Holiday Gift Pack

This is the Holiday Gift Pack

that I will be giving to my

four favorite girls this year:

Kiki, Bub, Tiger and ...

I can't really say the other one!

The pack includes a:

Countdown to Christmas

made of solid maple (includes

blocks; tray; backing and candles).

The lettering and the holly leaves are

either black walnut or mahogany,

depending on which set a person gets.

The one shown here is black walnut.

The holly berries made of oak.

I soaked the entire project in natural Danish Oil

twice ... for a final, long-lasting touch.

The Mitten Ornament is made of mahogany

and the Nativity Ornaments are made of oak.

All of the ornaments are soaked in Tung Oil.

Happy Holidays

Kiki, Bub, Tiger and ... ???

Name Plaques

Every child I know loves to see their name on something.

These five children come from three different families.

Bryce is our oldest grandson; Maura is in our Sunday School class;

Maddie, Trent and Dane are siblings of a friend of mine.

Dane, Bryce and Maura's plaques are all made of cherry;

Trent's is made of oak; and Maddie's of Black Walnut (my favorite!)

Each plaque is treated with Tung Oil. This serves two purposes:

to give the piece a richer look (it really brings out the true color

of the wood); and to help preserve the wood from drying out.

They are fun to make and even more fun to give away!

Segmented Wedding Plaque

This wedding plaque was made for a couple in Upstate

New York (relatives of our extended family).

It is made of oak and consists of more than

30 individual pieces. Once cut, each piece must then

be carefully sanded at an angle, in order to create a valley

between the pieces. It is then glued back together

giving it the appearance shown above.

It's a fun project, but very tedious work!

Country Wall Cabinet

A country wall cabinet to match the kitchen cart

(also on this blog) I made a couple months ago.

The same green paint went into both projects

and is perfect for the colors in the house.

Beautifully Decorated!

Within a half hour of hanging the shelves, my daughter,

Katie, already had them beautifully decorated!

Take note of the three-tiered bottom shelf

that she both suggested and inspired.

Pastry Display Stand

At the request of one of my daughters

(superstar pastry chef and valedictorian of

the culinary school she attended in NYC!)

I made this Pastry Display Stand.

Because of the camera angle you may think

otherwise, but all four shelves are exactly the

same distance apart (6 inches). The top shelf is

8" wide, shelves two and three are 10" wide,

and the bottom shelf 12" wide. White felt

covers the underside entirely.

The intention for this pastry stand is to put a

"perfectly decorated" cake on the top shelf

and cupcakes on the remaining shelves.

Hopefully, when the stand is finally full of

goodies, Kristie will take a picture for us, so

we can see what it looks like in action!

They Do Exist!

Someone questioned whether

there really were two tables in the set.

You know who you are!

Finally ... Karen and Andrew's End Tables

We finally finished Karen and Andrew's end tables.

Our painter was on strike this week, but

I got her back to work and this is the end product.

This is actually one of a pair of tables

 made to match a kitchen table which

is also white on the bottom and pine on top.

I did most of the construction,

while Dawn did most of the painting.

Together, we are fairly pleased with the results.

A Few Ideas For Decorating

Our daughter Karen is excellent

when it comes to decorating, but

here are a few ideas my wife and I had.

Heavy Duty Planer Table

This heavy-duty table was built to hold my new Dewalt Planer.

I bought the planer shortly after Christmas

but have not had time, until now, to finish the table.

The table is made primarily of 2x3's with 4x4 cedar legs

and 3/4" plywood for the top. It weighs in at 38 lbs.

It is held together with a series of 4" bolts, 3" nails

and a dozen or so "L" shaped brackets.

It was definitely built to last ... and

"yes" (to those skeptics out there)

it will fit through the cellar door

when it comes time to move!

joinery for new workbench

If you look closely, you can see some of the pocket-hole joinery

that was used in constructing my new work bench.

It's easy to do and adds a lot of strength to the piece.

Pine Side Table

My father-in-law has been making
tables for as long as I have known him.

His love for making furniture for his family
inspired me to make this table for my wife.

It's made entirely of pine and could serve

either as a night stand or an end table.

I will most likely stain the table oak or cherry,

but could be persuaded to paint it. A forest

green bottom with a black top might be nice.

Wall Cross

Made of black walnut, this

cross was made especially for my wife.

She saw the pattern and immediately

asked me to make it for her.

8 months later ... here it is!

Denominational Logo

This is the logo for the denomination in which I serve.

The fourfold gospel is represented by the cross, laver, pitcher

and crown, as Christ is our Savior, Sanctifier, Healer and Coming King.

The world in the background is a reminder to us of our responsibility

to do our part in taking the gospel to the ends of the earth.

This particular piece is made of cherry with a black walnut frame

and will be given away at this year's Spring Missions Conference in March.

Tulip Dinner Napkin Holder

This tulip napkin holder is made of oak

and can easily hold 50-100 dinner napkins.

Katie's Kitchen Cart

During a recent week of vacation,

I made this kitchen cart for my daughter Katie.

She picked the color (Prairie Brush)

and my wife and I did the rest.

All of the pictures on this page are just different
angles of the same project, along with one picture
of Samuel who insisted on jumping in front
of the camera and saying, "Cheese!"

Big Man!

Every time I went to take a picture Samuel's

 head would pop up with a big smiley "Cheese!"

Dining Room Setting

Grandpa's Workshop

I do enjoy making projects for Christmas, but we

actually do a whole lot more than that in our workshop.

A Fresh Supply of Wood

It's always good to have a ready supply of new and used wood.

I allow my wood to sit in the work area for approximately 3-6 months

before using it, so that it can adjust to the humidity of its environment.

I am always on the lookout for free wood of any kind.

Old broken furniture; scraps and leftovers from various projects you

may be doing. I even get an occasional piece from my friends involved

in karate, once they've broken the wood with their feet.

All free, scrap, and otherwise unusable wood is appreciated.

Prep and Assembly

This is the newest addition to my workshop, though

I will be setting up a new planer in early February.

This is where I prep and assemble my bigger projects.

Preparing the Wood

This is where the smaller prep work happens,

before doing the real job of cutting.

Prep work can be very time consuming, as it includes:

choosing the right piece of wood; sanding, taping, spraying

and applying the pattern, and drilling all entry holes.

Now you're ready to cut.