MJP":314nh4n6 said:
But doesn't it all depend upon where we are in our woodworking life, Custard?
I'ma rank beginner - never yet made a dovetail, haven't even learned to saw in a straight line reliably.
And I'm sure there are plenty of others like me - just getting into the interest from scratch with no intention of it ever being anything other than a hobby.
I'm not going to buy good clean "new" hardwood to practice on - if I can find odds and ends of nice wood to make little trinkets, just to learn the basics, then isn't that a good thing?
Surely the alternative, of buying good new stock and then messing it all up through sheer inability, is a road to rapid disillusionment?
Martin.
Hi Martin, from another Martin.
Custard's advice is to be well heeded in my experience.
We're all rank beginners at some point in time but there are certain things that remain true throughout our woodworking lives. As a beginner, it's sometimes hard to understand why certain advice is given and what advice to follow and which to discard, because sure as eggs is eggs, everyone has an opinion. Ask a question on sharpening, you'll see what I mean.
You'll mess up good stock at some point or other throughout your entire woodworking career. You'll do it more than once, too. It's how you handle it that matters. Do you chop it up into little bits and throw it on the BBQ our of frustration, or, do you set aside the "ruined" pieces for a later project? Theres no such thing as useless wood, unless it's from B&Q or Wickes, in which case, burn away.
The issue with using potentially unidentifiable stock from a thrift store is that you're instantly at a disadvantage. Each species "works" (in terms of how it responds to tools) differently, is used for different purposes and has it's own set of ideal finishes. If you get some junk wood to practice sawing on, fine, but I'd say the temptation is there that because it's cheap, you wouldnt necessarily take the same time to look before you leap as you would if you were about to saw through a piece of oak costing £50. Using "expensive" wood, depending on what you want to accomplish in terms of skill enhancement, can create a situation where you approach your work with caution (measure twice, cut once etc).
With decent stock you apprise the wood. You identify it's flaws. Maybe it has a bow or a twist, maybe it has a knot or a split. You learn to read the grain direction, how it was sawn at the mill and why and after all those things, you decide as the maker, how to best use it to your advantage. Buying the stock well is half the battle. With a charity shop item, unless you have experience, it's a bit like buying the woodworking version of a scratchcard.
That said, I'm not suggesting theres no value on practicing in the way you describe, merely that there might be another way that would serve you better at your stage of the hobby.
I'm not sure what you're into but the discipline of box making uses less wood than furniture and requires extremely high precision which WILL test you with hand tools. If you can produce beautiful hand dovetailed boxes from oak, with detailing and such, you can scale up from there to a lot of other disciplines. A cubic foot of prime oak (1" thick x 12" wide x 12ft long) costs about £36, give or take. It's not mega bucks and thats a LOT of useful wood to practice on. Genuine old growth mahogany is one of the most expensive (like, very very) and rare woods in the world and nobody in their right mind would suggest you purchased it to practice on. That isn't a place to start, but some euro oak, is. Oak is easy to work, relatively kind to tools, doesn't move an enormous amount and is extremely durable. It's why it's so popular and affordable.
As for me, my first ever project was a set of shelves in prime (top) grade european oak. I think they ended up costing me, time aside, less than a set of shelves from ikea.
Try not to hamstring yourself at the get go.
Also,
http://www.wood-database.com/.
Best of luck with your new hobby.
Martin
