Drew, the p value should be < .05. That would establish statistical significance.
The first step of the study will not look at the characteristics of damascus as a material for building barrels, but at the barrels themselves.
The B'ham study reflects the status of things from 1891. We will have to run our study with what we have today, barrels that have been kept well or let to rot. The study will hopefully differentiate among the well/poorly kept barrels, the thicknesses of their walls, the condition of the bore. As you know Sherman Bell's experiment suggests that even pitted barrels are/remain strong after so many years.
I want the study to tell us what's going on. I don't want to have to "believe" what my gunsmith tells me or the shell manufacturer's opinion unless it is "proof" based.
I will have to go and learn statistics and come up with a plan.
Take the example of B'ham experiment. Isn't that something that somewhat predicted what was about to happen to those tested barrels and the ones that followed the experiment? Of course, the results of the study did NOT guarantee the lack of barrel damage. It just quantified how likely it was for a certain barrel to behave in a certain way.
I think that more valid info can be gathered by this kind of study. We just have to figure out what sample size we need for statistical significance. Give me a few weeks to look into it.
