The Woodworking Shows are a traveling trade show that moves from city to city showcasing new woodworking tools and equipment. The Woodworking Shows offer live demo’s and classes available to participate in during the show from many master craftsman. The first show I attended was in Tampa Florida about eight years ago. I liked going to the woodworking shows for several years. If you go to a show, you can learn about new tools and technics. I also benefited from the excellent discounts at the shows on the latest gadgets. One of the things I learned is that a little extra investment in better tools made for better results and also kept my interest in woodworking. If you attend one of the many live demonstrations, you can ask specific questions about the product or the steps used and why. The vendors and craftsman have extensive knowledge and enjoy helping old and new woodworkers alike.
It has been a few years since I could attend a show. I left Florida for North Carolina and spent the last few years setting up shop here. Now that I am in North Carolina I was able to go to this year’s show in Charlotte with the bonus of taking my now adult son with me. I had dragged him to so many in Florida, but he never showed much interest then. Now with his own family, he has an interest. We have worked on several projects together, and I can see he paid attention even if not interested at the time.
This simple writing desk project is something any handy person can make in a weekend. This desk is the inspiration of a close friend. Our friend found what she would like to make at a local furniture store. She would also like to work alongside us in making this desk to give a personal touch to this gift. This isfor her daughter's room. This would be her first year of college and would live at home while studying. Simple writing desk The room is just big enough for a dresser and bed with a small side table. The desk would need to have…
Laundry renovations are not rooms people give much attention to. It is a utility room and what more does it need to be. Having said that if a workplace is not efficient and the room is not welcoming, it gets out of control quickly and spending time in there is a chore as much as the laundry itself.
We are taking the basic contractor space and updating it for better storage, cleaner look and making it more welcoming. The room itself is an odd shape, however, it can be made to work.
Before
Lack of storage
Wasted space
Not inviting
In the photos above no consideration was given to storage. The room was blank. A storage shelf behind the washer and dryer adds some storage. A better plan is needed.
The laundry room renovation is a simple weekend project that any homeowner can accomplish.
The Plan
What the room needs are storage, color, and style. We want to keep the renovation budget friendly. Our renovation needs to flow with the theme of the house. The laundry room is in our Craftsman home. The budget may seem high. To offset this all of the cabinetry work we fabricate them in our shop. The other benefit, custom making our storage cabinet allows us to fit the space better. Off the shelf, storage cabinets can be used and will function just the same. If you’re looking for style choices, they are limited. We will be replacing the shelf with a slightly longer and deeper one, adding a cabinet above, and updating the color.
Last weekend I had time to fabricate four pantry doors. The doors will feature a ventilated center panel. This was a quick project to finish a custom pantry. The doors are a simple shaker style door. The doors will be painted white to match the pantry.
Before we begin any project, read and understand the instructions of the equipment you are using. Please use hearing and vision protection
The Joiner and the planer I will be using utilizing have a helical cutter head which reduces noise and in my own personal opinion provide a superior cut compared to a straight blade cutter. I have been using these machines for several years now and I couldn’t imagine being in the shop without them. For more information about helical cutters click here.
Step 1: Milling the stock
Joining
We are using Birch to fabricate our doors. This wood is common for making cabinets. I am using it for its stability rather than the aesthetics. Starting with rough stock I purchased at The Hardwood Store of North Carolina. I joined the edge on the joiner. With one edge joined I can flip the board giving me a straight edge. This edge runs straight against the fence while joining the face of the board. To make it easier to run the stock on the joiner I cut the length of the boards slightly longer than the height of the doors.
Rough Stock
Joning face
Joning face
Planing
From the joiner, the next step is planing the boards to the proper thickness. With the joined face down on the planer, we take a few small passes at a time. Our final thickness is 3/4″ thick. We run all the boards through to ensure they are identical.
After I made custom cutting boards for myself and family I was surprised how many people were looking for a quality wood cutting board and something different then what was available in the store. Like most woodworkers, I try to use all my scraps for something useful. These are just a small sampling of boards that I have made over the last few years.
Craft booth Seafood festival
Craft booth Seafood festival
Walnut/Maple
Purpleheart/Maple
Walnut/Maple
Maple,Wenge,Cherry
Walnut/Maple
Puprleheart/Maple
Elm/Purpleheart
Wenge/Hardmaple/Birdseye Maple
Redheart/Birdseye Maple/Hard Maple
Walnut
Large Walnut/Maple
Purpleheart/Maple
Purpleheart/Maple
Every board is hand made depending on what I have available. If you would like one just contact me and see what I have in the works.
