wrote:

But I'll tell you pard, getting a kink out of a wooden longeron is a
hell of a chore; trying to straighten that stuff just makes it worse,
your rivets don't hold for **** and don't even think of trying to weld
it. Vast mystery I guess.

Or at least, half-vast :-)

-R.S.Hoover


Mr. Hoover, this being RAH, I can't just let such misinformation go buy
unheeded. Why everyone know that you can weld wood longerons just fine
if you get the right rod. You see, the oak rod is to hard. It won't
stretch as it cools, and tends to pull the parent material too thin.
You have to use a soft, white pine rod. It's weaker, but your weld will
be 3 to 4 times as thick as the parent anyway so it won't matter.

The secret is to use a carbeurizing flame. Do it right, and you'll
never have to worry about crashing the airplane.

--
This is by far the hardest lesson about freedom. It goes against
instinct, and morality, to just sit back and watch people make
mistakes. We want to help them, which means control them and their
decisions, but in doing so we actually hurt them (and ourselves)."