In tension or in compression? It's not the same.DarthBuilder wrote: ↑Thu Sep 26, 2019 2:40 pm im sure someone has answered this before but how significant is the strength between 1/16 x 1/16 and 1/32 x 1/16?
Look up Euler's critical load, and you'll find that it scales like the area moment of inertia, which for a rectangle is a b^3. So in compression, there's a factor of 8 difference in strength between the two sections you list (assuming all else is equal). In tension, it scales like the cross-section, so there's only a factor of 2 difference (but in reality it might be even less, because tension pieces often fail by ripping the wood apart at the glue joint, so you don't get the full effect of the thickness.)