Wood does not lie

In an age when mistruth and deception will increasingly bombard our consciousness and cloud our judgment and our almost unconcious belief that AI will be beneficial in enhancing all mof our lives, it is wise to remember that wood never lies.

Anyone working wood, our oldest renewable natural resource, will quickly learn that wood has a character and identity. In fact there are estimated to be over 15,000 timber species on planet Earth of which a very small percentage are commercially used. Wood tells you what you can or cannot do; it sets rules or boundaries and if you do not respect these rules when making something the wood will likely tell you and bow, twist or split.

So the most fundamental rules are that wood is a fibrous material stronger in one direction than the other and so 'short-grain should be avoided.

Wood shrinks and expands across the grain, how much depends on the timber and the moisture in the environment. Wooden artefacts, especially furniture should be designed to allow for timber movement which includes twisting and bowing.

Working wood involves a relationship, a rapport between maker and material and an enlightened woodworker seeks 'truth to material' - to do what timber wants to do. A furniture maker who influenced me and many others and who demonstrated a close rapport with wood was Alan Peters (1933-2009). A bold yet understated design of his was the dished table with the grain of all the sections of the wood running in the same direction. This means the table shrinks and expands as one.

Bowl Table by Alan Peters