What's with our obsession with wood?

hang-the-9

hang-the-9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
It seems that almost all the things we (as humans not just the AZB forum members) appreciate is made of wood. Our cues, our pool tables, fine boats, some pens (which I know some of you collect), guitars, etc...

Wonder if it's an instinctual thing from our years spent living in forests with nothing but trees and rocks to work with. I just realized that as I was posting a pic of my new table, I ran across a picture of my cue and my guitar (technically mine, but really co-owned with my son LOL)

Actually, even leather can be thought of as wood from animals hehe, so we can add pool cases to this.

It's all wood.

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I own a house that's more than 100 years old. Maybe 40 years ago it was converted to apartments. The old gal that lived on the second floor painted everything! I can't imagine trying to strip the woodwork, the mantles, the cabinets.....

What I've heard is that paint was a luxury for the rich at one time and that her generation overused it when it became affordable. I also think that tastes have shifted to a greater appreciation for natural wood overall since then. Sticking to my theme, look at home design and decor.
 
I've been a fine woodworker for my entire adult life. Mostly guitars and violin family stringed instruments, but I've turned a lot of bowls, made several boats, and even carved with chainsaws.

I work in metal and glass as well, but wood just does it for me. No finer feeling than walking on several inches of white cedar shavings on a fine summer morning as the big plane in your hands sings with each new stroke of sharp metal against fragrant wood.

It's an addiction. :smile:
 
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KCRack'em said:
I own a house that's more than 100 years old. Maybe 40 years ago it was converted to apartments. The old gal that lived on the second floor painted everything! I can't imagine trying to strip the woodwork, the mantles, the cabinets.....

What I've heard is that paint was a luxury for the rich at one time and that her generation overused it when it became affordable. I also think that tastes have shifted to a greater appreciation for natural wood overall since then. Sticking to my theme, look at home design and decor.
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I'm going to hope that's not lead based paint, that stuff was considered some of the best paint for homes because it was such a tough paint.
 
My obsession goes back to growing up and I would spend time with my grandfather in his shop. He had wood pieces everywhere and he loves the natural grain and texture of wood. I grew up to really appreciate that.
 
Wood is a natural beautiful thing I think the smell of fresh cut wood is just as good but that's me lol maybe I'm crazy :eek:
 
I have a t-shirt.

Sloppy Pockets said:
I've been a fine woodworker for my entire adult life. Mostly guitars and violin family stringed instruments, but I've turned a lot of bowls, made several boats, and even carved with chainsaws.

I work in metal and glass as well, but wood just does it for me. No finer feeling than walking on several inches of white cedar shavings on a fine summer morning as the big plane in your hands sings with each new stroke of sharp metal against fragrant wood.

It's an addiction. :smile:
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I have a t-shirt that says " I love the smell of sawdust in the morning" with a rising sun in the background.

It happened to me when a friend of mine was trying to spin a 74 eight point Rich Cue and it came out of his hands and split showing me the way a high end cue was made.

From that point on I wanted to make cues.

I realized that dream about a decade ago. Then I started full time a couple of years ago with a partner who was responsible for getting us access to the cue making lathe we were using. He quit and left the state leaving me pretty much high and dry before we really got started.

I have spent the last two years getting my self to a point that I can do everything myself.

I built a CNC lathe and tomorrow I have a G4003G 12X36 gunsmithing lathe being delivered to my shop.

I am excited about getting to make cues in my downtime again.

When my partner quit and left the state, I finished my MBA and got a job in IT again working as a fiber optic network field engineer programming DWDM systems.

It gives me a guaranteed pay check and lots of time off for working on my projects when I'm home.

Not to mention I get paid and all expenses covered to be on the road.

What better job could a pool player ask for.

Anyways, I'm cleaning up my shop and getting ready for the lathe to be delivered tomorrow as we speak (or type rather) and I'm really excited.

