Lately I’ve been getting hammered via e-mail because I’m using teak (Tectona grandis) to build my latest campaign chest for an upcoming book. The comments go something like this:
“Don’t you see the hypocrisy in publishing ‘With the Grain’ – a book that advocates using local species – and then using teak in your own project?”
It’s a fair question, and one I struggled with as I embarked on writing a book on campaign furniture. Furniture built in this style was made from a wide variety of tropical and domestic species, however most of the pieces I’ve encountered have been made from mahogany, teak, camphor and (less frequently) English oak.
When I started planning the projects for the book, I toyed with the idea of using domestic species for the projects – walnut, cherry and white oak for the most part. And while that’s an option I plan to present in the book, I decided to go with the historical species for building my projects.
It was a tough decision because I rarely use exotics. If you look at my published work since 1996, I think you’ll find the vast majority of my projects have been built with common domestic species, occasionally to the detriment of the project itself. Tansu made with sugar maple? Rice paper lanterns built with white oak? Workbenches built with Southern yellow pine?
This campaign chest would look wrong in shagbark hickory.
Exotics come with political baggage. And I dislike politics. Exotics are sometimes unethically harvested. They can be sold in a corrupt system that is unfair to workers and harmful to the environment and habitats. Now, I know that you can find 10 sides to this argument, and if you launch into this nuttiness in the comments below, I will close my eyes, put my hands over my ears and chant, “nunga, nunga, nunga.”
For me, the question was only this: Can I make something beautiful and enduring enough from these three boards to outlast the life span of this magnificent tree? To make the tree, in effect, nearly immortal?
This campaign chest is my own design, and yet it stands upon the shoulders of every chest I have studied and lived with since I was a child. The joinery is the best that I can do. The brasses I’ve purchased are older than I am. Though this isn’t the most technically challenging piece of furniture I’ve built, I am aiming for it to be my best.
So I walked into this project with my eyes open, knowing that the wood carried a high price – both in real and environmental terms. But I also knew that this chest was going to be one of the high points of my furniture-making to date.
I made my choice. And now you can make yours.
— Christopher Schwarz
And a good choice it is.
By all means go for it. The wood has been there for a long time. You need to make something of it. Your chest will be better for everybody than just a stack of lumber.
When I was stationed in Thailand in the Air Force in 1969 teak was framing lumber. Our hoches were 100% teak except for the roof. Is it really that endangered?
In 1969, New Zealand was using rimu timber to frame houses. Only a few decades later, they realized they were in danger of running out and harvesting it to extinction. Now rimu trees are endangered and protected and they use pine to frame houses.
And in case you haven’t noticed, the population of the earth has doubled since 1969!
That’s what I was thinking too. How endangered is teak.. It is very expensive but can be bought.
Amen.
It was already harvested anyway. At least it is going to be something worth the effort of the tree and of te harvest of it.
It’s the correct choice, and it’s a beautiful choice. I rarely use exotics either, but there are times when their use is warranted. Enjoy the build!
I quite like your campaign, for lack of a better word, furniture. Using teak for this project is quite appropriate and, I think, logical.
Use the right wood for the job. Ask a luthier why he uses Brazillian or Honduran rosewood and not SYP and he will give you a darn good reason. Campaign furniture was designed to be trudge all over God’s creation so it had to standup to the elements and still look refined at camp, hence the use of exotics like teak. Plus, I believe teak is plantation grown, so it’s grown to be harvested and utilized.
What’s worse: Using solid teak for the chest or teak veneer over particle board? If you are gonna be a do-gooder, choose your targets carefully. Heck, back in the day in Kalifornia they used redwood for cement forms.
Damn you go through a lot of different IPA’s!
I don’t recall if I have posted to this blog before. If so I don’t do it often. I am one of the many readers who appreciate what you do and don’t feel it’s necessary to second guess your decisions or force my opinions and values upon you. We just keep quiet and read and learn.
Simply put just keep it up. And thank you, very much.
Scott MacLEOD
Thanks Scott. I think that says it perfectly! And thanks Chris!
