Last eZine I explained my passion for the plain-Jane hardwood, birch, and asked if you-all had a species preference. The answer was, YUP! Many folks let me know which wood whisked them into a state of wonder…and why birch was not one of them.
Some were predictable: that walnut and red oak received the highest vote counts didn’t surprise me. Many people popped off for regional favorites–a south Texas woodworker waxing eloquent about mesquite, a Canadian woman singing the praises of northern Manitoba jack pine and an Australian craftsperson bragging about Mackey cedar. There was a cosmopolitan Dane who said that while birch abounded in the region, this melancholy Dane preferred oak, not American or Danish oak, but German oak (kinda picky!). Others chimed in with recommendations for quartersawn sycamore, redwood, ash and even box elder and cottonwood (who knew?). As you often do, you let me know that my opinion was not based on sufficient experience. So, while I bragged last Zine about the variety of wood I was familiar with, it seems I have a few more to try. And I couldn’t be happier with the news!
Rob Johnstone, Woodworker’s Journal
