Some of the WILDEST Wood Grain I've Ever Seen | What's in That Pile? 

I feel like I'm repeating myself, but these longer vids are simply delightful to watch. Call me biased now, because I wholeheartedly agree with you about people being "meant" to create - I make the same claim whenever someone brings up nonsense about people being "naturally lazy" or whatever. People aren't lazy - people are curious, excited to learn and create and master! Just because it doesn't mean some politician or corporate shareholder doesn't get any "value" from what you create, doesn't mean it's worthless. And I think it's delightful to hear this message being spread by a lot of creators these days. Keep doing this, Justin. It's such a breath of fresh air. Thank you.

Love the message, it’s so true! I love how creating things by hand, not only forms a connection between the artist and piece, but that connection can be felt by simply observing the creative process. As there is no wrong or right way to make art, it relieves the burden of trying to be perfect which I find to be freeing.

WHAT'S IN THE PILE HELL YEAHH Edit bc I just finished the video; I just wanna say that I am very glad you're on RU-vid now, I've binged basically all of your content the past couple of weeks and I live what you're doing! This is a fun, entertaining, and honestly just amazing way for people to learn about trees, their uses, and just... Learning to recognize the things around us. I've been obsessed with plants for forever, and the uses for them! So finding your channel and watching has been absolutely amazing and I love the content you make!

You went from talking about being scared to post, to talking about how people were drawn to your creations, to how people should make creations of their own, to how people are forced to consume, to how people are their own worst enemies, to how we should woodwork- And you know what? I love the things you make, the way you show us to them, and your relaxing voice; And I think I might get into woodworking now. I wish you and puppy all the honey dippers :')

These videos are so incredibly refreshing. There's obviously a lot of low quality content on RU-vid, and these videos are like an oasis, a testament to how fun, engaging, creative and genuine people can be

My favorite thing about your channels is the amount of people you have gotten to look at trees as more than just 'trees'

Loved this ep, I love hearing people talk about their interests, and I like seeing the old videos as I don't have TikTok

I totally get you about the desire to make things. Throughout my life I've frequently been drawn to hobbies that let me make things. Programming, drawing, painting, DMing, writing, model building, the list goes on. The older I get the more I seem drawn to processes that take me from raw materials to an object I can hold and preferably use. So at 49 I am just finishing up my first complete wood project. :)

Thank you for the permission to create 😅 it sounds so stupid but it gave me the motivation to go start crocheting a baby blanket for my baby due in Aug!

It's been interesting watching your channel grow, and what you've been able to achieve over the past couple of years. I've been working at building my RU-vid channel for a few years now and havn't had much luck and at times I look at channels like yours with alot of jealousy but I also try to appreciate the fact the one day you can start recording videos and eventully reach a point where it's your job, it just takes everyone a diffrent amount of time! I find myself coming back to your channel all the time to rewatch older videos because I really like your appreciation of the wood, and your approach to woodworking!

Did you start off your woodworking with a lot of fancy tools? I am looking to try my luck with it, but don’t have the money for all the equipment. Also, that’s again for the wonderful videos!

I all of a sudden feel happier knowing you had only just used a chain saw at this time. Now it feels more approachable to do this. I am so drawn to videos of wood being "turned"? And I love branches.

"make something new this week" way ahead of you actually! This last weekend I turned my first lidded pot/bowl/receptacle out of Sycamore! It's not perfect, and I'm looking for a new appropriately sized blank for another crack at it, but I learned a lot! I'm always thrilled to see you've uploaded something new, and What's In That Pile is my favourite series of yours. Hope you're keeping well, take care, and keep turning!

I was hoping for chatoyancy and I was not disappointed!

Just seeing a video from two years ago shows how much you’ve developed in skill in that time. Always good to be able to see skills grow.

