A good friend of mine, who happens to be a fly fisherman, had commented on some of the beautiful fly tying cabinets, boxes and stations he had seen on the Internet. So I decided that I would build one for him. The cabinet stores the fly tying vise, all of the tools and includes a wall of thread storage. I also added plenty of drawers to store feathers, hackels, fur and fish hooks.

I think if I were to make another however, I would make it using 2/4 material instead of 4/4.

My grandson wanted a locking toy box to keep his little sister out of his treasures. After viewing several photos of potential designs he settled on a mission style blanket chest he found on the internet but wanted drawers. I decided to do raised panels rather than the flat panel design so there would be some detail to carry over to the drawer faces. The joinery was done with a Festool Domino on all the panel glue ups. Battens were added to the lid to insure it stays flat and the hinges are Rockler’s new torsion hinges which are a dream to install and work great. The face, ends, and back are classic panel construction. The legs are 6 quarter so provide a nice masculine feel the to overall chest. The drawer joinery is through dovetails and the drawer boxes have quarter inch Baltic birch bottoms. The two drawers on the back of the chest have gravity toggles that latch into mortises when the drawer is pushed into the cabinet. The latches are released with a special key that is inserted into a release hole inside the main compartment of the chest and the drawer pops open with the assistance of springs behind it.

With traditional wood carving, there is no modern technology needed. All that is needed to begin is a piece of paper and a pencil. While I’m drawing the design on paper, I visualize the finished product in three dimensions. This ability to think in 3-D allows me to pay attention to the various depths, sizes and movements in the carving. To begin on the carving, the drawing that was done on paper was transferred to the Lime Wood. I then utilized chisels of various sizes to carve the design. This sculpture is 36″ and 4″ deep carved in the style of Grinling Gibbons. Designed by myself. All work done with hand tools except for a scroll saw. The piece was left unfinished.

Carving by hand is only limited by the imaginations of the of the wood carver! Woodcarving is a form of art that only a handful around the world know how to do. There are millions of painters around the world, but not many can carve exquisite pieces of art out of wood.

I wanted to send this project to Marc, not for posting but to thank the forum members and him personally for the inspiration to get me out of the virtual woodworking mode. I wanted to try woodworking for a long time but never seemed to have the time or confidence to begin. I have watched The New Yankee Workshop for as long as I can remember, and incorrectly assumed that woodworking required a unique power tool for every different cut and joint! After accumulating some basic tools, I was ready to start. I watched Marc’s videos, read his advice, and gained confidence, but what really motivated me was Marc’s series of articles regarding Duane Moore, a woodworker battling cancer who wanted to make projects for his children. I was touched by Marc’s compassion and support and wanted to be able to create something from my own hands to proudly pass down to my own children.

I chose this table design because I very much like mission style furniture, or so I thought at the time! It had enough challenges for a beginner to learn from, but nothing insurmountable considering the limited tools and skills I have. My first shock was the cost of quarter sawn White Oak, so I decided to use less expensive Red Oak. Although I don’t particularly care for the look, it was a better option considering I was fairly certain I would make a lot of scrap, which turned out to be true.

The legs were the biggest challenge. I wanted to try different methods to make them. I was given a locking miter bit for my router table, but had a very difficult time setting it up correctly. Ultimately I made a couple of variations of a simple miter joint on the table saw, one leg with a spline joint just to see how it worked. The next challenge was the mortises. Since I do not have a mortising machine, I drilled and chiseled them. It may not have been pretty, but I enjoyed the process. I think what surprised me the most in this project was that I enjoyed sanding it! I really felt a connection to the project at this point and sanding did not seem to be a chore at all. The finishing is where I really chickened out. I didn’t want to screw up at this point, so I went to Rockler and bought a Mission Oak gel stain and polyurethane top coat. In hindsight, I wish I would have gone with a natural finish, but its all part of the learning process.

For me, the biggest lesson learned was the need for planning. Small mistakes up front lead to bigger errors in the end. I wound up retracing a lot of steps that would have been unnecessary had I thought it through better, in particular making sure tools are calibrated correctly. Oh, and I also learned I need more clamps. A lot more clamps!

This simple table turned out to be closer to firewood than furniture and I would be embarrassed to have this displayed next to the fantastic work I see on The WoodWhisperer site, but I really like it and had a blast making it. Again, thank you Marc and forum members for the help, I look forward to being a Guild member some day when I think I can handle more advanced projects.

This is the timber frame my wife and I cut under the sky while subjected to the South Dakota elements: extreme heat/cold/wind. It will be the home we built together, along with a small cast of others who would only steal some of our thunder if named (Dad, brother, brothers-in-law).

Eastern White Pine harvested north of the Twin Cities comprise all major timbers in the frame. The joinery is all traditional mortise and tenon, as well as using hardwood splines (oak and ash). Timber framing is definitely my passion, all other aspects of home building I certainly do not enjoy as much. I did contract out all concrete, drywall, electrical, and trim carpentry.

The entire frame has been finished with real Tung Oil. The entire frame was sanded by hand via an orbital sander to get rid of the weathering. Since the frame was already erected, the frame was sprayed with Tung oil.

The house is real close to completion, but the frame itself is what I’m the most excited and proud of!

