I agree with the other posters, Brock. A scarf joint weakens the timber in bending strength. The greatest bending forces usually occur right over the post (bending up), and also mid-span (bending down). That's why the scarf is usually placed somewhere in between. The stress over the post is higher than the mid-span stress, as it results from a point load (the post) rather than a distributed load (like a floor). Dan is talking about a diagram on pg 96 of Sobon's book, which sums this up better than I can with words. CB.
