Thread: Home made gifts

Tweet

Wood is actually my preference for a medium. Metal is challenging and has a much longer learning curve than wood. Wood is easier to shape, sand, join, etc. in my opinion. I think it goes back to junior high school where we had wood and metal shop classes. The wood projects just seamed easier to me.
In college I was majoring in Zoology and Marine Biology which pack in some fairly difficult science and math classes. I like working with my hands, so I went to a local High School Adult Education program for two years of night school, once a week making my own wood working projects. My first project may yet be the most difficult thing I ever made(The posts taper 8 sided on top, and 4 below the frame), a pencil post bed, as a wedding gift to my wife. We still use it and the night stands(almost 21 years now). I also like turning bowls, and the spare burl chunks are usefull as clocks etc.. After my truck gets completed I have plans for making a Shaker Tall Dresser, and a Harvest dinner table. For the Shaker dresser, it will have a cabinet made of quilted maple, drawers made of spalted myrtle wood, bordered by black walnut, and have black walnut pulls. The dinner table will be made from 100 year old reclaimed doughlas fir planks, with worming in the wood. I picked up 3 12 foot long, by two inch thick, by 1 foot wide planks for the top, as well as a 4a4 post, and some additional pieces for the base. I guess I grab wood when I stumble across it, then store in the shop until I can use it. The doug fir was only 80 bucks, and the quilted maple $
$125.00 ten years ago!








Here are a few shots of different projects I've made.