A Photo Gallery of Woodworking Projects

Turnings

My first bowl. It's made from a hunk of Ash that didn't look like much when I started. But, as I turned it on the lathe, the different grain colors started to emerge. Although the sides of the bowl are not totally uniform from top to bottom, I was quite pleased with my first effort. It has a buffed and waxed finish only.

Confetti or Tea lights made of figured Big Leaf Maple. The wood was salvaged from a log in our firewood pile. These are easy to make and can take nearly any shape you can think of. The glass parts come in a kit and hold about two hours burn time of candle oil. They look very nice when lit, giving off a soft glow. I made several as gifts and they seem to be well received.

A kitchen mallet. The invention of my daughter, Wendy and modeled after a carver's mallet I made for my wife. It's used to smash dry items for cooking. It can also be used as a small rolling pin. This one is made of Black Cherry.

A salt shaker and matching peppermill made from Tigerwood (Goncalo alves). Both were cut from the same piece of wood so the grains match nicely. They are finished with four thin coats of Minwax Wiping Poly, then buffed and a carnauba wax applied. This gives a durable finish and a very smooth feel with good grip in the hand.

Two Peppermills made from figured Maple. The wood was harvested from two logs of Western Big Leaf Maple found locally and cut into peppermill blanks on my bandsaw. The design of the mills is my own and is still evolving. I want a peppermill that is easy on the hands and comfortable to use. Thus, the large turning knob. The grinders are ceramic, Crush-Grind mechanisms which I find to be vastly superior to the standard metal type.

A Peppermill and matching Salt Grinder. The peppermill is in Walnut and the Salt Grinder in Figured Maple. These were the first ones I made and were from plans that appeared in Wood Magazine. Having the plans and instructions for my first attempt were a great aid to learning. They use the conventional metal grinding mechanisms. You can tell by the small adjusting knob on top.

This peppermill and salt shaker were cut from the same turning blank. The bottom of each was where the pieces joined together on the log. I salvaged the wood from a found log of Western Big Leaf Maple. It has Spalting and some wonderful figuring that includes Birdseye's and lateral rays. It's finished with polyurethane for long lasting durability. It was then buffed and a hard carnauba wax applied.

A second peppermill and salt shaker set also cut from a harvested log of Western Big Leaf Maple. This piece has all sorts of figuring going on. There is also some Spalting but it's on the back side in this photo. It's finished the same as the one directly above. The peppermill stands about eight inches high and holds lots of peppercorns so you don't have to fill it very often.

A regular salt shaker made of figured Big Leaf Maple. The wood was harvested locally and cut from a log on my bandsaw. The top is a tight fit created by a thin strip of cork. You pull it off to load in the salt so there is no fiddling with a plug in the bottom. I've made several of these and they are great fun to make. Folks seem to really enjoy them as well. The idea and instructions for making them come from the Beall Tool Company.

A small turned box made of African Mahogany. I had glued up a 2" block from pieces of 3/4" wood for another purpose which didn't work out. Not wanting to waste the wood, I put it on the lathe and turned it into this box. The lid lifts off and the inside is hollowed out. My wife keeps cloves inside and it smells wonderful when you open it up.

Matching whistle key chains I made for my two daughters for Christmas. The wood is Bocote from Central America and was leftover from another project. These items turn very similarly to pens and use the same mandrels.

I've made a LOT of pens. So I don't  bore you with pens, I'll only show some of my favorites here. Pen making is a lot of fun and very rewarding. I've given away most of the pens I've made and always enjoy seeing how much they are appreciated. The type of pen and the wood used is captioned in the photos.

Boxes

A wedding memento box made of Alder with Walnut miter keys and lifting handle. It's hand carved by my wife, Peg. The inside of the lid commemorates the date. We've also included the happy couple's names on the boxes where that was wanted.

A sliding lid box of the Amish candle box look. This one is made of Cherry and has box-joint corners. The sliding lid is slightly tapered on the top for some added interest and to make a nice transition into the groves it slides in. Finished with Tung Oil.

