Long have I discussed wood with my father and my father-in-law. In these discussions I have found one thing to be universally true: they love oak. I don't. I really don't like it at all. I have a long list of woods I would rather work with and look at before oak. Frankly, I find it unattractive. Both its color (I'm thinking of the commonly available red oak here) and its overbearing grain put me off.
Armed with this awareness, I went out into the world and probed the opinions of many, many others. I discovered an interesting thing. There is a generational divide in wood preference. People over the age of say . . . 55 love oak. For them it is the grandest of woods. If on the other hand you are orbiting your mid-thirties chances are you would prefer almost any other wood over oak. For the young, oak is like bell bottom pants and polka-dots, the foolishness of a generation gone by.
It is an odd phenomenon. It is strange that something as varied as wood preference would be so strictly generational. I've yet to delve deeply into collective conscious of my elder generation to discover why this is, but I will say this: if you are planning a project, either as a job or a gift, keep the age of the client in mind. You will be surprised how often the age-oak love correlation holds true.
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Woodworking tips and tricks from the craftsmen at Woodtoolstore.com. Our thoughts on woodworking practices, tools, techniques, and a variety of other things of intrest to woodworkers and carpenters.
About Me
- Dano
- Daniel grew up surrounded by wood, the son of a carpenter. He is a woodworker, furniture builder, and craftsman who understands what it is like to work from his garage with the most basic of tools. He is also director of projects at Woodtoolstore.com.