While I run every day at lunchtime with my fellow "Road Scholars" to stay in shape, woodworking is my primary hobby. I haven't had much time for woodworking in recent years, but I'll get back to it one of these days! Shown below are pictures of a few of my projects. I've also built a cherry arts and crafts style queen size bed that I haven't had a chance to photograph yet. One of these days, I'll get around to taking a picture of it for inclusion here.
Right click here to download a very large TIF image of a Solidworks photorealistic rendering of an end table.
This is a gift I was asked to make for Mr. Edward Fitts in 2006. Ed is an NC State alumnus in whose honor our department is now named. A digital model for the sculpture on top was designed by artist Bathsheba Grossman. I created a polymer model of it using a Dimension rapid prototyping machine. I turned that model into bronze via the investment casting process. I machined the base from a block of mahagony and then laser engraved the inscription.
This mantle clock was my first experience working with curly maple. It's beautiful wood, but the grain is considerably more challenging to work with than the cherry that I normally prefer. The clock has an aniline dye stain with a tung oil varnish topcoat.
This is a small loose-change bowl that I turned from a block of maple burl. I haven't done much turning, but there's a lot to be said for woodworking projects that can be completed in one afternoon!
This is a bunk bed that I designed and built (with help from my father) for Danny's room. The ladder and safety rails are removed to make the picture more clear. Due to the small size of the room, I decided to use a futon beneath the bunk bed. If you look very closely at the picture, you can see that there is low voltage track lighting mounted beneath the bunk bed. The futon, track lighting, and cubbies give Danny everything he needs to enjoy reading his books. Since the front left corner of the bed is close to a window, I didn't want to have any solid panels there that would obstruct the view. My solution was to use 1-1/4" (ID) galvanized steel pipe and flanges to hold up the front of the bed. The long shelves projecting from the cubbies have two functions. They provide Danny with a surface to place books, drinks, etc. Since the galvanized pipes pass through holes in those shelves and are attached from beneath with flanges, they also provide needed front-back rigidity to the structure. Hidden behind the futon is a strip of plywood that laterally connects the two cubby units, thus providing left-right rigidity. While Danny loves his futon and track lighting, his favorite part is the two secret hidden compartments. With the exception of the galvanized piping and the walnut+maple safety rails and ladder, the entire unit was built from birch plywood and birch edge banding.
Here is a solid cherry coffee table that I built a few years ago for our living room. I used a tung oil varnish on it that really brings out the color of the cherry. The kids have not been kind to this particular piece of furniture, but it's holding up very nicely.
This is a walnut and maple kitchen table that I made back when my wife and I first got married. I based the design on a table that was built by Eric Martin (my wife's aunt's father) for his daughter and son-in-law. Despite the simple design (or perhaps because of it), we've gotten quite a few compliments on this table. My one regret with this table is that the walnut bleaches very easily from the heavy dose of sunlight it gets near the window. I didn't know walnut would do that when I made the table back in 1995. I'll be sure to use a UV resistant finish if I ever replace the top surface.
