Here are two fish carvings which my husband carved and painted as gifts a few years ago. The largemouth bass is carved from bass and mounted on a piece of rustic oak (along with a tiny bass which he also carved and painted). The pumpkinseed is carved from bass also, but mounted in front of a piece of driftwood. (The pumpkinseed is actually somewhat larger than those of like species that we catch around here.)

This bookcase was a wedding gift for my nephew and his wife about a dozen years ago. I never anticipated sharing them online all those years ago so the photos are not very good.

I had fun making the moldings, using a number of different router bits on three separate pieces which I assembled to look like one large molding on top. At the time I was using a pre-1950s 8” Yates American tablesaw that I had picked up for $10 at a garage sale and an 8” miter saw wihch was incapable of making an accurate miter so I made 90 degree cuts on the moldings and formed sculpted corner blocks for the top and bottom moldings.

The center shelf is stationery; the others are adjustable. Made from red oak with a 1/4” plywood back, the height matches that of a standard door.

Thanks for looking.

I re-built this bathroom cabinet a few years ago to replace the plywood face frame and doors from when our home was just a ”hunting shack.” The doors were made from dead oaks (oak wilt is a problem here) milled off our property. The drawer insides were made from bigtooth aspen (poplar), also milled off our property. The cabinet is about 12 inches deep, floor to ceiling, and about 20” wide. Because the drawers are so shallow, I used sliding dovetails for runners. (The bathroom is just too small to get the whole cabinet in the picture.)

Thanks for looking.

Here’s a project from my husband. The basic form was made from poplar, then encased in oak that was carved and shaped to give the horse a more realistic form. My husband came up with the design himself, using ideas from various rocking horses. It was made for the youngest grandson. As you can see, it’s sturdy enough for Grandma! (Grandma sewed the saddle, bridle, mane, and tail.)

I was asked by an employee of our local nursing home where I volunteer to design and build a pulpit to replace one that had been built many years earlier out of paneling and plywood. They wanted something of a similar size and function to the old one so I based my design roughly on its dimensions. Since I have volunteered there for many years providing the music for their Thursday worship services, they were aware of my passion for woodworking as well as for the Lord’s work.

Even though we were working on our kitchen at the time, my husband agreed that I should take a break and use the opportunity to learn a few more skills. I was able to try a few firsts for me: the cove molding at the base was made on the tablesaw; the sides were joined to the front with splined miters; and it was my first attempt at applying an onlay.

The skirt at the base conceals casters which make it (relatively) easy to move since it is stored in a room separate from where it is used. (It is easier to move now that I’ve convinced them not to attempt to double its weight by using every square inch of space inside to store 100 pounds of books!)

The opening in the back of the top portion gives quick storage for the Bible or hymn book when not in use by the pastor. There is also a pencil groove cut across the flat portion of the top.

I completed this project in the days before I knew about SketchUp’s free download. It would have been easier with the computer and I’m sure I would have eliminated some extra steps, especially in connecting the base to the carcass. (If I had made the carcass a little longer at the bottom, I could have alleviated building up the base to the top of the cove molding.)