Woodworking

Note from Me

Let's get one thing straight from the outset, I am not a professional woodworker. I picked it up as a hobby during COVID as we were finishing our basement into a secondary living space. I've always worked with my hands for pleasure and out of necessity because finding and paying for talented trades is extremely time consuming and expensive. Add to that the uncertainty of getting qualified trades people to the mix, sometimes you are better off doing things yourself and learning as you go. This may lead to "not perfect" finishes, but adds a richness to the final build that only hand craftmanship can supply.

Each piece that I make shows the love and care I have for my craft. It's ever evolving and improving and as I add better tools and have more time, will continue to be shown in every project.

Each piece and each project that I have done, and will do, has a story to go along with it.

“He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.”

St. Francis of Assissi

Newest Releases

Standing Plant Hanger

The Idea

A good friend discovered I was doing woodworking in my retirement and had an idea for a hanging plant stand for her front yard. The original plan/idea was 2.5' high, but she wanted one 4' high.

The challenge was on!

Oh No! Geometry

The original idea/plans had the angles for a 2.5' height, so I had to dip into my high school geometry to try and figure the new angles out. Well, suffice to say, high school geometry failed me, so I went on-line and found a triangle calculator tool. Hours and a stack of print outs later.

Main Frame

Building the Base

First Coat of Stain

Open or Closed Hangers?

Second Coat of Stain

Final Staining

Counter Top/Island Cup Tree, plate stand

Counter-top Cup Tree

This one took me about a year to build.

I cut the pieces, placed them on a shelf, and said I'd finish them next week. 11 months later I was working on other things, found the pieces, and decided to finish it off.

Pine Ridge Hollow Cups

My wife had purchased four nice coffee mugs from Pine Ridge Hollow a couple of years ago and thought they would look good on the new stand.

Plate Stand

My wife and I went decor shopping to find things to go on the top of our cupboards and accompany a couple of cookie jars (one from my mom and one from my grandmother). We bought a rather large plate, and had to create a plate stand in short order.

Cedar Planter, Noodle Board, Farmhouse Furniture

Cedar Planters

I just started making these this year after seeing a post on (insert name and link) website. They are made from 100% cedar planks and built to size.

Cedar Planters with Lattice

These are the same cedar planters with a standard pressure treated lattice and solid cedar frame. An option that we offer is chicken wire on the lattice to help any climbing vines grow vertical.

Noodle Boards

Traditionally, a noodle board is used to expand more space and be favorable to making noodles. Nowadays noodle board is used to describe gas and electric stove covers. This one was made for my daughter for additional counter space, but true noodle boards for food prep would have a food safe cutting board style finish.

Farmhouse Furniture

Typically, farmhouse furniture is made from construction grade materials, joined with pocket screws and stained or painted in a rustic style.

“Woodworking is more than a hobby; it is a journey of the soul.”

HE is Risen

Hand crafted piece from clear pine and 1/4" fine plywood, each section stained or painted by hand, crosses hand cut and individually painted and placed.

Our faith plays an important role in our lives, and I want to produce some pieces that express our dedication to being Christians.

Moon over Mountains

I made this first wooden scenic piece as a birthday gift to a great friend of mine and hand cut and stained each piece individually to fit.

Originally it was to have a metal moon shining down over the mountains, but I couldn't find or make anything acceptable to use.

Beer Caddy

I first saw these at a craft fair and bought one for my father; he loved it and said "you can probably make these yourself". I did a little bit of research for builds I could do with the limited tools that I had and turned out a couple of good ones.

Christmas Trees

Yep. The often maligned 1x3 Christmas Tree. lol...

What makes them unique is each one is decorated with Christmas items we have collected thru the years and re-purposed.

Family and friends, don't look too close, you might find something from Christmases past.

“When a work lifts your spirits and inspires bold and noble thoughts in you, do not look for any other standard to judge by: the work is good, the product of a master craftsman.”

Jean de la Bruyere

Love Washes Over Me

Custom made heart and waves for my wife.

Made from glued up spruce strips and pine waves, added "board" lines and carved seagulls. Used chalk paints and then sanded for a weathered look. Final fine coat of varnish to prevent fading.

I started this one after seeing something like it on the internet, and know how much my wife loves the ocean and waves, and the rustic rough weathered look, decided to give it a try.

Rough Cut

Glued up 1x2 spruce strips to make a square for the heart shaped back ground, then used the Dremel scroll saw to cut the heart, then the cut the waves from 1/4" clear pine and glue them onto the heart.

Lines and Carving

Used the Dremel with wood carving bits to create the divisions for the waves, the board joints, and the seagulls.

Applying Paint

This was my first attempt at weathering and using chalk paint. I started with the darkest teal I could find, then added the medium teal and the white for the clouds and the wave tops.

Rough Sanding

The sanding was probably the hardest part of this project as being the last step, one mistake and the project was ruined. Wanted to show as much weathering as possible without taking off all of the paint.

“There are two men inside the artist, the poet and the craftsman. One is born a poet. One becomes a craftsman.”

Emile Zola

Critter in a Box

Our grandson, William, is nicknamed Critter (for many reasons....lol). Our daughter commissioned me to make a toy box for him, and I designed the toybox on my own from looking at several designs and combining them into something to suit him. I used soft close hinges to protect his hands and head from a slamming lid.

All the letters are hand cut using the Dremel scroll saw. The templates were made using a text editing program and then double-sided taped them onto 1/4" ply and then cut and painted. Was trying to convince his mother just to call him Bill, but no go. 😁

Rough Framing

Rough Cladding

Initial Paint and Hinges

Custom Name Added

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