This box came about as a commission to build something out of what little was left of an old family piano after it had been irreparably damaged. Unfortunately, the body of the piano couldn’t be salvaged; however, the ebony and ivory keys were still in great shape. The idea was to try and capture the spirit of the piano, if not the look.

The box itself is made with shop-sawn rosewood and narra veneer, with black-key ebony edgebanding and white-key ivory inlay. There are three stacking, dovetailed trays inside.

Dimensions: 12″ x 7″ x 5″
Materials: Honduran Rosewood, Narra, Recycled Ebony and Ivory Piano Keys
Finish: Oil/Varnish (outside), Shellac Polish (inside)

Check out more pictures of the box here.

View of the fence from the street. Keeping everything level on the rugged shores of West Drew street was an exciting challenge.

View of the side gate from inside the yard.

We didn't want to cut into any of the tree's roots; hence the raised lower rail.

Detail of one of the corner posts. Each section is bolted to glued-and-screwed tabs with bronze carriage bolts.

The plan was to build a white picket fence that would more or less match the house’s existing trim, but wouldn’t interfere with either the landscaping, or more importantly, the giant oak tree in the front yard.

The fence itself is about 3′ tall (more or less, depending on where you stand - sidewalk repair doesn’t seem to be a priority here in our fair city) and 60′ long. There is a double gate in the front, and a smaller single gate on the side. The large posts on the corners and at the gates are pressure-treated 6×6s, and the smaller posts are stock 4×4s. All of the pickets and rails were milled from rough, 8/4 western red cedar. The gates swing on 4″ x 4″ ball-bearing brass hinges, and the fence sections are bolted to the post-tabs with bronze carriage bolts.

The posts are set 2 feet into the ground. Once the posts were set, we took careful measurements, and built and painted each section of the fence off-site, back at the shop. We left the individual pickets over-long so that we could adjust the distance between the the ground and the bottom of each picket once we were back on-site.

Detail of the drawer joinery.

Detail of removable trays. Each tray has a hinged "floor" with an attached tab to facilitate removal of your stationary; that way, you don't have to turn the tray over to get the cards out.

This piece came about after re-watching one of my favorite movies, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. There is a line at some point where Steve Zissou mentions to his wife Eleanor that they need to write a thank-you note to Eleanor’s parents “on the good correspondence stock.”

It seemed to me that good correspondence stock should have an appropriate place to live, so I built this box. The sides are dovetailed by hand, and the lid is frame-and-panel. There are two asymmetrical drawers built in to the front of the box - a smaller one for pens, and a larger one for stamps. The interior of the box houses two removable trays, one slightly larger than the other. The smaller tray holds standard 4 1/4″ x 6 3/8″ cards (such as Crane’s or Smythson’s), and the larger tray holds the corresponding envelopes. Each tray has a small brass tab you can use to pull the stationary out of the tray.

The box is made out of Kwila. The trays and drawer sides are made out of Afzelia. All brass hardware (besides the hinges) is shop-made. The bottoms of the drawers are made from Port Orford Cedar, giving the box a nice small when you pull out the drawers. The exterior is finished with Liberon Oil, and the interior is polished with shellac and wax. All in, there are nearly 400 hours in this box.

Dimensions: 11 1/2″ x 8″ x 4″
Materials: Kwila, Afzelia, Brass, Port Orford Cedar
Finish: Liberon Oil, Shellac, Wax

Currently on display at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. Please contact the Asher Gallery (713.529.4848) for details.

In January of 2009 I was approached by Christ Church PCA in Katy, Texas, with a request to build a suite of furniture for their new sanctuary. I was honored to receive the commission, and the work was a joy.

All three pieces - the pulpit, the long communion table, and the smaller baptismal fount - are constructed from air-dried cherry and finished with Liberon Oil. The basin in the baptismal fount was made by Houston-based potter Steve Campbell.

You can see some construction pictures here.

