Reclaimed Wood with a Story
The Story
Hi! My name is Wil Salt and I am pretty much everything that is Salt Shaker Woodworks. From materials / resource acquisition and craftsmanship, to janitor - and everything in between, I'm responsible for it all. I have worked with wood all of my life in one way or another. I learned most of my woodworking skills from my father who was an excellent craftsman. Over the years, with additional mentors and much practice, those skills advanced from construction to furniture-making. I have always had a connection with wood. I love the look, the feel, and the smell of wood. I love the sound of it, too, having played guitar since I was in 6th or 7th grade and violin before that. When I began making furniture, I was, and still am, enthralled by the beauty of Shaker-style furniture. The Shakers believed that the natural beauty of the wood was all the ornamentation a piece of furniture needed. This approach to furniture design results in simple, graceful, well-constructed furniture that fulfills its function and is built from beautiful lumber. The idea that the beauty of a thing lies in its practical usefulness still intrigues me. As a result, I always try to carry that philosophy into every piece I make, simple, practical, and beautiful. Being a fan of the Shaker-style also helped make for a pretty cool shop name considering the play on words and my last name - Salt.
As I got older and became more concerned about how poorly we take care of the resources that this Earth provides us, wood being one of them, I decided that in some way I needed to do my part. As a result, I do as much of my woodworking as possible with reclaimed wood. Wood that maybe came from someplace interesting or not, but in any event, was headed to the dump, a fireplace, or a burn pile, or left to rot. Salt Shaker Woodworks uses reclaimed wood as much as possible. I call it using wood with a story.
The Wood
Most of the wood used by Salt Shaker Woodworks is reclaimed wood from various sources. Some was found lying at the curb awaiting brush pickup to be run through a chipper/shredder for mulch. Some was from neighbors who had to have a tree taken down in their yard; I took it rather than it being cut and split for firewood. Some came from pastures where I myself cut the trees down, milled it with a friend's sawmill, and dried the resulting lumber in lieu of the trees being bulldozed into a pile and burned. Some was removed from the Guadalupe River where storms had knocked a tree down or yet another pasture where the same thing occurred. Some was reclaimed from older homes that were being remodeled and very old but very good wood was about to go in a dumpster. Whenever I am driving around Seguin, or anywhere in the area for that matter, I always have my eye open for a downed tree or limb that I might salvage and turn into something lasting and beautiful and useful, that someone will enjoy for years to come.
Dreyer Mesquite
Robles Black Walnut
Allen Spalted Pecan
