I haven’t posted any projects lately. Hopefully it won’t take something this drastic to get me back into the shop next time. Another posting on funerary items prompted me to post this. The passing of loved ones is always hard. We have a family tradition of building our own coffins / caskets. I think there is solace and healing to be found preparing this last gift. As we are working we contemplate and reflect on the life of the loved one. This isn’t so much about woodworking as collaborating and “pulling together” (our family motto). The guys get together to do the woodworking and hardware, the ladies get together to do the interiors. Raquelle was born with some pretty significant physical handicaps and had to struggle everyday of her three years. I am convinced she is in a better place and free of all the frustrations of her frail body. I hope that you will consider this gift of love. Give everyone in your family a hug today.

My son and I have been working on these after school this week. It was a good way to use up some scraps, play in the shop and spend time with my son. Finished with mineral oil & beeswax.

We needed a computer center. As you can see I still need to build one of those charging stations to hide the bundle of wires growing out of the top of the desk…

Do you remember the Leigh Iso-lock jig I wanted? l really liked the look of the joint. I couldn’t justify buying it. I drew it up and a friend who has a CNC mill in his garage cut the pattern out of aluminum for me. I was supposed to make him a riser for his Gerstner machinist chest in trade for it. To make a long story short: he decided his wife needed a jewelry box more than he needed the riser so I built her one instead. Meanwhile I got to keep the riser!
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/24598093@N04/2328335922/

I worked for years as a machinist and I always wanter a Gerstner chest, but did I mention I am cheap? I built this out of one beautiful piece of cherry. Honestly if your time is worth anything, it would cheaper to just buy one… I am blown away with some of the projects I have seen here! I still haven’t finished it yet. I will someday line it with felt.

Our secretary at work wanted another table to match the one she had, which looked similar to the first picture (It didn’t have a shelf) but the furniture store didn’t sell them any more. So I got the call…

This was a Christmas Present for my niece. You may recognize the “Liegh isoloc” joints, which I guess they sort of are… I was too cheap to buy the dovetail jig and template so I made my own… It was a fun project. It is made from solid red oak and lined with cedar. The oak was kind of rough. My sister bought a truckload of this oak from a mill back east somewhere when they were building a lodge near Yellowstone National Park. Not the highest grade, you can see some of it was spalted. (the price was right – did I mention I’m cheap?)

I built this a few years ago for a friend, the glass for the doors was recycled from the transoms of an old house.