"Eli the Bearded" wrote in message
...

Well, the real professionals don't buy the wood. They carefully nuture
the sapling to grow into the tree with the wood they want. In this way
they can ensure the angle of the grain is just right for the arch, or
the knots will be placed for best aesthetics. Sure, it takes real
patience, but that's part of being *professional*, taking the time to
do it right.

You are not far off... When I was a child an elderly neighbor made a lot of
things using that approach. He was been born in Poland, I'm guessing around
1880-1890, and was apprenticed as a blacksmith when he was a child. At some
point he came to the U.S. and applied his blacksmithing skills as an
auto-body repairman. He owned an old dairy farm, grew most of his food in
large gardens, made his own wine, and made many things for around the
property.

He'd walk the woods until he found the perfect tree for a task. For example,
I recall a large bird house he made that sat on a pole made from a cedar
tree. That tree had a branch structure that let him cut a number of branches
off "flat" and they became the supports for the bird house. He made hay
rakes, Adirondack chairs, and myriad other things from trees that lent
themselves to the particular job. I have his large "firewood" cross-cut saw.
One of his hay rakes and his anvil are still at my parents' home. I plan to
"inherit" them -- my brother would simply throw them away or sell them. I,
on the other hand, have memories of my neighbor smithing at his garage and I
recall raking hay with the rake. I used that big crosscut saw to buck a
large fallen tree that we eventually split into firewood (he heated with a
wood furnace in the basement). I played checkers and canasta with he and his
wife and enjoyed having lunch with them. I never did, however, adopt his
habit of drinking sauerkraut juice for breakfast... It was a good experience
for a kid to know someone like him.