Ron,
In regards to your statment that "wood has no pH" This statment is totaly wrong. Everything on god's earth has a pH.
"The Ph of wood is a measure of the concentration of H-ions ( or OH-ions, respectively ) in solutions, and is used for the determination of their acidic, neutral or alkaline behaviour. The pH value of wood, or more exactly of the aqueous solution within humid wood, is highly important for various ranges of it's utilization. metals in contact with wood may corrode, the adhesive power of glues and the fixation of wood protectives may be influenced, and attention to the pH of wood is also called for in conection with pulping, fiber-and particleboard production, and plastification. ( Sandermann, Rothkamm 1959; Kehr, Shilling 1965; and Labsky 1974)
As you can see, there has been alot of studies and papers written on the subject of pH factors of wood. The lowest pH I have found in wood comes from the Pierocarpus Soyauxii species, 3.7. The highest pH i have found comes from the Treminalia Superba species, 8.2.
If you would like further documentation on this, let me know and I would be happy to send it to you.
Jim Bilyeu
Exterior Woodcare
<FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">[This message has been edited by Jim Bilyeu on May 27, 2000 ]</font>