Question Of The Week....( 2026 Week 44 )

ripjack13

ripjack13

ɹǝʇɹɐqpooʍ
Staff member
Administrator
Global Moderator
Full Member
Messages
31,933
Reaction score
40,455
Location
Connecticut
First name
Marc
Wood is a natural material with unique grain patterns and textures. Do you think there's an emotional connection that a woodworker forms with the wood itself, almost like working with a living thing?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


:coffee2:

**Rules**
There is no minimum post requirement.
Leprechauns, primates, woodticks, and wood lovers are welcome to post an answer.
This forum is like a bunch of crack dealers sometimes, leading innocents down addictive paths! - SENC
 
I don't think it's emotional but I do think people are attracted to certain wood patterns, colors, etc. You see people pick up selected pieces and sort of rub them and turn them in the light; and completely ignore other pieces. Just yesterday me and my neighbor up the street who planed those boards for me were having a discussion about some wood he had stacked. He had a piece of cherry that had some sap and he was saying this is "junk". I said I liked the color contrast and swirly grain. Probably like most things... flowers, the changing leaves, sea shells, fabric... certain ones grab your attention and others don't. If there is an emotional attachment it probably comes from something else more personal, like the wood came from a tree my grandpa planted or something.
 
Last edited:
DLJeffs said:
I don't think it's emotional but I do think people are attracted to certain wood patterns, colors, etc. You see people pick up selected pieces and sort of rub them and turn them in the light; and completely ignore other pieces. Just yesterday me and my neighbor up the street who planed those boards for me were having a discussion about some wood he had stacked. He had a piece of cherry that had some sap and he was saying this is "junk". I said I liked the color contrast and swirly grain. Probably like most things... flowers, the changing leaves, sea shells, fabric... certain ones grab your attention and others don't. If there is an emotional attachment it probably comes from something else more personal, like the wood came from a tree my grandpa planted or something.
Click to expand...
If you go back in time straight grained QS was most desired. Stable, strong, easy to machine. You can bend it. Curly, burl crotch quilt etc . Are not stable, not strong, not easy to machine. Most were left in woods to rot.
Look at stickler, Greene and Greene, mission, arts and craft. Straight and easy. Strength and workability was top dog. Sap a flaw. This was true until the 50s? Redwood burl tables was one of the starts. Crap soft wood, cheap, abundant. Makes very soft tables.
Same with blued pine. They burnt it. Flaws. LP marketed it and created a market.
 
For me its a yes, I like everything natural about wood. It's probably also why I'm not a fan of all the epoxy tables being made. But thats just me and my opinion, your mileage may vary.
 
Sometimes. I get pretty excited when I walk through a hardwood store, and see the shelves full of cut wood just begging me to take them home. And once in my workshop, transforming the wood into things brings a great deal of satisfaction. I’ve even been known to talk to wood in the process. The connection is strongest when the project is just completed, then I tend to move on to the next project. Chuck
 
Mike1950 said:
If you go back in time straight grained QS was most desired. Stable, strong, easy to machine. You can bend it. Curly, burl crotch quilt etc . Are not stable, not strong, not easy to machine. Most were left in woods to rot.
Look at stickler, Greene and Greene, mission, arts and craft. Straight and easy. Strength and workability was top dog. Sap a flaw. This was true until the 50s? Redwood burl tables was one of the starts. Crap soft wood, cheap, abundant. Makes very soft tables.
Same with blued pine. They burnt it. Flaws. LP marketed it and created a market.
Click to expand...
Yup, that's my buddy. He wants clear, straight grain, uniform colored boards. He's an old time cabinet maker / finish carpenter.
 
I don't have an emotional attachment per say, but I do enjoy the fact that most wood I use has been harvested from my own land and processed from cutting down the tree to final product.

I seldom buy wood and when I do it's for a very specific use that I can't produce locally.

I've gotten a small amount of wood through trades and exchanges here, and I value that wood the same or more than wood I've cut myself. Not because it necessarily has a higher value, but because it was something that members here have chosen.

I've never been to a "wood store", there aren't any around here.

Lumber I've purchased on line elicits no emotion other than I'm happy when it meets the grades and appearance advertised.
 
No emotional attachment for me but sometimes I trip over a piece of wood for years before it becomes apparent what it wants to be. Most of the time I'm just hunting for a board that can be what I want to make. I can however buy, sell, or burn without emotion.
 
I definitely can get emotionally attached to some of the, what I consider, "one of a kind" pieces of wood that come along occassionally. Have had some beautiful pieces of wood that took me "a while" to let loose and sell, once I figured out they just weren't going to fit in with anything I was going to make (*this is the hoarding thing*).

Secondly, I would also say yes, to some of the wood I use in my projects. Much depends on the wood and it's source. It seems kinda strange, but when I make things to gift, I have a deeper connection, and give more thought, to the wood because I want the person receiving the gift to be happy with the wood too.

Lastly, most of the things I sell, are more basic (plain?) woods and I typically don't have strong emotions about most of that wood.
 
Nearly jumped in with an answer then backed off.

Yes……but more so when the wood starts surprising me such as when the grain starts to show itself the closer you get to finishing a turning project.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top