Layout

I'm not sure why, but I love doing the layout of the wood for a project.  You need to look at the grain, the color, the knots, the twists... There's a lot of things going on that you really need to pay attention to, but when you do, the results speak for themselves. 

I enjoy the variability in the wood that makes it more complicated than just randomly selecting some boards and just cutting them up and putting them together.  Looking with the eye and being creative on how things will look when complete is inspiring.