Tom H
I don’t have a problem with teak. It’s beautiful wood. Personally, I think you should try to aggravate the haters. Try this: all the photographs show you building the campaign chest with a Shopsmith.
Might provoke some interesting comments.
Chris… There are times when you gotta do what you gotta do.i agree with you that this was one of those times. Accept no criticism from the bleachers. Only listen to those in the arena.
I really appreciate your attention to the history of the craft. I wouldn’t be surprised if Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington) may have used teak campaign furniture during his years as a British Army commander in India. I wouldn’t be surprised if he also had a Roorkhee chair. I wonder what kind of furniture he had when he defeated Napoleon at Waterloo? While I am a history buff, I am really a fan of historical novels. Having read a number of Bernard Cornwell’s series of Richard Sharpe’s adventures during the British occupation of India, and later the Battle of Waterloo, I can’t help but think that most of the British officers then used campaign furniture much like you are making and will be writing about in your book. I am very much looking forward to your campaign furniture book.
Aside from which wood is the “proper” one to use, I don’t see any hypocrisy in publishing a book that says one thing, and then doing the opposite. That would mean that you are only allowed to make things with the materials, methods, and designs you published about. That’s ridiculous. Not to mention that we are talking about PUBLISHING. We are not talking about authoring, but publishing. If the criticism of hypocrisy came about something you wrote about, then there might be some logic in the argument (I’d still disagree), but were not. Geesh!
I bet you’ll glue it with hide glue, you FIEND.
No worries. I’m watching with great anticipation.
Yes, of course I am using hide glue, but it was harvested from donor cows with excess cartilage and the Cow Clinic.
Chris, I respect your decision to use a historically accurate species. It’s a tough decision to make, between respect for the original pieces and concern for the impact of your own work. My two-cents: I work for an eco-friendly cabinet shop in Philadelphia. We generally stick to native species, but we recently did a job with teak. We sourced it from a local guy who specializes in responsibly harvested tropical hardwoods. I don’t have his name handy, but if you’re interested I can dig it up. Or there may be someone doing something similar in your neck of the woods. I’ve also heard of people getting reclaimed teak from docks being torn down in south-east Asia. Although I wonder if the fuel used in shipping would outweigh any environmental benefit of using the material.
Teak is a local species….native to planet Earth, anyway, its not like you are using a power saw and planer to cut up hundreds of board feet. We all just need to use exotics wisely. I still have several species I purchased 20 years ago and still haven’t found the perfect project yet to use it.
All that ever comes to mind when Chris puts up posts that usually have to deal with someone else’s panties in a bunch about his work is “Jesus H. Tap dancing Christ.” And those individuals usually cannot take any criticism and think they defecate roses. In the last video Chris posted he used a dead blow mallet. Numerous times he has called them clown hammers and with little use. Obviously he has found a use for one, and it doesn’t make him or anyone else with the same opinion a hypocrite. In the immortal words of Sgt. Hulka, “Lighten up Francis.”
Quit the blaspheming, sir. Totally uncalled for and irrelevant in this great blog.
It was a black rubber mallet that he called a clown hammer. I remember because I used one for years. Also for the record, I don’t mind the blasphemy.
Use the teak; its already dead. If you planted it now and it would grow leaves and roots I might feel differently.
Chris, i rarely add my two cents to the discussion, Working in the boat building business, I have come to realize that money talks and bullshit walks. Well, rather that to cow-tow to very rich clients who think money can buy anything, they’ve come to realize that money cannot buy me. I’ve refused to work with teak because it is an endangered species. Pure and simple, no matter whether or not the boards you have were cut some time ago when teak was “plentiful” ( Which I never believed to be true). Sure, they used teak in Viet Nam to build everything you can imagine. Because our bungling military can do such dumb and stupid things, doesn’t make it right and it is downright stupid. I do not agree with you using teak nor any other endangered species on our planet. We have but one earth, let us keep it as long as we can. Humans, have become a virus, that given time, will destroy this lovely planet.
