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Discussion Forum

Materials you love to work with

JerBear | Posted in General Discussion on July 25, 2005 03:03am

Blue suggested it. Alright then, here tis. What are the materials you love to work with?
Mine. Wood in general. Specifically redwood, basswood, Port Orford Cedar, clear Western Red Cedar, quartersawn white oak, Equadorian mahogany (turns beautifully).

Plaster. I don’t know why, I just do. And I’m good with it.

I like to sharpen things, and handplanes are a passion.

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  1. User avater
    AdamGreisz | Jul 25, 2005 03:19am | #1

    Motto is Wood is Good. Always prefer to work with nature made products. beats the composites and particularly the plastics.

     

    Adam Greisz

    Owen Roberts Group

    10634 East Riverside Drive # 100

    Bothell, WA 98011

    http://www.owenrobertsgroup.com

    1. User avater
      Sphere | Jul 25, 2005 03:39am | #2

      After MANY yrs of mostly wood ( which is still my "favorite"), I can say, I really like the copper-tunity I have had..LOL

      Copper is kinda...like wood in some ways..It can be made into alot of shapes and styles, and is able to be subsituted for wood in many cases.

      Just plain cool.  Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

      1. DougU | Jul 25, 2005 03:49am | #3

        Just plain cool.

        Thought you were the one complaining about how hot it was up there!

         

        Answer to the question; Wood, some species more then others.

        Doug

    2. Kowboy | Jul 25, 2005 06:56am | #10

      I love solid surface. It dosen't grow on trees, no grain, no knots, easy to finish, easy to repair, easy to fix your screw-ups, predominantely very enthusiastic women decision-makers rampaging through Daddy's checkbook without complaint.

      1. theslateman | Jul 25, 2005 12:19pm | #11

        I work with slate roofing,both new and recycled.Both are a treat to work with.We also use lots of copper too.

        It's really satisfying to know you can keep water at bay with these materials.

        1. User avater
          ProBozo | Jul 25, 2005 03:12pm | #12

          Steel.many of my projects will incorporate steel in some fashion, as I like working it, and have the tools and experience. Brackets, supports, etc. Last year did a tubular frame bar and entertainment center for a nascar fan. Most used (and what I always keep in stock) are:2"x.120 tubing
          1/4 flat, 1" and 3" wide
          12ga sheet
          3" 12ga square tube
          3/8 and 1/2 square bar stock

  2. dustinf | Jul 25, 2005 03:53am | #4

    Real wood.  Preferably on a custom project.  Tired of trimming mcmansions. Problem with most fun custom jobs, they only come around once a year, and last a a week max.  Unfortunately, they pay well, but not well enought to take the other 51 weeks off.

  3. Piffin | Jul 25, 2005 04:38am | #5

    I share your sharp handplane passion - which means that I like a good piece of pine.

    I also respect why the ancients and the Nipponese think of Cedar reverently, but I have had a lung reaction to Port Orford Cedar dust ( it is toxic) so I keep it further than arms length.

    Nicely figured Maple can get my attention for hours, just to look at, and study, let alone work on.

     

     

    Welcome to the
    Taunton University of
    Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
     where ...
    Excellence is its own reward!

  4. User avater
    JeffBuck | Jul 25, 2005 04:51am | #6

    what ever pays better.

     

    Jeff

        Buck Construction

     Artistry In Carpentry

         Pittsburgh Pa

  5. User avater
    NickNukeEm | Jul 25, 2005 05:56am | #7

    Wood.  Preferably cherry.  The attached is cherry on painted poplar, a nice old traditional look.  Cedar siding of any type.

     

    I never met a tool I didn't like!
    1. User avater
      jagwah | Jul 25, 2005 06:29am | #8

      I like working with a smarter person, best tool you can have around. But it's best to not let them know they're smarter. Know what I mean.

       

      Edited 7/24/2005 11:30 pm ET by JAGWAH

  6. User avater
    Dinosaur | Jul 25, 2005 06:44am | #9

    Wood. Tile. Glass. Stain. Varnish. Copper. Brass. Bronze. Stucco. Stone. And asphalt shingles....

    Dinosaur

    A day may come when the courage of men fails,when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship...

    But it is not this day.

  7. User avater
    BossHog | Jul 25, 2005 04:38pm | #13

    "I like to sharpen things, and handplanes are a passion."

    Same here, on both counts. I particularly like sharpening things since I got my Tormek grinder.

    On other things - I like working with wood finishes. After putting a lot of work into cutting, assembling, and fitting something, It's awful nice to put the finish on and see the wood come to life.

