You see a tree - I see lumber...

[jeff...]

Had a freind of on of my sons who moved out and is off at college come over and help me do some yard work that I had to get done or the wife was going to divorce me. He starts talking about logs he is going to have helping some guy clear a lot, next week. He points at a tree in my back yard and asks so how much lumber is in a tree like that one? I stared for a few mins at the tree and tossed out a number, he asked well how do you know that? Then the flood gate burst open and I went off the deep end on the poor guy, explaining to him how to estimate lumber from a tree, what's good, bad and ugly, taper, crook, face defect, dote the 20% rule, three different log rules and under what circumstances to use them, log grades and what and what the grades are good for and so on and so on and so on. I think I overloaded the poor guy with TMI (To Much Information), when I grabbed a tape and a calculator and we figured out the diameter of the tree and how many 16' logs we could get out of it and the formulas for figuring up board feet from logs - which logs were what grades from the tree and why. But he asked didn't he? Every since then I think I may have a problem. See, you may see a tree but all I see lumber - is there help for a guy like me? Maybe some anonymous group like 36x16 1024 anonymous or something?

Thanks

[TracyP]

Man, You Need Help!!!!!!!!!
Wish You Well in your trek for resolution of your current condition!!!!

Now I feel better
Wish I needed help like you need help, you got it bad.

OK, Just kidding

[DaveO]

Did you get the yard work done????
I feel the same way when someone asks me a plant question, especially if it's something that I feel strongly about. I've spent an hour explaining to someone why this tree or that plant isn't a good idea to plant in their yard.
There is nothing wrong with having a passion about something, but it is good to have a governor on it

On another note, I have a English Walnut seedling that I got free with an order of some Muscadine and Blackberry bareroots. I tell folks that I am growing my own furniture.
It's a wise man who plants a tree for the shade that he will never experience...or the furniture he'll never sit upon.

Dave

[jeff...]

Originally Posted by DaveO

Did you get the yard work done????
I feel the same way when someone asks me a plant question, especially if it's something that I feel strongly about. I've spent an hour explaining to someone why this tree or that plant isn't a good idea to plant in their yard.
There is nothing wrong with having a passion about something, but it is good to have a governor on it

On another note, I have a English Walnut seedling that I got free with an order of some Muscadine and Blackberry bareroots. I tell folks that I am growing my own furniture.
It's a wise man who plants a tree for the shade that he will never experience...or the furniture he'll never sit upon.

Dave

Thankfully I stopped short of showing him my log stick - else he would have wanted one, which would have meant we would have been in the shop and not in the yard. Thankfully we got the yard work done and I'm not talking to a lawyer.

[cskipper]

I think everyone who has a passion for something have the same tendency. We are fine unless someone really asks a specific question, and then we're off - lol.

[toolman]

WOW!!! NO Needed, Just the wife !!!!!

[Bas]

Originally Posted by jeff...

is there help for a guy like me?

Sorry, Jeff, no help available. The only option is moving to a place where there are no trees - like Antarctica!

But don't feel bad, we all have our little quirks. Woodworkers probably have them more than most. I don't recall who I was talking to at the picnic, I think one of them was Todd (tv). We were discussing clamps. Bar clamps, parallel clamps, pipe clamps. Bessey vs. Jet. Harbor Freight clamps. Coupons. Sales at Lowes. Clamping force, deflection of the bar, how to avoid damaging the wood. Clamping force and squeezeout. Threaded pipe. Rubber handles vs. wooden handles. We could have gone on for another few hours easily.

The real solution is to find other tree nuts, so you can get it out of your system. That's why I think the North Carolina Woodworker social events are so popular. Very few of our LOMLs share our passion for wood and woodworking. Most are supportive, many are tolerant, but getting excited of a "plank"....not many.

[Gotcha6]

Whenever I look at a building I'm the same way. I'll be looking & sighting lines to see if it's straight, plumb, level, etc. It's what we do when we enjoy & have a knowledge in a given field. When I did EMS I'd look at someone & say, "Congestive heart failure candidate" because I recognized & observed the signs. Chalk it up to human nature & being good at something! Don't look for a cure, but DaveO is right, sometimes I need a governor too!