Lifting top box of African Mahogany. Grooves are cut in the side with a router prior to assembling the box. After assembly, the top is cut off on the bandsaw just at the groove and then slips down over it. The miters are keyed for added strength and interest. It is finished with and oil varnish rubbed to a satin sheen.

Various Chip-Carved boxes made of Basswood. The one to the left is a lidded box and to the right is an open top letter box. My wife did the carving. Basswood is very soft and carves easily. It's also rather bland in appearance so needs staining and finishing for a good look.

 Two more chip-carved, lidded boxes in Basswood. To the left is a Western theme for friends from Texas and to the right a friend's name is carved into the top. Lettering looks very dramatic when hand carved.

Miscellaneous Small Projects

A Pen and Pencil holder made of glued-up pieces of African Mahogany and Alder. The Alder is the light colored wood. It's mostly cut out on the band saw and then sanded smooth up to 320 grit. Holes are drilled using forstner bits ranging from 3/4" up to 1-1/2" diameter. It then got three coats of Minwax Wiping Poly followed by buffing and waxing. This thing holds a lot of pens and pencils and is a useful and easy project.

A wall hung curio cabinet made of Butternut. I built this many years ago and really wanted to do it in Walnut but just couldn't afford it at the time. Butternut is a good substitute for Walnut and is often called the poor-man's Walnut. It's a lovely wood to work with in it's own right. The design is my own but I was trying to copy the look of some lovely antique cabinets at my In-Law's home. It's been holding the same figurines for more than thirty years now.

This kitchen organizer was made from a plan by Vin over at Bink's Woodworking. It's made of Red Oak and was a gift for my Mother. She doesn't actually use it in the kitchen but on her desk. A very useful and attractive organizer. Here is a Link to the plan for this organizer at Bink's Woodworking. Check out the rest of his site while you're there.

These Votive Candle holders are a quick and simple project made from pieces of wood that probably have little value anywhere else. In fact, the funkier the piece of wood, the nicer the candle holder. These were made from odd pieces of Walnut and were oiled with Tung Oil after being sanded very smooth.

A free-standing picture frame. The frame part lifts off the tapered base and is slotted to insert the photo. This one is made of Red Oak and fits a standard, 5" x 7" photo. I've also made them from Walnut and Cherry and they all look good to me.

This Cedar birdfeeder has natural branch perches for the birds to sit on and eat or wait their turn. I've found there is very little waiting when birds want to eat. It holds a lot of seed which keeps the birds happy and relieves us from having to fill it up all the time. I haven't squirrel-proofed it so those critters enjoy a meal here too.

Here is an end-grain cutting board made of Walnut, Maple and Chinkapin (Western Chestnut). End-grain means the grain of the wood is running top to bottom and the edges become the face of the board. This construction is supposed to be kinder on knives, stronger and less likely to harbor bacteria. I think it also makes a very good looking cutting board. The first one I made came from a plan that appeared in Wood Magazine.

This clock and photo holder is made of African Mahogany. The baffle that covers the photo is held on by small rare-earth magnets and the clock face is just a pressure fit into the hole. It has to be removable to change the battery or set the time. The original plan came from a magazine only I can't remember which one. If anyone knows, please let me know so I can give proper credit.

A step stool made from Hard Maple and Walnut. The plan for this stool came with my Kreg Pocket Hole Jig. It was on the inside of the wrapper which I nearly threw away before I saw it. It uses contrasting wood plugs to fill the pocket holes and add interest to the design. It's a really solid stool.

Boat Jobs

I am also an avid sailor which has led to doing woodworking on boats both for myself and for other people. Woodworking on boats is a great challenge which I enjoy very much. Nothing on a boat is true and square... Everything is an angle or a curve or both at the same time. I actually get paid to do this which is a bonus to all the fun. Here are before and after shots of some jobs I've done.

The owner is restoring this older sailboat to like-new condition. This is in the Head area (washroom) and shows what I had to start with. This shot shows some of the curves and angles that are typical in boat woodworking.

