I never take for granted the quality of the wood that I’m privileged to work with

I never take for granted the quality of the wood that I’m privileged to work with. The Oregon white oak I use is in my opinion, the king of steam bending woods, it is tough, rot resistant and bends like butter after a short steaming time. I buy this stuff from Zena Forest Products, a second-generation sustainable forester in the Willamette Valley, and consider it a deal at $10 a board foot. Less than 2% of the oak they cut is clear and straight enough to bend well. Trees straight enough to make wood like this are scarce resource these days.