Finished up a “Spring” Trellis project. They will add support to some Lavender Star plants. I sketched up a drawing then enlarged and printed it to the inside dimensions of the trellis plan. I decided on 3/8″ copper tubing which can be bent by hand and a tubing bender. After initial cutting and forming to shape, a cap was soldered on one end and the opposite end was beveled and shaped to conform to where it would be soldered. To prevent adjacent joints from de-soldering, I used wet strips to act as heat barriers. Additionally, the formed end was pretreated with a bead of solder so it would be easier to heat, flow the solder and then cool to adhere. Each joint was dressed to remove any excess solder and make it appear as a smooth transition. The copper will be left to patina naturally.

The frames are made of redwood and all joints are stopped mortise and tenons. They were pre-finished with Superdeck Exterior Transparent Stain & Sealer by Duckback Products (www.superdeck.com ) prior to adding the copper accent piece. The top rail was left off till last. Holes were drilled, at proper angles to accept the copper and the bottom was epoxied in first. After hardened, the top rail was pre-drilled then epoxied and mortises glued to the stiles. The bottoms of the stiles have rebar that extends into the planter to add stabilization. The bolts run through fabricated copper stand offs that give separation from the stucco and frames.

I took two telephone posts and cut them in half from 30′ to 15′ and put them four feet in the ground. The framing of the deck is the only new wood besides the 1/4″ sheathing. Even the steel on the roof is salvaged. The framing of the 8′ by 10′ fort is all re-purposed from barns. The siding is from an old shed in town. I put the sheathing up under the siding so as not to have to worry about where the old nails were in the siding.

There are two bunks inside. They are attached together so that only one ladder is needed. Two of the windows are hinged so as to let air in when the sliding door goes on. Then there are two glass blocks up where the people (kids) sleeping can peek out to see what the noise is at night. The fort was then pressure washed and finished with an exterior clear coat.

I have been woodworking for about 10 years as a hobbyist with no formal training. Some of the projects I have built are entertainment centers, swings, chairs, gliders, beds, and cabinets. Although I tend to enjoy the cabinet work most, projects are usually determined by what my wife wants at that moment.

This outdoor sink cabinet was made using some very old Louisiana Cypress. The challenge to working with this type of wood is that there is always quite a bit of work required with planing, pullling nails, straightening edges, etc. to bring out the beauty of the wood before even starting project construction. However, it is time well spent, saves money, and worth the effort! The sink in this cabinet is 40+ years old from a old house. I used ceramic tile with a durable grout as the counter top. The finish is simply Olympic Waterseal. This cabinet is located under a patio top and is not exposed to the elements. I built the cabinet where a faucet came out of the house to use as the water source and was able to tie the drain in at a cleanout point directly under the cabinet.

I really like the look of the Cypress with its many imperfections. Its a distressed look that is very durable for outdoor use. My inspiration for this project was to bring the indoors outside…to have the look and feel of indoor cabinetry with the functionality and durability to withstand the outdoor elements.

I finally made the plunge into those LCD screen TVs. So I just had to get a Surround system to go with it! I found a RCA set at Walmart that was reduced down to $98. I thought, “Let me buy some brackets!” The ones I saw available, even at Best Buy, sucked for $40!

So, I decided to make my own! The ones at the stores aren’t as articulate as these. Sort of like the idea of a fully articulate TV mount bracket. I wanted to point them in any direction, not just up or down, or side to side!

These are made with Poplar. The hardware is 1/4-20 and the stain is Golden Pecan. I spent all of about $7.00! Being my first set, I spent more time making the pieces fit. The next time won’t be so difficult. I added Velcro squares at the end to make sure they stay on safely.

I’ve been woodworking for just over four years. In that time, I have built various pieces of furniture for my home. This recent project is one that I am most proud of. I wanted to build a new desk for my small office space. It needed to be slim line but with usable storage space. I wanted to be able to keep the top clear so it looks like I’m tidy! I liked the idea of the old retro style school desk with the lift top, but with a slightly contemporary take on it. I think the clean lines and the x-shaped legs keep it modern with that classic style.

I have used several different jointing methods. Biscuits on the desk top, oblique halving joints on the legs, lap joints and housing joints on the carcass, and a piano hinge for the lift up top. I sanded from 80 to 120 to clean up the wood, and finished with 180 to 240. Finish is with Briwax applied with 000 wire wool and buffed with a cotton cloth.

I work mainly with recycled timber. I get old pieces of furniture from second hand shops, the recycling centre or just stuff that people throw out. I strip it down and take it from there.

For this piece, I had an old oak headboard that I got from the recycling centre. I wanted to use it for the desk top and the front body panel but it was warped so I ripped it to 100mm planks and biscuit jointed four of the planks with the grains running opposite to help even out the wood. Prior to jointing, I had to soak the planks and clamp them down and wrestled with them to get them to behave–which they kind of did eventually.

I had various bits of Rimu (a New Zealand native) that I could use for the body and legs. The base came from my old desk which I was throwing out/recycling as it was wobbly, too big and a bit ugly. The legs were from house cladding from my brother-in-law’s old place. The curved piece at the top came from another old headboard that I got from the roadside junk collection!

I built the desk mainly in my shed. I also used the workshop at the local night school as I don’t have my own table saw. The teacher at night school is great, he’s got me involved in the local art scene too!

Our arts collective, The Red Shed had a wood show where I showed this desk along with some other small furniture items I have made. I have posted photos on my Facebook page, so please check it out!