This section contains work underway or recently completed. In most cases I haven't photographed the pieces with studio lighting etc., so the images may be a bit rough.

Maple burl table

Started work on a burl table. A burl is one of the lumpy growths you sometimes see on a tree. It looks like some kind of tree tumor. If you open a burl, there is a wonderful varigated swirling pattern. Additionally, because the grain is tightly interlocked, burls tend to be quite stable. Thus, tabletops of burl slabs typically don't split and crack like most slab tops. To contrast with swirly organic top, I built an angular base. I'm still working on this one and will probably use turquoise inlay in the top to fill a few voids.

JUNE, 2010 THIS PROJECT IS COMPLETE. SEE THE FINAL VERSION IN THE TABLES GALLERY

I was playing around with some more left over pieces from the mahagony table and started carving one; much to my surprise a leg appeared! The rest is history...or evolution? In any event, the result was a crab table.

NOTE: this table is currently for sale. Please contact us if you're interested. It can be shipped.

JUNE, 2010 THIS PROJECT IS COMPLETE. SEE THE FINAL VERSION IN THE SMALL ITEMS GALLERY.

I had some cutoffs from the mahogany table (see below) that were intriquing. And, lo, this lamp appeared.

JUNE, 2010 THIS PROJECT IS COMPLETE. SEE THE FINAL VERSION IN THE TABLES SECTION

I had a beautiful, but short, piece of walnut, probably Claro Walnut, but it is uncertain. The slab had a live edge, or an edge that had not been trimmed by the sawyer. It had great figure but was too small to make a full piece out of. I cut it in half, length-wise, and glued the halves together, back to back. For an accent I inlaid a strip of karri, a species of eucalypus. The base is from old mahagony salvaged from a barn in El Paso, Texas.

JUNE, 2010, THIS PROJECT IS COMPLETE. SEE THE FINAL VERSION HERE

I'm currently working on a headboard with two matching nightstands. The wood is very interesting; it's karri (or Eucalyptus diversicolor) from Australia. This wood was imported into the US decades ago to serve as mine timbers. Karri is extremely hard, almost twice as hard as red oak. A fellow woodworker bought several unused timbers decades ago and sawed them into planks. He is a professional woodturner and didn't have time build something for himself. Recently he and his wife (also a professional craftsperson) asked me to build this bedroom set for them using the karri.

The front of the nightstands is made of several laminations of karri bent around a form and the drawer front is cut from the same lamination, allowing the grain to continue uninterrupted across the front. Below you can see the initial 3D sketches used to generate the plans from which the pieces are built. The headboard has a removable upholstered panel, allowing a fabric covering to be used which matches other items in the room.

Sketch of nightstand for clients