    When it comes to building anything, it doesn't matter as much to me what we're doing as it does who I'm working with. Stick me in with a bunch of guy who like to kid around and enjoy each other's company and I'm as happy as a pig in slop.

    Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly. [Mae West]
    1. ANDYSZ2 | Jul 26, 2005 01:39am | #14

      I like taking left over oak flooring and building stools and end tables etc. out of it instead of it going to waste, the same goes for sink cutouts and cedar deck cutoffs.I have built a couple of thrones and stained them to match the deck and left them on the deck to suprise the home owner.

      ANDYSZ2I MAY DISAGREE WITH WHAT YOUR SAYING BUT I WILL DEFEND TO THE DEATH YOUR RIGHT TO SAY IT.

      Remodeler/Punchout

  8. User avater
    dieselpig | Jul 26, 2005 02:08am | #15

    2X10's.

    I'm serious.  Most of the houses I frame now are all engineered lumber floor systems from the sills to the attic.  Buy the time I get to the roof I'm sick of dealing with jigsaw puzzle I-joist layouts and LVL's that weigh more than my truck. 

    It's refreshing to bust into a lift of 2X10's and smell the wood again.   Nothing better than a cutting sharp compound miter with a sharp blade in the wormdrive  Roof cutting... now that's where it's at, for me.  2x10's are just the right weight too.  A couple 16'ers on the shoulder feels just right.  When I do that with LVL's I feel like my nuts are gonna fall off.  I-joists are light, but when you throw a 32'er on your shoulder and start to walk, it starts to bounce highter and higher with each stride.  That's just not right.  It's kinda like Azek.... I have to hold a 16'er of Azek over my head when I walk to keep the ends from dragging on the ground.  What's up with that?

    I also really enjoy working with Western Red Cedar too.  I love running a sharp router bit down the edge of WRC 2x4 to make deck railings or what not.  I love the smell too, even though I'm usually dripping snot on the mitersaw within a half-hour.  Makes my nose run like crazy.

    That was eloquent, huh?  Damm framers.

    1. Treetalk | Jul 26, 2005 02:20am | #16

      Wood of any kind but particuliarly wood ive cut and sawn on my mill. My kitchen table is made from a tree that grew almost exactly where the table now sits.The beams from trees in the yard.I also get a kick with using making anything with the cutoffs billowing out from the saw table.You know those 18" pcs just too good to throw away.!

      I also like tile. With all the diffrent styles and types available lately anything is possible and altho my clients dont show much imagination ; sometimes its fun to get them to "kick it up a notch".

    2. JerBear | Jul 26, 2005 05:31am | #17

      How many times has a customer come around and told me how much they love the smell of wood and how lucky I am to have that.

  9. Wango1 | Jul 26, 2005 05:55am | #18

    Been doing wood for years, mostly red oak 2 1/4" strip floors. So much that I now don't get inspired to work with it. But I just did a whole lower level in black walnut. And then it hit me. As a kid we would go up north to the Boundary Waters area to our cabin. Real rustic;no water or lectricty. But as a kid the tool shed held this amazing attraction. It smelled unlike anything I had ever smelled. Nothing around here came even close.

    Then I start cutting this walnut and INSTANTLY I had this powerful flashback to being at the cabin;outa nowhere. Asked my dad and he said they took down some trees to build the shed and he thought they smelled great back in '48. I take him a scrap block and his eyes light up. Now he's the one having flashbacks to being a kid. He's 78.

     

    1. JerBear | Jul 26, 2005 01:21pm | #20

      Great story. I have the exact reaction about our summer cabin in the woods every time I smell woodland ferns growing. Also when I cut into a very knotty pine. We would often make torches and start fires with the huge amount of pitch.

      1. JohnSprung | Jul 26, 2005 10:05pm | #21

        What I like are things with a good strength to weight ratio:  Structural steel, wood, plywood, copper.  I also like copper for plumbing, and EMT with steel boxes and compression fittings for electrical.  I like recycled/refurbished old stuff, like light fixtures and doors from wrecking companies.  I like concrete for slabs and footings, but I'd rather not see it more than a foot and a half above grade.  Heavy stuff should be close to the ground.

         

        -- J.S.

         

        1. jackplane | Jul 26, 2005 10:26pm | #22

          Asphalt.

          Nothing says "good morning" like the waft of fresh asphalt.one world, one people, one giant slab of asphalt

  10. User avater
    CloudHidden | Jul 26, 2005 06:19am | #19

    Pex. After months of messy work, I was sooooooo relieved to have nice, clean pex for a coupla days.

    Bamboo. Love how it cuts, mills, looks.

    Concrete. I'm always amazed at how hydration changes the material in a short time.

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