Norm, The main thing is to follow Joe's advice and create a full-size drawing of your stock. You can then use it as a pattern to lay out the grain and mark the wood for cutting. Be patient, think ahead, and don't take any wood off unless it's in the plan. Eureka is probably similar to when you were here before. Same fog in the summer and rain in the winter.
Dave, Thank you for the kind words. Pepperwood is what we call it locally, but I have also heard it called Oregon myrtle and California laurel. It is an evergreen tree with shiny, dark green leaves that have a pungent, almost peppermint smell when crushed. I know of some people who dry the leaves and substitute them for bay leaves in cooking. The wood is slightly oily and has an aroma similar to the leaves. The blank my friend gave me has a fiddleback pattern its entire length, which I think may be fairly unusual, as most of the other pepperwood stocks I have seen are more plain.