This episode of "What's in That Pile?": Best episode of "What's in That Pile." You and I have very similar feelings toward doing what we do. It brings out something in me that even playing music doesn't provide. I've always said "The best drug I've ever done is the feeling I get when playing music" and it's like that every time I make a gorgeous cut with my skew, or get that perfectly round bead, or pull off a really really nice bowl. It's like nothing I've ever done before. I've told people that "The most hippy thing about myself that I'll stand behind is that I feel the soul within a piece of wood" - do you know what I mean by that? I'm sure you do. Let me wrap this up right fast: I'm sure people offer you wood all the time, but I figured I'd ask anyway - Would you like a piece of Louisiana Live Oak? My neighbor cut a branch off of the tree in his yard that would beat the side of his garage during hurricanes, causing damage, and I made out like a bandit when it comes to adding to my wood supply. If you'd like, I can send you a piece that would be enough to make a bowl, or enough to make a vase, or just to add to the pile in order to ensure future episodes of "What's in That Pile?" By the way - I respect that giving away too much information on the internet is a bad idea, but I'd love to know more about you and your philosophy. Please, keep these types of videos coming! Thank you for the entertainment and more importantly, the education!

I agree with you I am an old woman of 76 and love anything you do with wood. I used to do miniatures and love every minute of it.

Love that you’re encouraging people to make! I just picked up crochet again after almost a year off. Currently making a baby blanket for a friend!

Your knowledge on Trees is fascinating. Your back story was refreshing to hear as I myself am having that moment. Keep up the good work. I enjoy your videos.

Id love to eventually see a piece made of southern magnolia! its a beautiful wood thats quite easy to work with on a lathe. i also believe the blossoms can be made into tea (may want to check that info before making it lol) :D

I recently bought a bench top lathe😊Been wood working for the better part of 35 years and thought it time to try something new. Doing my usual RU-vid research I came across your content and immediately loved it! Your joy of trees and ALL that entails is a pleasure to watch! I'll never look at my burn pile the same🤣 Thanks for being you and sharing, you are the good part of RU-vid!!

❤ loved this one. The journey you traveled to become this teacher of tree lore is inspiring and fun to hear about. Thanks

god I just love chatoyancy. I learned this word from you! Always loved woodworking and other creation mediums, but your voice overs of tree facts and poetic descriptions of nature are why I'm subbed to you.

Thank you for sharing your creativity. I'm a creative person too. Being retired, I can FINALLY sew, paint, refinish furniture, craft or make jewelry to my heart's content. It's sew much fun (pun intended) to see an idea become something. Thanks again for creating great content. 😊

So many interesting pieces of wood. We just love how you bring them to life.

Thanks for sharing!! On making things: This week I'm planting some new veg seeds & working on the garden to prepare for the growing season. Next up on the woodworking project list, I'm making new raised beds and a pyramid planter for strawberries. :)

literally the second he started talking about "the curled wood grain" I was foaming at the mouth like "SAY IT SAY IT SAY THE DAMN THING ALREADY!!!" love this channel 💖💖

I love this video and so glad the algorithm showed me to you! Honestly I would really like to see a kind of BTS of your lathe progress, how you sharpen your tools and the general process of what goes into making one of your truly inspiring and informative videos! Keep up the GREAT work Justin!

I am so chuffed that you posted your poll about longform and shortform content, or I may never have seen these! This is wonderful. Thank you!

Thanks for uploading this. I really needed to hear that today. Also that wood grain was beautiful.

I really Hope you will continue uploading you amassing content! You're kind of a small creative beacon popping up now and then, causing me to make a cup of coffee, paint a bit, light a candle and enjoy those few calming minutes. And I belive more people could use something like this😊 Thanks for being there Man!

I have followed you for a while now and it is so nice to hear you tell a bit about yourself. I haven't even seen this whole video yet but from watching your first video 3 things were immediately clear to me about you. 1 your passion for trees. 2 your knowledge about trees. 3 your creative talents 3a baking 3b wood work and there is a 4 your natural way of presenting with a lovely flair of humour and humility. You were born to make videos about trees and food with some chatoyancy thrown in the mix!! Your videos are relaxing, informative exciting and I learn so much!! I love wood and trees I love life wood and beach wood. I even made a rockery in my garden made out of wood😅 I think you are brilliant at what you do I love the format and editing of your videos and sometimes in life you will hit rock bottom. Whether through illness, broken heart, grief, burn-out what ever it may be. You brush yourself of best you can and you'll find a new path open up for you if you let it. Reach out of the hole, grasp the branch and pull yourself out. Keep up the good stuff 😊 1:56

I had no idea that this was part of your story. I am so thankful for your content... watching this right now for a spike in serotonin and its working! Excited for the next video :)

Dude… I mean this from the bottom of my heart, I vibed with you opening up about your journey and your relationship with making so much it almost made me cry. Keep making!!❤🌳

Trees have been our ancestors' homes for a long time. So we honor and love them like our grandmother's house.