More information
When making my cutting boards it depends on what I have in the shop. I found a comfortable size for everyday boards is 13″by 8″ work area and with the handle it is about 18″
Dual bathroom vanity for a beach house in Anna Marie Island Florida. Our client was looking for a vanity that would last in a home on the beach. After several attempts at big box vanities, I was contracted to build a vanity that not only would last but added storage solution for a small bathroom. Although the bathroom is small there is plenty of room for two.
Because longevity was a concern a marine grade ply was used for the cabinet. Our client wanted large open space under both sinks which she added pull outs after the vanity was installed. To provide durability the inside of the vanity was finished with laminate in a dove gray color to match the color used in the bathroom. This is not common but will last a life time.
Yes the title says Pirate ship. Every year in Bradenton Florida the HERNANDO DE SOTO HISTORICAL SOCIETY has a Parade which includes Pirate ships. They have events through out the year. The pirate ships are converted buses or trucks used for parade purposes. During an inspection The FLDOT required a safety railing to be added or the ship could not be street legal. The railings required were 14 feet long and not only curved to the shape of the bow but also had to curve upward. This is not the challenging part. These railings needed to be fabricated and installed in 14 days.…
Our client and friend was renovating his kitchen and was looking to add a custom sink that he had purchased for a bar he had designed. The bar sink was not going to be used very often but when entertaining would be indispensable.
I went to see what he had in mind and the location was in a wall unit style pantry cabinet giving us a depth of 15 inches to work with inside the cabinet. The idea being that it would be behind cabinet doors when not needed. The plumbing had already been installed and he was determined to make this work.
We used mahogany to match the color of his cabinets. We tried every stain imaginable to match and it turned out a simple clear coat was the way to go.
The display case was designed to separate into 4 main pieces. Top, bottom and 2 halves of cabinet. This unit was made to fit into a service elevator for delivery to an eighth floor condo. Careful measurements were taken to ensure the finished dimensions were what the client wanted and to be able to deliver it.
Although this is not a deep cabinet it was visible from the sides so we had the opportunity to add raised panels giving this a more classy look. The back panel was stained black allowing the grain to show through and the cabinet was finished in a matte black as per our clients specification.
Lock miter joints were used to stiffen the end panels and eliminate the need for nails or screws. This is an extremely strong joint with a large surface area for glue. Once assembled the joint seam is at the corner. Light sanding and finished it is difficult to tell that the piece of wood is actually 2 pieces joined together.
Yet another rainy day here in NC. I decided to go through my pictures and share how we made our Farm table. Thanks to my brother in-law I was able to obtain the larger solid hardwood I was looking for to construct the table.
I wish I had taken pictures of the stock I used. It looked like firewood. Anyway after sizing my lumber the first pictures shows the first cuts for the tenon used to make the legs. These joints used hand cut Brazilian Cherry pins to attach the legs at the base. After making the legs for each end I set them in place to determine how long the table should be. I also wanted to maximize the lumber. It seemed a shame to have nice long beams only to cut them down.
New year new projects. We have created a busy schedule for this year. We still have some 2018 projects to close out but moving forward for 2019. Rustic King bed for a Master bedroom.Craftsman guest bathroomMaster bath remodelBoard and batten paneled guest roomOutdoor landscaping and pond renovation.Custom built-ins for large dining room Have not decided in what order we will be doing this but I'm sure we will overlap while waiting for glue, primer and finishes to cure. We will have several photo galleries and possibly some how to's during our projects. Check back and feel free to comment
If you have and idea for a project but aren't sure you can describe it we have found that Pinterest is an awesome source to find inspiration and teaming with us we can work together to create your vision.
This display case was built to display a gun collection. A custom rack system was designed to hold several different types of rifles. The rail system is fully adjustable from right to left for various length rifles. Hand turned dowels were made with an offset center mounting hole to allow adjustment to level the rifles. This cabinet is 85" wide by 62" tall and is mounted to the wall using a french cleat. The cabinet has L.E.D lighting with over 100 programs to enhance items on display and were installed as an added feature since this was designed to mounted behind a bar.
Custom Craftsman style fireplace surround designed to replace a contractor grade mantel. A builtin entertainment center with storage were added to hide the A/V equipment and add storage and display area. An open cabinet was added for firewood storage. Matching Craftsman style window trim ties the room together giving old warm charm with modern technology.
