Woodworking Projects Crafted in my Garage Woodshop
This Chess Set is an original design. Solid Oak, 24 inches per side. Each square is 3 inches wide. The King is 6 inches tall (it's a big board). The opposite corners "float" above the table. The other corners appear to sink into the surface. The board is square when viewed from the top. It is supported by the two lower corners and two squares in the middle of the board that go all the way down to the table top. The 3"x3" squares are really big and I didn't want the chess set to look like a big toy proportionately, so the end grain is facing up…each square (3"x3") is made up of 4 smaller squares (1.5"x1.5") and each of those 1.5" squares is made up of two rectangles (1.5"x.75") so each colored square is made up of 8 pieces, all with the end grain up and at slightly different diagonals.
This is one of the five tables I created for the living room. They all have the same theme but are each unique. The piece above has a notch cut into it to fit against a tight corner. It, therefore, has 5 legs so as not to look odd from the front.
In this picture you can see three of the five tables. They are all solid Oak.
All of the tables were stained with Colonial Maple. The smaller image shows the TV Stand and the Coffee Table being stained.
This is a Sofa Table, designed to - as the name implies - fit behind the sofa. The back of the couch sits at a 17 degree slope and so does the table. It's also sized for both DVD cases and oversized books.
The house has an indented wall in the dining room, I decided to build a built-in buffet. The above center image shows a computer model of the final design. I frequently build the furniture in the computer first and then make adjustments before beginning construction.
These above images are from the computer model of a built-in cabinet and bookshelf created for the upstairs loft. The design added a good deal of enclosed storage and book space. Follow the construction below.
A Jewelry Box made out of Cocobolo Wood. This is a VERY hard wood, very dense and aeromatic.
The very practical nature of a wood shop means you'll need to build carts, stands, tables, benches, etc. Here is a Wood Cart for scraps and a Clamp Cart that I built. Both of the designs are from woodworking magazines.
The Dinning Room Table is VERY large. It's also 1 inch higher than a standard table (I just wanted something a little higher). There's a generous portion of elbow room. Even eight can sit comfortably. I didn't make the chairs (I don't make chairs), but had already bought the chairs and needed to match the color of the table to the chairs.
The table looks very simple, it's not. There are almost 200 pieces of wood in the design. There were over 400 cuts and almost 100 holes drilled. Very little metal was used, only enough to secure the top to the base (the top is not connected to the legs directly). It's very strong and heavy. The 4 corner leg design insures on one has a table leg in their way.
The loft needed a desk to match the built-in book shelf unit. I matched the over all look and included a very large freespan space under the monitor position (fits a music keyboard very nicely).
There are always little projects going on. A sign for the back yard, a cookbook holder, a place for shoes and a train set just to name a few.
This was a wrap around desk for the upstairs play room. I lined 3 of the 4 walls in the room. Lots of desk / work space. I also built the shelves, they're colored with a special gel (as opposed to a stain) that makes them look like the Red Wood of old Tinker Toys.
I designed a King Sized Mission Style Bed. It was by far the largest project to date. I also created a complete drawing package for the design (35 pages). The final wonderful sleeping device is as follows:
The size is California King, the mattress is the Heavenly Mattress from Westin Hotels. Unbelievably comfy.
I also created a pair of end tables for the bed. They match the color and style. I also added four 4" inlaid ceramic tiles to the top of each table. Makes for a nice design and lets you put drinks down without a coaster.
Sometimes the designs really do come from the back of an envelope. This was the last big piece done in the shop. A 10 foot tall wall mounted bookcase. Large scale wood working officially retired!