"DSK" wrote in message
news
Balsa core is not very strong in compression. Actually, neither is
plywood, but it's stronger than balsa.


Frank Boettcher wrote:
All wood is stronger in compression of the end grain than compression
of the side surface.

That's true.

However, *balsa* is not stronger that way than even cheapo pine plywood
(unless of course there are gaps in the ply).



.... And end grain
balsa is stronger in compression than side grain plywood

I don't think so, but I bet there are figures out there somewhere.

Check out the Wooden Boat magazine archives. There is so much esoteric data
on the properties of wood as to be tedious. I'm sure this issue has been
addressed, and probably redundantly.

Max