I wanted to see how strong AZEC is since I am considering using it to
make some bat racks for the fields where my daughter plays softball.
I'm looking to make something like this, which I've made in the past
using 3/4 plywood:

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/everythingba...2109_100108102

I had some cutoffs of 5/4 x 4 AZEC from a storm door project I just
finished, so I did a little experiment.

I used two 3" deck screws to attach the butt end of a 4" long piece to
the face of another piece as shown below.

The |||| is the side of one piece, the ==== is the 4" face of the
other, the ss are the screws that old the 2 pieces together.


-------5"-------
||||
||||=========
s||sssss====
||||========X
s||sssss====
||||=========
||||

With the T mounted in my vice, I hit it with a 3 pound sledge hammer
to see if I could split the screws out. X marks the spot.

After multiple hits, I managed to bend the screws and the heads pulled
into the back of material about an 1/8". As the screws bent, the
corner of the piece I was hitting dug slightly into the face of the
back piece.

The AZEC never showed any signs of "splitting" nor did it appear that
the threads pulled out of the material at all.

I'm sure that the sledge hammer whacks applied more force than the
girls every will unless they jump up and down on the bat rack.

I'm think these racks ought to last just about forever.