I recently completed this small side table and it has already become a much-appreciated addition to the home. With a table top about 10" x 18", it has proven itself to be compact yet stable, and suitably sized to hold a book, or a dinner plate and drinking glass. Followers of my blog may recognize … Continue reading Butternut & Ash Side Table
The latest addition to my catalog of air-dried slabs for sale is Elm (Ulmus americana) A medium-density wood with pale sapwood and warm brown heartwood, elm often exhibits a coarser grain pattern. Most elm trees do not grow very large and consequently it is rare to find elm mature enough to exhibit a substantial amount of darker … Continue reading Elm – Pleasant to Work and Full of Character
When I had the chance to make a living as a furniture maker, it was a dream come true. However, I soon realized that my chosen path was a very difficult one and found that I needed to adapt my designs to appeal to consumers. In this video, I share some of my best tips for making … Continue reading How to Make Furniture that Sells
This cabinet is called Push to Open. It was started with the idea to make a fine cabinet - something I haven't done since 2010. I had a few pieces of figured cherry left over from another project and I let their sizes provide an indication of the size of the cabinet. The front panel was … Continue reading Push to Open
I am working on assembling an elite group of judges for the Shop Stool Build-Off. There are many categories and lots of prizes so everybody has a fair chance of winning something. For a chance of winning a prize, make sure you submit your stool by the end of Tuesday, January 28. Here is my … Continue reading My New Shop Stool
I spent the holidays with my family and friends, completely away from the shop. It was a really nice break and quite refreshing from the busy pace that two businesses and too-many-side-projects-to-count guarantees. Being around others reminded me that there are lots of ways to make a living, many of which require much less effort … Continue reading This is For Love
Ever since I started Insanity 2, I've been thinking about cabinets. It seemed to me that cabinets meant for displaying things more often than not accumulated so many things that they ended up looking messy. I realized that the problem was that too much horizontal surface was available. My solution was to provide only enough … Continue reading Wireframe Cabinet
I attribute my success to my relentless push to try to fail. Insanity 2 is about trying to design something which I cannot create. Since my last blog update on Insanity 2, I laminated two curved sides and a curved bottom. Then I was faced with the task of joining them together. Although the four … Continue reading Insanity 2: The Carcase
When I set out to design something, I sometimes find it helpful to make a list of requirements. If designing a chair, my list might look like this: the seat must be at an appropriate height and shaped or upholstered for comfort; the chair must bear the weight of the user; it should have a … Continue reading Designing from Scratch
All photos in this post are courtesy of Neil Clemmons. Last week, I took a 9 hour train ride south to Portland, Oregon for the opening of Quality is Contagious: John Economaki and Bridge City Tool Works, an exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Craft. An estimated 300 people were in attendance that night. The exhibit featured … Continue reading Quality is Contagious: John Economaki and Bridge City Tool Works
Sculptural Woodwork by Chris Wong 