: I am with Charlie on this. Done right they are stronger than the
: wood. I quit trying to find 'good' wood and just buy the best of
: what I can find. I cut the pieces into strips, cut out the knots
: with a couple of scarf cuts and glue them back up. I don't even
: worry about where they fall. So far I can't tell any difference
: in where the joints fall. They seem to bend just fine.

: I cut so many that I made a dedicated jig I use to cut the scarf
: joints with on the table saw.

Me too; the natural partner to your cutting jig - for gluing - is shown in my blog http://theancientkayaker.weebly.com/methods.html