A friend of mine is having her 2nd baby. I build a rocking cradle for the first, a little girl named Alexa. The new baby will be a boy and so Alexa will not feel left out in all the excitement of a new baby, her mom asked if I would build her a doll cradle for the new doll she will be getting. This is the result. It is made of walnut to match the first cradle and uses dovetail joinery.

This is my first attempt to reproduce one of Andy’s beautiful art boxes. I give much thanks to Andy for the detailed instructions he provided. This project requires a lot more than just building skills…you definately need some artistic ability. It has provided me with lots of new building information but I have a long way to go to build something as unique and beauthful as Andy. Thanks again Andy.

After drooling for some time over the new Delta Unisaw, I decided this was more practical for me. My Craftsman saw worked fine but it was difficult to cut large panels. Also, the original fence was not very accurate and required frequent adjustment. Thus, I built this work station using plans from vol. 15, Issue 89 of ShopNotes. I modified the plans to fit my saw and needs. I added a Vega Pro 40 fence system which I am extremely happy with.
The majority of the system is constructed of 3/4” MDF and is a series of boxes connected together. For the top I laminated a bottom layer of 1/2” baltic birch, then 3/4” MDF and the top is 1/4” MDF with a melamine top. I surrounded the top with curly maple for both looks and strength. I finished it with 5 coats of Minwax Wipeon Poly and then wax.
The resulting product gives me plenty of room for storage (there are 3 storage areas below the saw and 4 drawers at one end), a large work surface for panel cutting, a very accurate fence and a dust collection system which helps to keeps the shop and my lungs cleaner.
While the saw was off I took the opportunity to reset the trunion and I just put on a new Forrest Woodworker II blade. Now this saw is a dream to work with.

I recently replaced my fence but I didn’t want to waste the used redwood. I made a number of different “art” projects from it, one of which was this birdhouse. In this particular project I left the fence wood as it was when I removed it. The birdhouse was then adorrned with other obsolete or discarded items which I had salvaged. The theme of this project was to reclaim the kitchen and I used a variety of kitchen items including the sink strainer (but not the sink!). It is a whimsical piece designed to make one smile as well as evoke memories of earlier times (my grandmother had a grater just like that!). I hope you enjoy it and thanks for viewing.

A neighbor asked if I could build a cabinet similar to one she had seen at Ikea. The one she saw was not of a size she could use. After looking at the piece, we opted to use 4 hinged doors instead of 2 sliding doors, reeded glass instead of clear, and bun feet. She wanted the piece hand painted (not sprayed) white to match some book cases she already had in the room. This is the result.

The box is made from walnut plywood and purpleheart. It is pretty straight forward using rabbit joints for the box and raised panel for the lid. It is similar to a blanket chest I had earlier made except that I used plywood instead of solid walnut. Basically, I was trying to use what I had left over from other projects to lighten up my wood storage for which there is never enough room. I used decorative hinges and toy box lid supports for safety. The finish consists of several coats of Waterlox, wet sanded between coats. The final coat is wet sanded using Pledge wood restorer with orange oil as a lubricant, then waxed.
For the teddy bear I searched on line until I found a drawing I liked. I copied it, enlarged it and then traced the outline onto a piece of 1/4 plywood. I then drew in the design, painted it, stained the entire bear with golden oak stain and then sealed it with Waterlox. It is currently attached with carpet tape (I may have to pin nail it later if the tape doesn’t hold) with the idea that it could be removed at a later date and used as a blanket chest.

This project was done for a client who provided the dimensions, request for walnut and wanted to unit to be construcked in pieces which could all be free standing. It consists of 4 units; the two book cases, the lower center unit for audio/video equipment, and the upper center unit for the plasma TV and base speaker.
I used the Festool Domino for joining many of the parts. Rabbit joints were also used. The finish is 3 to 4 coats of Waterlox, sanded between coats with 800 wet and dry and then waxed for a final finish.

This steamer trunk was a Christmas gift for my son Shawn. It was made mostly of salvaged materials. My son was working for a construction company on some apartment which were being converted to condos. The company putting in the new cabinets had a lot of cabinet grade plywood that they used to separte and stack the cabinets during shipping. After their arrival to the job site, the plywood was discarded. My son told me about the wood and I was able to obtain it. The oaks slats on this pience were left over pieces of white oak hardwood flooring which I had installed in my house last year. The hardware came from Rockler.

This is a cradle which I recently made for my step-daughter. It is made entirely of walnut.

This is a blanket chest I made for a friend last year. The design comes from David J. Marks.
It is made of walnut and purpleheart.