Joseph, do you drive a car? How do you heat your home and cook? A total non- polluter? Most of the time the sin we are most interested in condemning is someone elses.
People like Joseph really are annoying. Any person who REALLY believed that the planet was in danger of the effects caused by man, and the actions of one person could make a difference would remove themselves from life and their presence on this planet. Because by their logic if there is one less person using resources and causing a carbon footprint the “world” is better off. Joesph, earth was here long before the people showed up and will be long after we’re gone. There are no more atoms on the planet than there were before; albeit in a slightly different distribution.
After reading Joseph’s post, I went out and burned a tire.
“Humans have become a virus”? By all means, Joe, please feel free to do your part to help eradicate this virus. Until then, let’s save the sanctimonious hyperbole until the people that hysterically pontificate about the evils and environmental damages wrought by man actually behave as if they believe what they’re preaching. Until they stop jet-setting to Hawaii for vacation or until they vacate their multiple energy-gorging mansions, I refuse to take their predictions of enviro doom-and-gloom any more seriously than I do a temper-tantrum from my two-year-old.
Envirowhacko’s are one of the unfortunate byproducts of a society that has largely become disassociated with the actual hardships of life experienced by the vast majority of the world.
Considering everything that we do as a species, do you really believe that it’s impossible that we could have an impact on the environment? That is bizarre. Talk about ‘nunga, nunga, nunga.’
Chris, the knowlege you provide and your dedication to promoting the craft, are priceless. I don’t understand why there would be an issue with using the historicaly correct material for the project at hand. If you don’t agree with the programming, change the channel. There are plenty of other publications where you can learn to build an entire kitchen in a weekend with particle board and contact paper. BTW I know a guy who can get Martian Red Oak, it’s perfect for that replica space shuttle dashboard/ dressing table project you’ve been hiding in the back of your shop. It’s a bit pricey but the advantage is that no finish is necessary since it’s radiation proof!
I’m looking forward tothe Campaign Furniture book.
I’m most impressed by the discussion that has ensued. I’m a big fan of Chris’s work and I particularly appreciate that there is thought behind the decision. If some wish to make a stand on one side or the other I applaud. I don’t have to agree with anybodies opinion, but I love the fact that they have one, that is a result of weighing the issues. When I was 8 one of my biggest fun memories was the times my folks took me to the forestry exhibits in Portland. Build in 1905 that was the coolest thing my young brain could imagine. Everyone should keep talking and arguing and THINKING and then act on your convictions.
…….“nunga, nunga, nunga”was the term used! “God grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference…..”Christopher…go with God…I’m certain it will be a fine cabinet, as well as your best work yet!”, said Wally.
P.S. It really is a beautiful wood species….very beautiful color and grain!, said Wally.
Yeah, teak may or may not be an endangered species — I’ve heard compelling arguments on both sides, and “plantation grown” may or may not be accurate. But it’s still one of the most beautiful woods I know, and I’ve chosen for half a century to surround myself and my dwelling with teak where possible (alas, generally the “Scandinavian modern” teak-veneer-over-something-else variety of teak). The only reason I never chose teak to work with myself was the cost — generally in the neighborhood of $50 a board foot or more.
Now that I’ve thought about it further, in honor of Joseph, I’m going out to buy some teak to use. I’d never even considered using before. But now that I know Joseph isn’t using it I feel I have to help-out and pick up the slack left by Joseph.
I wouldn’t use teak. Mainly because I’m a crappy woodworker, and I can barely do tulip poplar justice. But I know you will build this thing for the ages, so there isn’t even an argument about wasting a scarce and valuable resource. I do worry that you tend to inspire something of a cult following. If people who are half as talentless as me decide that their next spice rack needs to be made of teak, there’s going to be a lot of trees crying.
In honor all the hand wringers that are questioning Chris’ use of teak, I just threw a chunk into the shop’s stove.
(I wasn’t a really pretty piece and it was only a couple of board feet of 4/4 rough, but doing so made me feel better after reading the above post.)
