This is was they call a treen. I used the Beal Treen System to make this one. I wanted to design it so you couldn’t tell if it had a lid. The hollow center is 1 1/4 inches and the height is about 5 inches. It is made from hard maple scrapes that I had laying around the shop. I used many different tools to come up with the final piece. Of course I turned it, than use piano wire to burn it. Than I used my wood burner to get the short lines to make the bricks. Than finally I used my Dremmel to get the texturing for the bricks. Than I painted it! The colors are Black, Gold, Silver, and White. It took some time to make but I am really happy on how it came out. I am looking forward to making more and playing with the design. All comments are welcome! Thanks for stopping by and looking.

These are some of the pictures from the Wood World Dallas Freedom Pen Turnathon 2012. I was lucky enough to win Best Finish for the day. Pretty cool honor. Over the past year I was able to turn and complete just over 300 pens for the project. Just under 400 pens were turn at the one day Turnathon. At one point there were over 30 lathes humming with wood turners making pens. What a great day it was!! I look forward to next years event!! All comment are welcomed. If you want to get involve with the Freedom Pen Project let me know and I will give you the contact info. Thanks for looking.

I have been inspired to try to work with some different mediums when it comes to pen turning. We one of them is/was colored pencils. So here is the end result! With some design ideas from my wife I came up with this pretty cool pen. I so have to say I have not seen one of these yet so I hope I may be the first one to make one. It was not easy but it was worth it!! Thanks for looking and as always all comments are welcomed!!

This is the second in my plywood pen series. I made pen blanks out of Oak plywood by laminating them together. Out of the two, my first being a slimline version I like the Cigar Pen the Best. It seems to really bring out the lines of the plywood the best. You can check out my Slimline version at this link.
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/58518
Thanks for looking and all comments are welcomed!!!

I have been wanting to jump in and make some wooden Trucks. I finally got some time to do it. The First one is a Lumber Truck, the second is a logging truck, the third is a pickup truck and the back does open. Finally my favorite one is the cargo truck. The back door does open, and I just love how it came out!! They are made out of all wood with no metal at all. Was a great project, and I look froward to making more! Thanks for looking and all comments welcomed!

Saw some bamboo bowl blanks so I decided to purchase them to see how they would come out. I tried to make them the same but there are some difference but they are close. They were easy to turn with out any voids or problems. I love the way the wood is layered giving them a unique look. Plus they are green and a highly renewable resource All I can say is I will turn bamboo again. I just wish more places carried it. Thanks for looking, all comments are welcome!

Really this is a update to a previous posting that I did. Here is the link to it http://lumberjocks.com/projects/53607.
I have had a over whelming response to this project through friends, family, and craft shows. I have sold the freedom pens to raise more money for the project. Up to today I have raised enough funds to purchase a total of 450 kits to donate to Freedom pens. In the Picture is my most current purchase of 335 kits. If you want to help support this cause I am selling the pens for 15 each. 100% of the money goes into buying more pens and the materials need to make them, just message me and I will give you more info. Thanks for looking, all comments welcomed!!

Been Making Lazy Susan Lately since there seems to be a demand for them. So I put my two favorite combinations together, Purple Heart and Walnut. It is Finished with 10 layers of Hand rubbed polyurethane. Simple project but lots of sanding. Both top and bottom are the same checkered pattern. Thanks for looking and all comments welcomed!

Here are three more bowls that I have turned. I think I am getting better with each one that I do. All these bowl blanks came out of a “grab box” that I bought. The first one I think is Apricot, I am not sure what the second one is, I think it is either Holly or Ash, the third one is ash. The last bowl on the rim has some wonderful worm holes that really give it some character. Each Bowl is finished with Salad bowl finish so they are food safe. Thanks for looking. All comments are welcome!!

Goofing around in the shop I said to myself out loud…. I should see if I could make a pen with plywood.. Had some oak plywood laying so I went to work. Here is the end results. I think the results are amazing. I love how in each layer there are different colors and how even each layer is not the same thickness. Needless to say I will be making more of these.. I guess the ultimate test is to see if they will sell!! Thanks for looking and all comments are welcome!!

This is on of my lasted bowls. Got the bowl blank for a grab box off the web. Took into a local lumber yard and I was told it might be sycamore… I also did some research and I think it is apricot… So that is what I am going with. It has some wonderful character to it. On one side there is light spalting. It is 6 1/8 in Diameter, 1 1/4 bowl depth, and 1 1/2 inches tall. This is only my 5th bowl I have turned. Really happy with how it came out. It is finished with 9 coats of hand rubbed polyurethane. All comments welcome!!

This was a commissioned piece I did for a customer. This is just over 14 inches tall is is the largest grinder that I have done to date. In fact I didn’t even know if I could even pull this one off. I used a Shaft-less crush grinder for the mechanism. There are a couple of things that I really like about this mechanism. First is because there is no shaft you can make has tall or as short as desired. Second is that you can use it to grind salt, pepper, or any spice. Was simple to make and would recommend it to everyone!! Thanks for taking the time to look. Comments are welcomed!!

Just bought a Rikon Deluxe 14 inch bandsaw. This has everything I need with out the larger bandsaw. Was simple to put together and the instrutions are very clear. I purchased a mobile base so it would be easier to move around the shop. As for projects with it I have messed around with it making pen blanks and stuff. Still learning how to use it, but once I do I have many plans for it. Thanks for looking!!

This Pen is made from Stabilized Box Elder that was dyed purple. This has been one of my favorite pens I have made to date!! Thanks for looking!! All comments welcomed!

I built this cedar box with help from my daughter for Beads of Courage. I cut strips of wood and rounded the edges and than glued it all back together to give it that panel look. Than I left the inside undone so who ever gets the box can have that wonderful smell of cedar. It is not the greatest box but it has a lot of meaning to it since I have had a love on die of Cancer. Beads of courage is a organization that helps children cop with cancer. For each treatment they are given a bead to put on there string/rope. This box was made for that, to hold beads. I challenge you to make boxes for this great cause. You can get more info at www.beadsofcourage.org/

Here are a couple of my first bowls I have ever turned!! I had a great mentor!! These bowls where donated to the North Texas Empty Bowls through Dallas Area Wood Turners!! Not sure what the wood is but I am sharing anyways!! All comments welcome!!

This is want I have to do over the next year… Thank you to a generous donor my business is going to be able to donate over 140 hand made pens to the Freedom Pen Project next year! If you don’t know what it is, it is a project that donates hand made pens to U.S. Troops that are servicing around the world!!! This allows them to have a one of a kind quality pen to write letters to friends and family members! I am also making a line of pens that I will donate a portion of the profits to this project. My goal is to take 200 completed pens to the Freedom Pen Turnathon next July here in Dallas!! I am so excited about doing this!! Thanks for looking and all comments are welcome!
For more informations on the 2012 freedom pen turnathon contact is at www.woodworldtx.com.

I made a high Chair for my daughter a couple of years back with some scrape wood that was laying about the shop. I kept saying that I was going to do a nicer one that was stained and put together a little better. Well here it is…. and yes that is one of the original cabbage patch dolls.. Thanks for looking. All comments are welcome!

This is a 8 inch Salt and Pepper Grinder set I made for the women’s ministry auction at church. I built the blanks so it gives a wonderful appearance of the different grains. This wood was inexpensive and very easy to mill and to turn. I hope some lucky person enjoys this attractive grinder set.

This pen was a request from a customer. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out….. But you can see the end results!! It is a slimline pen made from Black Ebony with all black accent pieces. Thanks for looking, all comments are welcomed!!