Wow....this sure grew legs whilst I was gone

I just spent two weeks in Japan and am digesting some of the information here in light of what I have seen.
While much of the carpentry I saw was superlative (temples, shrines) some was decidedly more functional esp as relates to finish. And Stan is quite right about repairs, any older structure(as in not rebuilt recently) shows repair. The older buildings showed another wood characteristic as well, movement
150+yr old joints show their age.
The commonality I see in these posts is that everyone here is passionate about what they are doing. To me that is the most important thing and passionate people have passionate "discourse"

Thanks Stan for not taking your ball and going home. I learned some interesting things from this little chat

J.E.B.