I really love your content, I always learn a lot and it inspires me to make more things myself rather than buying them ! 😤

That was a really inspiring video! Thank you! Awesome content as always, as all your videos are, a little bit of woodwork, a little cooking, a little geography, a little botany all tied together with a stack of creativity. You've definitely found your calling mate, very well done.

SLAY I love this stuff so much, and I found that as a beginner your content was so accessible and informative. At KBP3 during the Clairo set, my friends and I were all geeking about seeing you there. I’m happy to hear that you persevered through the scary parts of this adventure and provide us with this good stuff! Yay Justin!

Greetings from Costa Rica. Thank you so much for sharing your story. Love the content and learn a lot everytime.

Funnily enough I started a little project of my own just this week, trying to make a pair of parallettes from old plank pieces :) Its been a challenge so far but a rewarding one! Wish me luck finishing it xD I didn't know most of your story and it was interesting to listen to :) I'm super glad I came across your channel!

This is the first time I've seen his of your long form videos and it was very nice! I like the laid back, nature feel to it! It feels like something I could listen to sitting on a rainy porch, and I very much like it! I think apprenticing under this guy would be so cool!

I must say, I really enjoy watching your videos. I haven't had a chance to watch many of them yet but, that gives me something to look forward too. 🙂

I’ve binged all your videos and shorts, absolutely love your content!!! Please keep up the long form content ❤

I've discovered recently something that really helps my doomsday anxiety, and that is writing down what I'm worried about happening, but framing it as though it was a comedy. Sort of like how in sitcoms, the worst thing possible could happen, but they make it funny. Calms down my nerves substantially!

A beautiful video! I love hearing about different types of trees and the amazing woodworking is a plus!

Love this episode! Thanks for sharing!

Love the message Justin. I also started making more things these last two years and the feeling is great. I really have to make it a more regular thing.

Really enjoyed this vid. Conscious words. Creative work. Thank you.

Loved all that you said in the beginning. I’m going through the same emotions these days so gave me hope!! ❤️❤️❤️

The confidence with which you talk about these trees would make me think you’re an actual botanist.

Yeah buddy thanks for choosing the share all this stuff. It’s top notch.

Love your comment about the importance of making things 💚

Love this throwback. I remember the first “chatoyancy” great content as usual. Also didn’t even notice the single frame camera

Hi Justin...glad I found your channel about trees and the things you carved out of that..

This just came up randomly today in my feed... It was exactly the message I needed this week! Thanks! (Been following you for a while, though...)

Great work. The best piece come from the side of the road. Beautiful vase saved for the rotting ditch.

That is absolutely stunning ripple figure!! Your vids help me appreciate my own woodwork ❤

totally feel you on the value of making for the sake of creation - I crochet and knit and it is so important to me

I really like your content alot, I discovered it recently, it's really calming and a nice break from all the bad news and crazy opinions we see on the internet alot

Really enjoy your vidoes. I learned that special word from watching your videos a few months ago and now, cannot stop saying it in the special way... Cha-toy-an-cy

Pando and chatoyancy… you’ve changed my life!!!! 😮😂

Beautiful work! 🤌

BEAUTIFUL interesting love your narration Excellent story Thank you

Heck yeah. Nice work.

Just awesome and stunningly beautiful.

This was lovely and encouraging

This was inspiring. Thank you.

So glad you're on youtube as i don't have tik tok! your videos are like a safe haven, they're so cozy and informative and make me want to get up and make stuff!! If you don't mind sharing some secrets, I have a couple wood questions that you might be able to help me with. First, how did you get so good at identifying wood/tree species? Do you have any resources you can point me to? Second, I notice you work with a lot of fresh wood. Do you ever air or kiln dry the wood you work with? Have you ever had any issues with warping or cracking?

