[Cob] sinking logs in cob?

[Marlin]

I don't suppose it would hurt to have nails in them but have heard that steel and cob don't mix as well as originally thought - - - - - - The surprising thing about Cob to me, after I've played with it awhile, is how tightly it grips the pores of something (like kiln dried pine). I've seen chunks of wood (2x4s) and others embedded in cob that were securely cobbed in that couldn't be pulled out for anything.

An anecdotal story...... I put a cutoff piece of PVC water pipe in a Cob model as a form that was to be pulled out later (I've used PVC sleeves in cob before for water/elec. thru's the wall), it was supposed to be just a form  for the model's arch. I couldn't get the PVC (how slick is that?) out of the wall after it dried and couldn't tap it out with a chisel and hammer. I didn't want to start making big blows on the little 2 inch thick cob wall but it impressed me that the PVC was probably gripped in by the cob at a very microscopic level.

Marlin

snip-------------

Cut-off 2-by is going to be the cheapest way to go (if you don't already 
have the cedar, and if the truck is running--mine isn't right now!).  but 
with those slightly waxy feeling 2-by's I think I'd like nails sticking out 
of them.  Don't want to make it easy for my cob wall to separate into two 
walls and fall in a minor quake..

...............
Marlin wrote (snipped slightly--but the dots are his)
I'm still convinced that the best way to use cordwood/cob, .....