I fell in love with teak years ago when I set foot on a 33 foot sail boat. I think a chest of teak is the right thing to do.
I think that people who think woodworkers are bad for the environment because they use trees (even exotics) are mistaken. Like you said, Chris, you are preserving this tree for perhaps hundreds of years. Contrast this to the mass-produced furniture that they have in their house, designed to be thrown away after two years. Which of you is being environmentally un-friendly? Besides, who knows what endangered plant species are in that particle board that mass-produced furniture is made from?
That fact that you’re actually making a thoughtful decision speaks volumes. I often make decision to do something that goes against what I would like to do in a world that would be perfect for my sensibilities. I feel as long as a person is doing something with full awareness of all the ramifications, then that person should sleep with a clear conscience. It’s when we go through life without contemplation that we do a disservice to ourselves, those around us and our environment. Sleep well!
Well said Chris. Bravo!
I’m always a bit puzzled by the average American woodworker’s hostility toward forest conservation. . .
That said, I have a suggestion. In the Tampa, Florida area, there is a reclaimed urban lumber operation called Viable Lumber. Here’s their website: viablelumber.com. I know that many communities have started this sort of thing, but there’s something a bit special about this one. Florida, unlike almost anywhere else in the U.S. CAN GROW MOST OF THE EXOTICS. There are mahogany and rosewood trees growing in people’s back yards, and they have no idea. Right now, when a tree comes down in a storm (we have these things called hurricanes) the city just carts them to a dump, or chips them in place. After several recent south Florida storms, particularly Andrew, Charley and Frances, there were thousands, if not tens of thousands of swietenia mahagoni trees (West Indian mahogany) simply dumped into landfills.
One of the species that grows in fairly large number around the St. Pete area is . . . camphor.
Viable is always trying to find people who will find a use for this stuff so it doesn’t end up in a land fill. I’d suggest that people who want to build campaign furniture give them a call.
Jay, the site is pretty bare bones at the moment, but I’ll keep it flagged and check back. I love using reclaimed wood, whether it’s urban forestry, sinker logs from Belize, bog oak from Ireland, or barn wood from my family farm. Always on the lookout for new sources.
Thanks for the info!
No problem.
I only know about them because one of the people running it stopped by the Florida West Coast Woodworker’s Club meeting some time last year and made a presentation. They’re not a commercial enterprise. Most of their labor is volunteer and I think a local commercial lumberyard has donated some storage space so they can store some stock. The only way to get the stuff seems to be to call them and see what they have on hand. But they often have things that almost nobody else does.
I love forests and biodiversity, support their conservation and also love woodworking and the diversity of woods, including tropical. There is a place for “exotics” when used with responsibility. I think that a good approach as a woodworker, as implied by Chris, is to ask yourself if the quality of your work justifies the wood chosen. I have salvaged a fair amount of narrow teak boards from a demolition of a 1960s building. It is a wonderful wood.
For me, noting wrong with using teak or any rare species if……..
The timber is old or reclaimed wood with some good evidence to support that it is not recently felled. On the basis this is 40 year old teak the harvesting was done some time ago before we had a real handle on deforestation, ethics and there was no FSC system in place. Therefore it’s out there and needs using.
Or if it’s fresh lumber make sure it’s from an FSC source with the appropriate evidence.
This project has raised some important issues around timber ethics which are worth a blog or two as a stand alone subject.
Great work look forward to the finished article
Chris, it appears you’ve painted yourself into a corner again. Its always entertaining watching you figure out which side of the room is less sticky on the way to the door.
I would like to see techniques (using elephant or rhino tusk) inlaying your intitials. Wait… let me get some popcorn first. 🙂
Since your ‘goes something like this’ remark of…
“Don’t you see the hypocrisy in publishing ‘With the Grain’ – a book that advocates using local species – and then using teak in your own project?”
..is a minor rewrite of part of the comment I left on your recent post about planing teak, viz.
‘Do you not feel a trace of self-contradiction in building a teak chest while simultaneously publishing a book which ‘encourages you to use the trees in your neighbourhood’ ?”