Please try to look for some burly birch (visakoivu) wood, I think you would absolutely love the patterns. It's traditionally used in finnish crafting for very meaningful pieces

Please more Pando content always!! Pando is awesome!!!

hey justin thanks for helping me fall back in love with woodworking

Ok, I’m inspired. Going to take my kids to visit Pando this summer. They’ll thank me later.

I was recently in LCC. While witnessing all the slide paths and distraction, one of my first thoughts was that you’d have plenty more roadside finds.

Trembling Aspen....love turning it. Funny story, and I am not sure how true it is. My Dendrology teacher told me that the Native Americans used to call it the women tree. As the story goes, it only takes a slight breeze to make noise and the noise will not stop....lol

It's wonderful that you decided to share your passion with the world. It would be a little bit of a dimmer place if you hadn't. Also, quick note, I'm pretty sure "tremuloides" is pronounced "trem-you-loy-dees" 😊 (tremuloi-DEEZ NUTS! Sorry, couldn't resist) The thing I built this week was 2 new 8x3' cedar raised beds for our garden! We're expanding past our existing 4 large beds so it was time (plus lumber prices have dropped drastically from the pandemic peaks).

You: Go make something. Me: Putting the finishing touches on a bag while watching this.

It's really telling how many artist stories start with "I wasn't happy with my marketing/business job"

Hi. Your videos have been popping up, and I really enjoy them. I get to watch you create interesting pieces AND learn something new. Have you ever made anything from manzanita? They grow all over my neck of the woods and are beautiful. Their wood splits SO easily though so I've been having trouble with them on the wood lathe. Happy creating~!

Commenting to make an even number. I love your videos, have a great life!

Hi love from India, I love your content..

You have been such a comfort creator on tt 💗

Absolutely gorgeous

I LOVE the more philosophical side of woodworking. so dang interesting

Justin, you inspire me so much. I've always had a love for trees and woodworking. I used to always pick up sticks and pieces of wood when I was out on walks with my mum. I love learning about different kind of wood and went to a trade club when I was younger and took engeneering for my GCSEs and enjoyed carpentry so much. I never really thought of taking it up as a job but you've convinced me by showing how much I love crafting with wood. I'm planning on turning my mum's garage into a workshop for myself and selling my work once I'm at the level I want to be. Thank you so much. P.S. If anyone has any recommendations for what tools that are good to begin with, please let me know! Any other things I should know will be much appreciated too :D

Thanks for sharing!

Awesome video!!! Going to throw Myrtlewood back in for consideration! Would be great for the state of Oregon in your map of the US series, or just in general! I have a guitar made from it. It’s a really beautiful species, and has plenty of chatoyancy for those of us that love it so much!

You begged/threatened me with a Giant honey dipper, so here I am. That said, I really appreciated the human's create pep talk. I think I'm gonna take the time this week to add the workbench in my garage I've been thinking about doing.

the class i took my freshman spring of college which catapulted me into the world of sculpture and artistic (and also broader) creation as an academic and life focus was called “The Making Maker” and was based around the exact ideas you shared in this video. I think you would really get along well with my professor for that class who, btw, has since been my major advisor and will hopefully approve and then oversee my honors thesis in mixed media studio art next year (we shall see after my meeting in six hours haha). :)

Dude, I legitimately thought you were a professional tree expert or a botanist or smth. Most certainly believed that you were a professional carpenter. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought you were an amateur.

Creating things by hand, strangely enough, is one of the few things that I can do without needing to keep my perfectionist nature in check. I know it wont be perfect, I know im still learning, and that's okay. It's hard to deprogram those thoughts of not being good enough, but somehow being really novice at sewing is okay to me intrinsically.

your videos are so fascinating to me

You are, a legend!

Please consider adding actual captions for your hard of hearing viewers!

I'd love to see you work with Cedar! It's such a pretty wood and has an amazing smell to it. (In my opinion)

You’re awesome Justin

Love the message

Imposter syndrome is real, and sucks SO MUCH! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and love of trees with us

that wood grain looks bloomin amazing sadly im stuck with what ever wood i can find for free in the uk and dont have any tools for making anything more than a simple 2 tool coat hook or shelf 😅 unless im going super crude brill vids tho keep up the love of wood!!

Thanks for this video

Gorgeous