Spring 2011 - Torii Gates

Our friend Julianne McGuinness, Executive director of the Alaska Botanical Garden, asked me to submit something for the annual ABG Gala, their big fundraiser. These are the result. Made of western red cedar... More detail soon.

Spring 2011 - Hawaiian Trivets

Visited Hawaii in February 2011. Picked up these tiles there, and when I got home I made two trivets - one for us and one for our lovely hosts in Hawaii, Pam and Roger Robinson. Made of mango, maple, and mahogany with walnut splines... more detail soon.

Spring 2010 - Spring 2011 - A Cherry Desk

A VERY involved project. Accents of maple and walnut with cases and drawers dovetailed... More detail soon.

Late 2009 - Two Foot Stools

Made two of these stools and Corinne made the cushions. One now lives in Talkeetna, the other in Anchorage... More detail soon.

Late 2008-Early 2009 - An End Table to Match

Creating a match for the coffee table created the year before.... More detail soon.

Early 2008 - A Coffee Table

In the summer of 2007 we took a raft trip down the East Fork of the Chulitna with our Talkeetna friends and spent a night at a place that has the most amazing collection of river-washed rocks. In the midst of carousing I had the idea of using some of those rocks in a coffee table so I brought back a whole mess of them (which incidentally and for the record pales in comparison to the volume & weight of what most of of our friends brought out). Then in January/February 2008 we had a most enjoyable vacation in California and Arizona - and while in California we stayed at my sister Mary's house in LA. Two things while we were there - we went to the Gamble House in Pasadena, regarded as THE outstanding example of Greeene and Greene archtecture/design (they being Charles and Henry - leading lights of the early 20th century Arts and Crafts movement), and we spent several mornings and evenings in my sister's living room which featured a coffee table custom built for them that was derived from more or less the same style as what we had just seen in Pasadena. Suddenly it all came into focus... and shortly after we returned to Alaska my design was more or less complete.
The size and dimensions are pretty close to what is in my sister's living room, the "cloud lifts" (the offsets in the horizontal spreaders) are stolen from both Greene and Greene and the guy who built my sister's table, the square plugs are both a Greene and Greene touch and what I previously explored in my dining room table, and the choice of materials - mahogany and walnut - I've used on several other pieces. AND I used the Chulitna River Rocks....
This little detail roughly doubled the time I spent on the project, but it was a really interesting exercise, allowed me to stay true to my goal of stretching my boundaries with each project, and I think added greatly to the aesthetics of the finished piece. It's certainly unique....
I've been getting more and more comfortable with chisels, and wanted to incorporate a classic Arts and Crafts detail, the butterfly splice, into my table. Even in as close a detail as shown above, it actually looks okay! The butterfly itself is lacewood.

With this project I really think I've elevated my hobby to a new level. Every joint on this piece fit perfectly and honestly, I think it would have been almost as stable if I hadn't used any glue at all! Most rewarding...

The finish is oil with two coats of rub-on polyurethane on the table and shelf tops, and wax.

Late 2007 - Jewelry Boxes

I don't now recall what made me decide to try my hand at boxes. I do know that of late I've been very interested in detail, and a box affords the opportunity to showcase one's attention to detail. At the library I found a fascinating book called "400 Boxes" that is, as the title suggests, a book featuring 400 hand-made boxes. There are some truly wonderous creations there - and it makes me realize how much farther one could take this (if one had all the time in the world, of course).
The boxes were made primarily of padouk and canarywood, with accents of maple, purpleheart, bloodwood, walnut, zebrawood, and ipe.

This project was my first use of dovetails - the classic woodworking joint. They're a time consuming and exacting process (and that's saying something coming from a guy building furniture in his spare time). These were rough-cut with a table saw and finished with chisels. If I made them on a regular basis I would buy a jig for use with a router - and who knows? maybe someday I will.With each project I seem to be using hand tools more and more, which is gratifying. What one can do with a couple of sharp chisels can't be duplicated by machine, and chisels, files, and a block plane are perfect for ensuring proper fitting of the myriad parts and pieces that go into my projects these days. AND there's less dust. AND I get to listen to music and maybe even sip on a beer while I work - luxuries not afforded with power tools.