Here's the finished job. I rebuilt the counter top and lower shelf and put a Formica face on them for protection and ease of cleaning. The owner wanted the sink further out from the back wall so I added the slight curve to the counter top and also made the front edging (called a fiddle) to keep things from rolling off when the boat moves about.

This is the same boat and the owner wanted wood battens to cover the seams where the headliner sections were joined together. He had just added the lights and had to remove sections of headliner to run wiring, etc.

The "after" shot of the new headliner battens. I used Mahogany strips which I milled to 1/4" thickness so they'd bend easily and not be too obtrusive. The side battens were the same except the strips were split in half to fit the shallow recess they had to go into. The battens are mostly decorative in nature and dress up the overhead quite a bit.

This was on a beautiful and expensive newer sailboat where the existing interior was well crafted of solid Teak. The owner wanted a way to keep these books in place yet be adjustable for more or fewer books.

The solution was to make a Teak holder with 1/4" Brass pins on the bottom. I then drilled a row of matching holes in the counter top into which the Brass pins could seat. The owner wanted to do his own varnishing on the Teak since he enjoyed varnishing. That was just fine with me as I really don't enjoy finishing.

This is where an old heater was installed above the owner's navigation station aboard this sailboat. The heater was removed and my job was to repair and create a bookcase in the area. It was a shame to see such nice Teak wood mauled like this.

Here is the navigation station bookcase after renovation. The fiddle in the center is easily removable to get books in and out and serves to keep everything in the shelf as the boat bounces around out on the water. Everything is new Teak with the back and side panels being Teak faced 1/4" plywood.

The side of the navigation Station had a nasty looking vent installed for the heater that was removed. When the vent was taken out, a gaping hole was left. My job was to hide the hole with something that would look nice.

I asked my wife, who does wood carving, if she could come up with an Osprey theme to carve on a thin panel of wood (Osprey is the name of the boat). She did and the result is a very elegant solution to the problem. My wife found that Teak didn't carve very well in this instance so the panel is made of Alder and is stained to resemble the color of the Teak yet still be different. The panel is only a bit less than 1/4" thick and is attached with industrial grade, double-faced, waterproof tape.

This photo shows the navigation station and side panel upgrades in the same shot so you can see the proximity of the two to each other.

This is on the same boat and shows the opposite side of the navigation station upgrade project. Nobody has a clue what this monstrosity was used for. It certainly needed fixing though.

So, I turned it into a magazine or chart rack. This was a wonderful idea and came from my friend Lee, a very imaginative guy... Thanks Lee. It was the perfect solution and looks like it was always there. Sometimes the simple answer is the best.

The owner of this 1972 Irwin sailboat had completely gutted out the interior in order to complete some structural modifications. The first project I was hired to do was to enclose this shelf area with a cabinet sporting sliding door panels and a hinged panel at the far end. He also wanted the whole unit to be removable in the event he needed to work on something behind it. This is on the Starboard side of the boat (right-had side).

Here's the result. It's made from African Mahogany which is a good boat wood for interior use and an economical alternative to Teak. The panels have machine woven cane inserts to allow for air circulation inside the cabinet... Very important to prevent mildew on a boat. Now I'm working on a matching cabinet for the opposite side of the boat. The owner will do the finishing which should darken the wood considerably.

This is what the Port side (left-hand side) looked like before. Some of the structural work was done in this area so it maybe looks a little worse than it really was. This side was to include a section to mount a stereo and the owner wanted it made in such a way that the panel would both swing out for access to the wiring behind, have extra support for the stereo unit itself and the whole panel had to be removable. It was a challenge.

Here's the result. The owner had removed his bed from the area so I had more room to work... Thanks, it really helped. I managed to accommodate all of the requirements regarding the stereo panel. The top of the compartment was so wavy that I just couldn't match it and still have it look good. The plan is to eventually make a molding to hide most of the waviness but other projects need to be finished first.