Mahogany bar stools

African Mahogany swivel bar stools.  I made 5 to replace older ones we had.  They may turn out to be very expensive stools.  They clash with the rest of the kitchen.

Walnut Shaker Blanket Chest

Shaker Blanket chest made of walnut.  I followed a pattern from an actual Shaker chest made in 1801.  Made it as a gift to my son for his college graduation.  The brass plaque is engraved with his initials and a quote from Walt Disney, one of his favorite people, and framed by two dolphins, his school's mascot.

Padouk Entertainment Center

An entertainment center I made with the left overs from the Adirondack chairs. This is finished with Minwax Tung Oil. It is inspired by a similar dresser by Sam Maloof. The joinery is simply dados with inlaid dovetails. The dovetails are about an inch thick. I think Maloof may have used sliding dovetails, but there is no way I could have gotten that to work. I like the result and it is relatively easy to do. The drawer has hand cut dovetails and is a piston fit into the opening.

Mahogany and Padouk Box

An asymmetrical box I made as a gift out of some left over Mahogany and Padouk. The Mahogany sides have mitered corners with splines. The lid is Mahogany with a Padouk handle. The coolest part of this box is the Padouk boarder around the bottom. Due to the odd shape this was made completely by hand. The trick was to get a tight fit between the several pieces joined together. It is finished with Minwax Tung Oil. It is being used as a bread box.

Padouk Adirondack Chair

I was given a ton of 5/4 Padouk on the condition that I make Adirondack chairs that matched a chair that the person with the wood liked. So I took the chair apart and made templates. It was a folding chair, and these are solid, so I had to make a few small changes. I made 16 of these and kept 8. Each has 25 parts, each part joined with screws and glue, and all screw holes are capped with shop made plugs. This project turned into work -- took about 6 months start to finish. The result is great, very comfortable chairs that should last a long time. This is finished with Australian Timber Oil and the picture was taken about 2 days after the last coat. About 2 months after this the chairs changed to deep black, and then after about 6 months settled to brown. I gave them another coat at 6 months and their color seems stable now. I like the ATO, seems like a quick new coat every 6 months is all that is needed.

Cherry End Table

I never liked the rectangular end table I made that is shown earlier in this blog. So I took it apart and made this. I like how the magazine rails are curved to match the profile of the top and bottom shelf. All joinery is mortise and tenon, except for the top/legs. The top rests in a rabbet and a screw is driven through the top into the leg. The screw hole is plugged . There are still some marks from the previous table in the wood which make this a little cool. It is finished with polyurethane.

Vanity

This is a wall mounted vanity I made for one of my daughters. It is a copy of a picture she found in PB Teen. Made mostly of poplar and painted white.

First Prize at the Fair!

My chair got first place in the Student division at the 2009 San Diego Fair!

Mahogany Dining Table

This is a dining table and chairs I made for my chair and table classes at Palomar College. The chairs are African Mahogany and inspired by Sam Maloof. The seats are quarter inch plywood with foam on top covered by fabric. The plywood flexes and with the foam they are quite comfortable. The back support was custom fit to my wife's and my backs. The table is also African Mahogany. The top is a 60 inch diameter starburst pattern of 1/8 inch thick bookmatched wedges I made in the shop and veneered to plywood. The pedestal is also inspired by Maloof. Each leg is 2 8/4 boards glued together, so there is a lot of wood there. The pedestal separates to allow a 24 inch insert, making quite a large table when it is expanded. Each half of the pedestal stands on its own, so it is very stable even when expanded. Top is finished with polyurethane and the pedestal and chairs are Tung Oil.

Mahogany Chair

The Amazing Floating Wine Bottle

These are fun little things to make out of scrap that balance bottles of wine.

Walnut Nightstands

A set of walnut nightstands with veneered tops. The drawers are hand dovetailed and are piston fit. The legs were curved by hand with a bandsaw and spoke shave. Finished with Tung Oil.

Veneered Chessboard

A chessboard I made for my veneer class at Palomar College. The checkerboard is walnut and maple, the boarder is ebony, and I forget the name of the large outer boarder veneer. Finished with polyurethane.

Walnut and Purpleheart Box

This is a box I made for my hand tool joinery class at Palomar College. All the wood was squared by hand and the dovetails and mortise and tenon joinery were hand cut. The darker wood is walnut and the purple wood is purpleheart. There is also maple in there for accent. Finished with Tung Oil.

Maple Vanity

A vanity I made for one of my daughters. It is all maple with polyurethane finish. It was an assignment for machine tool joinery class at Palomar College and is my first attempt at making a drawer and door. The cove on the legs were made by running the wood diagonally across a table saw blade.

Mahogany Clock

My first project at Palomar College. A Honduran Mahogany mantle clock. I even cut the glass myself. Finished with Tung Oil applied with sand paper.

Cherry End Table

A table I made when I knew even less than I know now. The rails that hold the magazines are butt jointed to the legs with toothpicks used as dowels. I used pocket screws for the rest of the joinery. It held together for several years. I never liked it and "repurposed" it to make the round cherry table shown later in this blog.

Cherry Game Table with Walnut and Maple Checkerboard

The second thing I ever made. I made this with what I learned watching David Mark's show on TV. Pocket hole joinery throughout. The top is quarter inch thick walnut and maple veneer. I used a hand held belt sander to flatten the top. Not museum quality to say the least, but a nice little table we still use. Finished with polyurethane.