About

Join other woodworkers for a visit to the shop of Makoto Imai, a master of Japanese woodworking who is selling some of the old-growth wood he collected over many years.

Makoto, who now lives in Seabeck,  spent decades building an awesome supply of the wood he loves to work with: old-growth Western red cedar, Alaska yellow cedar, Port Orford cedar and Douglas fir, with occasional other species mixed in. After 50 years of building homes, tea houses and furniture, he's decided to focus just on furniture — and on finding a new generation of woodworkers who will put his treasured wood to an appropriate use. He is offering his shorter pieces for sale first to BARN woodworkers. For his longer beams and posts, he is reaching out to timber-framers.

The Woodworking Studio is organizing groups of up to 15 people who are interested in buying some of this stunning wood. Most of it is true old-growth, with very tight annual growth rings and few, if any, knots. Many pieces are straight grain, but Makoto also has wood with intricate grain patterns or other intriguing features. He carefully air-dried all of the wood. Besides boards and slabs, he's also offering timbers short enough to fit into a pickup truck but thick and wide enough to make an entire project once milled into thinner boards in the BARN Woodworking Studio.

To keep groups to a manageable number, registration is required (but free). Registrants will meet in the parking lot behind BARN and carpool to the site. Plan to bring a vehicle suitable for transporting wood, if you have one.

The Seattle Times recently published a profile about Makoto and his work. To read that, click here.