alexy wrote:
wrote:

Assume I wish to do M& T joinery in soft wood.

The projects I have in mind use SYP. That's a hard enough soft wood to
work okay, no?

NO! NO! NO!

SYP is the worst of both worlds, IMHO. The winter wood is very hard,
while the summer wood is relatively soft. When you are cutting through
oak or maple, the wood is hard, AND very solid, so the fibers you are
cutting have a good backing. With SYP, when you are cutting fibers in
the winter wood part of a ring, you are cutting very hard wood, with a
soft layer behind it.

Analogy: Paring oak is like slicing a carrot on a solid cutting board
on a counter top. Paring SYP is like slicing a carrot that is resting
on a sofa cushion.

Point taken. How about the stuff typical 4by4s are made of (fir?)?

Bill