Canadian Crest Rail Rescue

Returning from my morning walk, I discover an early delivery from UPS. I'm sure glad it didn't sit unattended on the stoop for too long. At a net value of over $28 per board foot, you're looking at pure white oak gold here.

This fresh arrival was shipped up from A&M Wood Specialty in southern Ontario. Having already rejected several rounds of locally obtained white oak on six, that's right — six, previously attempted crest rails for Vidar's Chair, disappointment seeks to continue its reign. All previous attempts failed due to the discovery of honeycomb checking hidden deep within the kiln-dried wood, but the Canadian spirit imbibed within this new plank is a source of great optimism for me. So hang in there, we're not defeated yet.

I'll be acclimatizing the wood to the studio's relative humidity level over the next few weeks as I mill it down to size. The suspense is killing me.

Hej då!

Craig