I was reading a wonderful book I have had for years, and now and then I'll dive back into it and get re-involved and re-acquainted with it. I love this book, it is "Tage Frid Teaches Woodworking". And I ran across a wonderful statement by Mr. Frid as he was talking about the different artistic mediums to work with and he said:

"But take a piece of wood, plane, sand and oil it, and you will find it is a beautiful thing. The more you do to it from then on, the more chance that you will make it worse". Tage Frid (1915-2004)

I just absolutely love that, so how about you all, do you have or know of any famous woodworking quotes by some of our famous, or infamous workers of wood?

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker

John,

That is one of the best woodworking quotes I've ever heard - and so true.  lol  Sometimes more is not better.  lol

SQ

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Happiness is wood chips flying!

It caught my attention Sue, and it is so true to Tage Frid, he was like that, a real no frills man. If you get a chance google Tage Frid Images and see what you come up with, his furniture is lovely and sleek, and worldly.

SQ said:

John,

That is one of the best woodworking quotes I've ever heard - and so true.  lol  Sometimes more is not better.  lol

SQ

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Happiness is wood chips flying!

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker

How about the most famous one - "Measure twice, cut once" unless Murphy's Law gets in the way.

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Fred
aka Pop's Shop
www.pops-shop.com
'Soooooo many patterns - sooooo little time'
Scroll Saw Forum Host

One of my favorites.

"Anybody can become a woodworker, but only a Craftsmen can hide his mistakes!"

                                                   -Walter Blodget

On the other hand.....

"Move the table." - Wright's response to a client who phoned him to complain of rain leaking through the roof of the house onto the dining table.

                                                   - Frank Lloyd Wright

Nakashima was one of the few artists/craftsmen who successfully integrated his life philosophy within his work. Here is a quote by him that pretty well sums it up.

"It requires a genuine fight to produce one well designed object of relatively permanent value." 

                                                 -George Nakashima

 

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Gene
'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

John,

I shall check him out. He sounds very interesting.  Thanks for the suggestion.    

SQ

John Morris said:

It caught my attention Sue, and it is so true to Tage Frid, he was like that, a real no frills man. If you get a chance google Tage Frid Images and see what you come up with, his furniture is lovely and sleek, and worldly.

SQ said:

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker

Here is my personal woodworking quote:

A perfect day in the shop is when the Sawstop braking system is not activated.

SQ

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Happiness is wood chips flying!

That's the great ol standby Fred!!! Now I got a challenge for ya, who said it first!

Fred Wilson said:

How about the most famous one - "Measure twice, cut once" unless Murphy's Law gets in the way.

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Fred
aka Pop's Shop
www.pops-shop.com
'Soooooo many patterns - sooooo little time'
Scroll Saw Forum Host

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker

Great ones Gene, loved them all!

Gene Howe said:

One of my favorites.

"Anybody can become a woodworker, but only a Craftsmen can hide his mistakes!"

                                                   -Walter Blodget

On the other hand.....

"Move the table." - Wright's response to a client who phoned him to complain of rain leaking through the roof of the house onto the dining table.

                                                   - Frank Lloyd Wright

Nakashima was one of the few artists/craftsmen who successfully integrated his life philosophy within his work. Here is a quote by him that pretty well sums it up.

"It requires a genuine fight to produce one well designed object of relatively permanent value." 

                                                 -George Nakashima

 

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Gene
'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker

Now that is going to go down in history SQ!!!!! Great job!!!

SQ said:

Here is my personal woodworking quote:

A perfect day in the shop is when the Sawstop braking system is not activated.

SQ

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Happiness is wood chips flying!

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker

If at first you don't succeed,................That's what the woodburners for.

 

 

Larry

Old Woodworking Machinery Forum Host

John,

Glad you liked it.  Expensive lesson well learned.  

SQ

John Morris said:

Now that is going to go down in history SQ!!!!! Great job!!!

SQ said:

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker

"If you can't sar the board right, you are not going to sar it at all"

Miss Cleaves

She was my Junior High shop teacher and she was from Massachusetts. 

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Lew Kauffman-
Wood Turners Forum Host

Time Traveler and Purveyor of the Universe's Finest Custom Rolling Pins!

Measure twice, cut once, go get another board.

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Gene
'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

Here's one from a famous woodworker....so to speak.

"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.â€

                             -Abraham Lincoln

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Gene
'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

Love it!

Gene Howe said:

Here's one from a famous woodworker....so to speak.

"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

                             -Abraham Lincoln

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Gene
'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker

Remeber to always wear your Safety glasses

Be sure to always read, understand , and use the safety instructions...

 

Two very different fellows.    The second one lives about 45 minutes away, at a small town called Lockington, Ohio,  you can even drive by and see the house he built one year, and used that as a show series.

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Planer? I'm the 'planer', and these are what I use...