Jaden
 
I am not a woodworker per se but I love wood and do a decent job of refinishing furniture. We have a 1932 dining room set from Germany with cane backed chairs. Except for the cane the wood is a gorgeous walnut. I was able to find a older craftsman who has done several pieces of restoration for the old Coronado Hotel and the Nixon Library. He has over 200 custom stains including the walnut shade of the dining room set. He is going to let me hang at his shop and teach me a few things while he restores the dining room set. He is also a licensed Calif Appraiser and is going to appraise the set at 9000+

My few cues are all plain---rings--but no points or anything that detracts from the actual wood. My cue maker JoeyInCalil (Bautista) is almost leary about showing me his wonderful selection of wood as I invariably fall in love with an aging board. I currently have a stunning cue of curley Bubinga and am waiting on a curley Purpleheart and a gorgeous Brazillian Rosewood and I am toying with the idea of a final Bocote that I saw aging in his shop.

I envy all of you who have the special skills needed to make cues. But for me it is the soul of the wood that calls to my heart.
 
CB...and Joey does a fine job turning it too! He also plays a excellent game or two, as well! :thumbup: I've had dinner at that dining room set, and it is gorgeous! Thanks to your lovely wife for a wonderful repast!

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

GaryB said:
I am not a woodworker per se but I love wood and do a decent job of refinishing furniture. We have a 1932 dining room set from Germany with cane backed chairs. Except for the cane the wood is a gorgeous walnut. I was able to find a older craftsman who has done several pieces of restoration for the old Coronado Hotel and the Nixon Library. He has over 200 custom stains including the walnut shade of the dining room set. He is going to let me hang at his shop and teach me a few things while he restores the dining room set. He is also a licensed Calif Appraiser and is going to appraise the set at 9000+

My few cues are all plain---rings--but no points or anything that detracts from the actual wood. My cue maker JoeyInCalil (Bautista) is almost leary about showing me his wonderful selection of wood as I invariably fall in love with an aging board. I currently have a stunning cue of curley Bubinga and am waiting on a curley Purpleheart and a gorgeous Brazillian Rosewood and I am toying with the idea of a final Bocote that I saw aging in his shop.

I envy all of you who have the special skills needed to make cues. But for me it is the soul of the wood that calls to my heart.
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Thinking

I was thinking the same thing just this morning. Jim Baxter sent me a photo of joint protectors he made for me and they came out perfect. They are all wood with no inlays , and I was thinking how my taste has changed in cues, years ago it was all inlays now it is all about the woods, especially when they are natural colors with no stain on them.
You are correct in saying it goes beyond cue sticks I appreciate woods in all forms from tables , cabinets, guitars etc.you made an excellent point here.
 
Busboy said:
Wood is a natural beautiful thing I think the smell of fresh cut wood is just as good but that's me lol maybe I'm crazy :eek:
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This right here. Every piece of wood is naturally unique. The grain and color of wood creates something beautiful. Plastic and metal can be used to create pretty things, but they're also generic... every iPhone looks just like every other iPhone.
 
Wood

hang-the-9 said:
It seems that almost all the things we (as humans not just the AZB forum members) appreciate is made of wood. Our cues, our pool tables, fine boats, some pens (which I know some of you collect), guitars, etc...

Wonder if it's an instinctual thing from our years spent living in forests with nothing but trees and rocks to work with. I just realized that as I was posting a pic of my new table, I ran across a picture of my cue and my guitar (technically mine, but really co-owned with my son LOL)

Actually, even leather can be thought of as wood from animals hehe, so we can add pool cases to this.

It's all wood.

picture.php


picture.php
Click to expand...

Humans have been using wood in various ways for a very long time. First for fuel, then for tools, then for construction (though not very permanent construction).

Our "obsession" with wood may have begun with the first clear-cutting of forests around the Mediterranean Sea for merchant ships, followed very quickly by warships.
 
