That's true, but you also can't know every possible point of failure of an apparatus under load just from design principles. That's why they flex the wings of new airplane designs until they break, for instance. So I expect testing under extreme tension while squatting right beside the thing without so much as a pair of safety goggles is taking unnecessary risk. I'd go for a heavy coat and helmet with face shield at least, if I needed to be that close. (But I'd rather find a way not to be.)
I'm quite aware of what you can and can not do with wood, unless he's tested one to destruction the degree of variability alone makes this a particularly dangerous stunt.
It all looks fine right until it doesn't.
> I'm quite aware of what you can and can not do with wood
yes, I'm sure you are. you always seem to know everything about everything when it comes time to argue.
when I was a kid, my dad made an engine hoist frame out of wood. that thing creaked out some scary sounds when he lifted whole diesel trucks with it when load testing, and it didn't even faze the hoist frame at all.
it sounded like it was going to explode into a billion supersonic toothpicks and didn't even visibly move. we painted red lines across joints to see stress movement more easily and nothing ever moved.
his material of choice? 4x4 construction lumber.
it is amazing what wood can withstand when you understand what you're asking it to do, and design so that material properties are fully exploited.
my point: loud creaking is not necessarily indicative of impending failure.