Design question


Cliff

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I'd hate to hijack this sushi and chopstick nonsense thread.. but I got another design question.

Whats the deal with straight grain on legs? I picked up a 12/3 piece of walnut today that is 8 inches wide and over 8' long. it's got spectacular grain. I'd really hate to cut it in a way that gets rid of the grain (this was the only board they had that fit what I wanted.) I like busy grain on legs, so I find the entire thing confusing. 

 

 

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2 minutes ago, Cliff said:

 I like busy grain on legs, so I find the entire thing confusing.

Then you don't have to worry about it. :)

Most people like straight grain on legs for a couple reasons...

Rift sawn legs will have the same straight grain on all four sides.

Straight grain, as you said, is less busy...which is what you want on legs unless you want legs to be the focal point of a piece.  I can't recall ever wanting that.

Legs tend to be a "less is more" kind of deal.

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Just now, Eric. said:

Then you don't have to worry about it. :)

Most people like straight grain on legs for a couple reasons...

Rift sawn legs will have the same straight grain on all four sides.

Straight grain, as you said, is less busy...which is what you want on legs unless you want legs to be the focal point of a piece.  I can't recall ever wanting that.

Legs tend to be a "less is more" kind of deal.

It's kind of likely that the legs on this piece will be the only visible part once we load it up. ha. 

Another reason I'm thinking of skipping the straight grain part is the bandsaw is sorta dead. plus i don't have a fence for it. I need a new bandsaw, clearly. But I think it would be harder to do the cuts to make it rift sawn.

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15 minutes ago, Cliff said:

I'd hate to hijack this sushi and chopstick nonsense thread.. but I got another design question.

Whats the deal with straight grain on legs? I picked up a 12/3 piece of walnut today that is 8 inches wide and over 8' long. it's got spectacular grain. I'd really hate to cut it in a way that gets rid of the grain (this was the only board they had that fit what I wanted.) I like busy grain on legs, so I find the entire thing confusing. 

 

 

I guess i personally like strait grain for aprons and legs because it doesn't distract or distort their shape. I used to love wild grain patterns only. Now i appreciate both strait grain and wild grain. When used in different situations grain patterns can be as much of the design as the shape of the piece of wood. Think of the optical illusions you could potentially pull off.

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14 minutes ago, Immortan D said:

You weren't kidding when you said you could eat anything lol

Kimchi.  There are lots of different kinds of kimchi.  Typically it is fermented, pickled cabbage (like asian sauerkraut). This one is spicey, pickled cucumber.  

 

 

image.jpeg

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I had a Korean buddy in high school who lived down the street from me.  They always had kimchi and I thought it was pretty good until I tried it high one day.  Never touched it again.

I also plunged my hands into all the dry grains of rice in his rice cooking machine thing because "I had to."  It felt weird.  He was not pleased.

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