The same reason I have a leather wallet, belt, boots, & watch strap. It is not man made. There is something primitive about it and it gives you the feeling that you are connected with what is around you. I'm not talking about fancy Louis Vuitton accessories. I'm talking about handmade crafts. Wood, like leather, is fragile and will deteriorate over time; That is why I appreciate it.

This is the same reason that Ivory is desirable.
 
I often notice water, the way waves curl or wrinkle on the surface. Same thing with sandy dunes or beaches. Clouds are my favorite. I even notice it when I'm butchering an elk or deer, that muscles fold & contract into certain ways. Pretty much everything in nature exhibits the same basic patterns of figure. The clouds we always find so mesmerizing right before a tornado, are shaped to create the same pattern we find in quilted maple & waterfall bubinga. The most beautiful sparkling water takes on the same pattern as what we see in beeswing narra. Sand dunes often wrinkle up & fold over to look like the pattern we we love in fiddleback maple & koa. I often see rocks & stone formations that I could otherwise mistake as burl. Heck, ever tour a cave & compare cave formations & patterns to figured woods? It's almost like I can see God's signature design elements in his art, a window into his personality, as crazy as that may sound. There's a reason the figure in zircote is called "landscape". Just so happens sandstone & zircote share the same exact figure patterns, only that the stone took millennia to form where the tree only decades. I find it all intriguing. Tough for me to consider it all and still doubt a grand design. All we can do is showcase it in our own pieces. When somebody loves seeing one of my cues, it's the wood that they're admiring. I'm merely a facilitator.
 
krupa said:
This right here. Every piece of wood is naturally unique. The grain and color of wood creates something beautiful. Plastic and metal can be used to create pretty things, but they're also generic... every iPhone looks just like every other iPhone.
Click to expand...

I am fortunate to have the experience of seeing wood cut fresh from the tree. Having a sawmill, I get to open a log for the first time. It's incredible the changes that occur over a period of several minutes. Walnut is green & vivid, steadily darkening to it's normal dull chocolate brown that we all know walnut to be. When first cut, it's as beautiful as anything. Same with piss elm. It's a crimson red/orange that seems like it should burn if you touch it, but within days it turns to a pale grey/brown. I have cut oak that looked black & purple, but it doesn't last, soon turning to common oak brown. No wood gets better with age. They're all most beautiful immediately after the first cut. The only exception would be spalted stuff.
 
Mother nature can do some amazing things. Can't wait till I see this piece with finish on it.
 

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Eric, what about Purple Heart, not everyones favorite. I have a nice stash of curly, if you want to call it that, PH.

I have had it arrive in its fresh cut natural baby poop brown color. I put it on a shelf to get the morning sun and in a few days, it turns a nice purple.

I have a t-shirt that says " I love the smell of sawdust in the morning" with a rising sun in the background.
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One of the wood suppliers, and I can't remember off hand which one now, has Tee Shirts for sale. They have a nice picture on the front with the logo.

"The Morning Wood Company".

I was lucky in that my Father was a fantastic carpenter. I was able to learn a little from him. When I was 8 yrs old or so, I would be in the garage ripping kite ribs on the table saw after school unsupervised.

My Father either trusted me or he didn't like me, one or the other.

Wood is just the best natural building material. I love any type of craftsmanship whether it be someone turning pens and honey dippers on the hobby lathe or more
extravagant pieces of art.

Wood and rocks, bricks and mortar. I had a friend of mine go all out on the furniture.
Everything was chrome and glass in the living room. I felt like I was in the Jetsons house.

I have hard wood floors in the house and my feature wall in the living room is cedar tongue and groove.

Quite often, the evening will find me on UTube. I type in "wood working projects" and watch for hours. Pens and honey dippers to guitars and violins.

Doing hobby wood work requires very little space in the basement. You can get away with basic hand tools, a small band saw, drill press and scroll saw. and of course,
a small wood lathe.
 
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