
Power
lines poles are usually made from pine trees. This is because they are
strong enough to support the heavy lines. In addition, they have to
be somewhat flexible, so when the wind blows the poles and they won't
break.
Fence posts are made of black locust. Black locust is very
resistant to decay because of chemical naturally found in the wood.
Most other woods would decay with the constant exposure to the weather.
Railroad ties must be very strong, because everyday they are crushed
by the weight of trains and cannot break.
As you can see, there are many different ways wood can be strong!
Many of the features that we discussed in "Wood Anatomy" can have an effect on wood's strenth. Let's take a look...
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