Well 2018 was an awesome year for me in my shop, and I was able to make a few things.
Here are my top 5 favorite builds and I’ll link to their individual videos in the top right cards as I go if you want to watch the full project.
#5 was this live edge shelf. It was rotted at one end so cut is at a skew, so the shelf would look like it was sticking out of the wall.
I carved out the ugly branch intersection so the grain would flow smoothly off the shelf and inlaid a few bowties dress up the cracks.
#4 was this craftsman style staircase and handrail that I designed and built from scratch. The client wanted to update the look by having the end of the treads exposed over the wall. So I carefully cut the wall to match the rise and run of the new staircase. Made a custom newel post and fabricated the craftsman style spindles in house.
#3 was the Japanese style bench with the carved crack in it.
I loved the idea of mimicking nature with a carved crack in the wood and I always enjoy hand inlaying a few butterflies. I find the process a relaxing and since each butterfly is drawn by hand instead of a router template every project has a unique butterfly inlaid.
#2 is the oval table. Cutting out a perfect oval was very satisfying, and even more so was working in an abstract shape for the shelves which complemented the shape of the top nicely. I also loved how I was able to work in more inspiration nature, using the shape of a flower to help design the shape of the legs.
#1 was the Stone Bridge Bench. This was by far my most ambitious project to date. Carving out the stone to lose the weight was physically demanding, and then scribing around the rock was mentally demanding, and took a fair amount of time. My most favorite design element about the piece is the bent arch that passes through the cross braces. Chopping out the angled mortises was very satisfying.
