[Cob] sinking logs in cob?

[David Knowlton]

sounds like a garden variety scientist is needed to study this.

conventional wisdom says clay will bond better with rough objects.
is this something like water tension, or suction? you know, the steamy
hot saucepan lid that gets 'stuck' to the smooth counter?

any materials scientists out there?

dave in tampa

>From: "Marlin" <lightearth at onebox.com>
>To: ap615 at hotmail.com,coblist at deatech.com
>Subject: RE: RE: RE: [Cob] sinking logs in cob?
>Date: Fri, 01 Oct 2004 14:24:50 -0400
>
>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, .....
>
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