…can I just emphasize that this was left as a public-viewable comment on your blog post and I have never emailed nor contacted you in any other way, on any subject, nor did I use the word ‘hypocrisy’.
But it is interesting that you say you are being ‘hammered by email’ by other of your blog readers for the same reason. I wonder who they are, how many of them there are and what they are saying – do tell. You give the impression there’s quite a ground swell of opinion on this issue.
As a one-man publishing outfit it would be odd if you published a book you did not believe in and since presumably you wrote the blurb for ‘With the grain’ encouraging use of local timber I still think it looks self-contradictory to be simultaneously building a stack of campaign furniture in mahogany and teak, especially when it is specifically for a book on campaign furniture and no doubt to encourage others to follow in your footsteps as with the tool chest book. That means a proportion of your followers will soon be looking for big boards of teak and mahogany at their timber merchants, since you are also doing a comprehensive job of rubbishing the use of other species. And when the merchant sells those boards – like the ones you bought, and bragged about extensively – he will try to replace them, because he’s a retail business looking to restock for the next campaign chest builder doing it by the book.
Campaign furniture was indeed designed to travel in extreme climates but projects like this are almost invariably going to sit in people’s living rooms, not traverse oceans, mountain ranges and swamps, so the logic for using teak on account of its stability falls down.
Woodworkers in earlier times were ignorant of the impact of using vulnerable species – that doesn’t apply today, one hopes.
I guess that having set yourself up as a teacher and publisher you will have to deal with awkward students/ readers in the back row who query what you say – sorry if I continue to put my hand up!
It is reassuring that others are not afraid to express their reservations about the gung-ho use of teak and mahogany.
lord I love my self editing software
I’d be more worried if you did use the wrong timber…
Of course, you could switch to Maple or such, and use the teak for heating the house.
It seems these days that among some American’s to have developed the hobby of building themselves up by pulling others down. I grew up in a community where people lifted each other up. Isn’t that the American and Christian way?
“For me, the question was only this: Can I make something beautiful and enduring enough from these three boards to outlast the life span of this magnificent tree? To make the tree, in effect, nearly immortal?”
Well said. This is the same sentiment we express when timber framing and give a little speech as we affix a pine bow to the ridge. We give thanks for the trees and help of all those involved and talk about how we hope the building will stand at least as long as the trees which compose it.
I am one of the bad guys and i have to say: Asking about Chris` opinion on exotics does not intend to pull him down. This should be a tough decision for anyone and Chris seems not to trifle with it.
In order to decide whether some wood is “right” or not, one has to see the whole picture. Is it right to accept the destruction of forests (even if the wood is not spare)?
Damn the Torpedoes!! Full speed ahead!! If you need more, I gave much on the shelves in my shop.
I dare say that the number of extinct tree species far outnumbers those living on Earth 2013.
How many of you guys miss those?
It’s too bad that T.Rex is extinct, too. Think how ecologically diverse the planet would be with those monsters sniffing around your backyard BBQ.
The enviro-weenies only get upset when man mucks with nature (as if he’s not part of it). They often can’t help themselves as it’s their religion, and they’re proselytizing recruits to join their cult.
But, when a beaver gnaws the last ash tree in the northeast, a meteor crashes into earth and destroys most life, a blight destroys the American chestnut, or the evil boll weevil destroys a crop of your future BVD’s, that’s ok. It’s just nature being itself.
Big news for you enviro nutters – species have lived and died long before man walked foot on earth, continue to do so while man is here, and shall continue once we’ve left our last footprints on earth.
This thread has been disappointing. I thought the woodworking community would care a little more about the natural resources they consume. Instead of a reasonable discussion on the impact woodworking has on deforestation, this thread quickly descended into vitriole and mockery of anybody interested in preservation. So it goes.
When one describes humans as a virus, mockery should not only be expected but encouraged.
I would venture that hobbyist woodworking has little or no impact on the environment. I would bet that hobbyists use less teak per year than mother nature creates in a day.