Six-inch-long cylindrical or half-cylindrical stem sections from stands in western Montana showed that specific gravity -- maximum crushing strength parallel to the grain, and modulus of elasticity (MOE) -- are correlated with average rings per inch. Drying checks caused by not kerfing rounds before drying them do not appear to diminish compression mechanical properties. Half-rounds -- edged or unedged -- have mechanical properties in compression about equal to rounds of the same diameter. -- AATA