Woodworking is becoming more and more popular lately.  It may be from the stress of the economy.  Woodworkingcan be very calming and a nice escape from reality.  It can also be a great way to add some custom furniture to the home without having to pay a giant retail price.  It can be a challenge to find decent stock to work with, it is not always cheap to go to home depot and buy wood all the time.  If you look around hard enough, creative opportunities present themselves.  People are always throwing away items that have very nice wood in them.  I find a lot of quality wood in items for sale at garage sales that are pennies on the dollar.