In January of 2009 I was approached by Christ Church PCA in Katy, Texas, with a request to build a suite of furniture for their new sanctuary. I was honored to receive the commission, and the work was a joy.

All three pieces - the pulpit, the long communion table, and the smaller baptismal fount - are constructed from air-dried cherry and finished with Liberon Oil. The basin in the baptismal fount was made by Houston-based potter Steve Campbell.

You can see some construction pictures here.

In January of 2009 I was approached by Christ Church PCA in Katy, Texas, with a request to build a suite of furniture for their new sanctuary. I was honored to receive the commission, and the work was a joy.

All three pieces - the pulpit, the long communion table, and the smaller baptismal fount - are constructed from air-dried cherry and finished with Liberon Oil. The basin in the baptismal fount was made by Houston-based potter Steve Campbell.

You can see some construction pictures here.

This bench was built from two planks of reclaimed, “sinker” cypress I found in the way, way back of a lumber mill in Ponchatoula, Louisiana. As far as I can tell, the tree they came from was well over three hundred years old, and must have sat at the bottom of a river for at least another hundred years. The wood itself was a joy to work, and actually shimmers when the light hits it just right.

Dimensions: 44″L x 17″H x 20″W
Materials: Sinker Cypress
Finish: Unfinished

This piece is currently for sale, an is on view at Peel Gallery. Please contact the gallery for details.

The specifications for the cabinet were as follows: "I need a shelf." -"For what?" -"For some stuff."

This is a cabinet I built for a very particular someone.

Dimensions: 35 1/2″L x 9″H x 6″ D
Materials: Maple, Zelcova, Brass
Finish: Wax (cabinet), Shellac (drawer)

The walnut used for this project came from my friends at Horizon Lumber in Pennsylvania. There is nothing quite like starting a project with such such an inspiring piece of wood in front of you...

The box is a actually a set of four boxes: the outer box (in walnut), and the three inner boxes (in pear.) The inner boxes all have removable inserts to maximize storage options.

Part of the design criteria was that you be able to both charge and play an iPod without removing it from the box. A set of removable, shop-made plywood inserts allows the player to either be stored flat of plugged into the Dock. Cutouts in the back of the box allow wires to run where they need to.

Detail. Dovetailed construction for the boxes, frame-and-panel for the lid.

This piece was built as a commission. The requirements were fairly simple: the piece had to hold a small collection of CDs, and be able to store (and charge) an iPod. The idea was to keep the design both simple and modular (just in the off-chance that iPods change size in the future), and let the wood speak for itself.

Dimensions: 24″L x 12″D x 8″ H
Materials: Walnut, Pear
Finish: Liberon Oil (Walnut), Shellac (Pear), Wax

Click here to see more pictures of the box, as well as construction photos.

The door frame is made from bent-laminated teak with three panes of glass, while the cabinet itself is made from teak and Alaskan yellow cedar veneers over a Baltic-Birch plywood core.

I built the cabinet from a plank of teak that my friend Andrew was kind enough to let go of, and the last few bits of yellow cedar my friend Greg had after finishing a cabinet of his own. I couldn't have made this piece without the help of fellow wood-nerds...

All parts, including the glass stops and mullions, are carefully shaped and finished before final assembly. Bob's hinges, of course, needed no work at all.

The shelves are held up by adjustable, carved consoles.

This cabinet was my final project while attending College of the Redwoods’ Fine Woodworking program. It was designed as an exercise in veneering and glasswork. (Plus, if you are going to build a showcase cabinet, C/R is the place to do it.) The door consists of a bent-laminated teak frame with three panes of glass, while the cabinet is teak and yellow cedar veneer over a Baltic-ply core. Perfect for displaying Pez dispensers, tiny helper robots, or anything else that is better kept behind glass.

Dimensions: 29″ T x 18″W x 6″ D
Materials: Teak, Alaskan Yellow Cedar, Glass
Finish: Teak Oil (Outside), Shellac (Inside), Wax
Hardware by Sanderson Hardware.