timber vs plastic  

Do
go on -- I'm sure to get your drift eventually. There's something here, I can feel it !

I'd elaborate but I've got ti...
I'd elaborate but I've got timber to sand and its becoming very tiresome (its hot where I am). I'll post a picture soon.

Been eating sawdust pancakes....
Actually just been in a quiet period reading what everyone else has to say. Its how I am.

..

Coffee Table
Its nothing special, just a coffee table with a sealing coat on it, mostly I like the patterns the legs made before I glued up. I'm making the top tomorrow, I'll rout small "pockets" into the underside of the top for the tops of the legs to fit into.

Thanks Robert! P + A will...
Thanks Robert! P + A will have to come and clean my mess up now.
Anyway, Wood as more plastic than plastic. Perhaps I'm just on one of my temporary hobby horses but for household goods we have to turn back to timber, as plastics increase in value we'll need to make sure they are utilised in products where a substitute isn't practical.
Plastics for domestic use I think are a leveller and theres something of the lowest common denominator about it, some might look at it as the great egalitarian material I suppose. But a consumer clutching his kartell can't communicate anything more with his posession than another consumer with a similar object on the other side of the planet, its the great homogeniser.
But Timber! You can migrate with timber, its a much better signifier of taste, time and locality, it wears its history on its body.

It is also a very honest...
It is also a very honest material, much like stone. Character is built right in by nature not by an ISO 9000 or ASTM requirement. And if I am understanding your initial post, workability is within reach of the home craftsman. Everyone, well almost everyone can sand, carve and cut and has the equipment to do so, few have vacum forming machines or extruders. Nice legs, beautiful joinery!

Thanks, I hadn't really thoug...
Thanks, I hadn't really thought about the way that anyone with basic skills and equipment can DIY but your'e quite right.
There is a problem with consistency of supply for mass production, much like fish stocks have been depleted to the point where sepcies previously uneaten are now fair game , timber previously difficult to source or process is now on the market (becuase all the good stuff is gone).
But as someone once said to me, there is more than enough timber for small runs and one offs in almost anyones local area, be it reclaimed or from trees (a neighbour is felling a jacarnda as I type, its very loud) felled for other reasons.

There isn't
really a shortage of wood, though old growths of some timbers are almost gone. I believe there will always be some sort of wood to make things of -- if only because many industries depend on it, and for the reasons you state.
Of course, I have told young woodworkers I meet that someday they'll be able to tell their grandchildren that, yes, they once worked with actual wood. But I think that's probably an exaggeration.
It is great stuff to play with, isn't it ? The longer you work wit it, the better you get. There's always more to learn -- and in the end the best teacher is yourself. At least, that was my experience.

I would concur with SDR. The...
I would concur with SDR. The more you work with it part, and self learning. I needed to buy a custom a/v cabinet and and could not find anything to suit my needs. With SDR's and a few others encouragement on this very forum, I took a crack at it and after a few false starts I am more then pleased with the final result. Will it stand up to a "master" woodworkers scrutiny? Probably not, does it pass muster on all other counts, absolutely.

Things like butterfly keys...
Things like butterfly keys and nice dovetails are a bit beyond me, I could manage a nice M and T but thats about it. But if you design with the limitations in mind I don't think its a problem.
I like some of Sam Maloufs stuff but I find a lot of contemporary woodwork at the galllery end to be really clunky or full up with ego.
What timber did you use for your cabinet? Any pictures?
I saw a piece a while ago that had translucent fibreglass panels in the doors, it was quite good.

I really
believe that good work can be done with no fancy joinery at all. Today's glues mean that mechanical joints are largely obsolete; rather than relying on physical constraint, today's joints need only to assure sufficient glue surface to create connections that are stronger than the wood itself.
Of course, there are still places where a mortise is necessary, if only to create a good joint within a minimum profile -- or just because it can be a pleasure to do !
As a designer I continually try to see what can be done with the simplest elements: a board of wood, connected to another board. Proportion then becomes everything. . .

good wood
this is a nice, refreshing thread. hp, you've got a good knack there with the design and the craft. and if you've got a good affordable line on the teak [unlike those of us in north america], you're on to something with promise. thanks for posting the photos!
regarding finding good stock, i've found both economy and joy in giving new life to old, often discarded pieces.
more than twenty years ago i had a dresser that had been virtually destroyed by water damage. the insurance company settled up adequately for a replacement, and i took the entire piece apart, reclaimed the wood, dried it all out and made a handsome tool chest out of it. i spent probably all of ten bucks on hardware and finish, and it's by far the nicest looking thing in my shop. [a friend of mine commented that it looks like a cabinet for flatware.]
new life for old stuff...i'm all about that [especially since i'm getting a bit long in the tooth myself]. many old dressers or sideboards that are not worth much in themselves have drawers made from nice half-inch, tight-grained oak. i've got several board feet of the stuff stacked up in my shop ready for small projects or details for larger ones.
i think there's much good wood to be had through salvage; it often just calls for a little work in fetching it and some creativity in working within the constraints it imposes, some of which may actually contribute positively to the final design or production of the piece.