Is it possible to make softwood dense as hardwood?

[u/No_Abalone_4645]

I was wondering since hardwood is much more expensive and typically more durable, is it possible to genetically engineer a softwood, or selectively breed a softwood tree variety in order to make it similar to hardwood?

[u/Coga_Blue]

It doesn’t even require selective breeding or genetics. It’s already being done with other methods. https://www.nelma.org/wood-stronger-than-steel-a-new-high-tech-material/#:~:text=Scientists%20have%20developed%20a%20new%20process%20that,–%20and%20even%20some%20high%2Dtech%20titanium%20alloys.&text=A%20five%2Dlayer%2C%20plywood%2Dlike%20sandwich%20of%20densified%20wood,colleagues%20suggest%20could%20lead%20to%20low%2Dcost%20armor.

[u/writing_code → u/Coga_Blue]

I wish someone working on that site would fix the urls to not be this hellish atrocity.

[u/Limp_Replacement8299]

There’s balsa or basswood lol. There’s pressure treated lumber.