Furniture and Woodwares
Made by Hand at Home
I enjoy working with a mix of power and hand tools. I don't know a better way to get dead straight grain than splitting a log with wedge and froe and shaving with a drawknife. If I need to rip a board down its length, it's going through the table saw. The goal is to make furniture and still have time left over to put kids to bed.
Ladderback Chairs
Based on design and plans published in Make a Chair From a Tree, third edition these chairs are made primarily from storm-downed trees, cleared lots, or other found wood still green. The ideal tree would be dead straight grain but I take joy in using something that would likely have been cut into firewood or even left to rot and making it into something usable, even comfortable. Traditionally the seats are woven with hickory bark, but lately I've been enjoying using cotton tape for the color it provides.
Stools
All manner of boards with legs through them. Light, sturdy, and built in handle.
Chests
Any box to keep things. Usually for tools, but I guess they could hold other things too.
Prior Projects
Tool chest in Cherry with painted accents in a shop-made yellow milk paint.
Prior Projects
Stick Chair in Cherry and Hickory. Finish is linseed oil and beeswax.
Prior Projects
Upper chest made for my personal use. Lower chest a restoration for a friend. Chest painted black on the right is the first tool chest I ever made. Credit to Chris Schwarz' book The Anarchist's Design Book for introducing me to boarded furniture and the longevity of cut nails properly installed. That chest had a decade of hard use before I built the dovetailed one to replace it in 2025. The only reason I built the new one was I ran out of space in the old one and needed one a bit larger for daily use.