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Ask about Neanderthal woodworking. |
| Here are some samples of work I have done for clients and family.
1. Before (gasp!) ...and After!
1. My parents wanted their old dining set refinished. Stripping off what looked like a dozen different finishes revealed some of the most beautiful wood I have ever had the pleasure of refinishing. All the old dark coats were dissolved off (she wanted quite a bit of contrast so some darker stain was left in the deep grain) and a hand-rubbed oil and varnish finish (10 coats) was applied. It has the look that makes you want to reach out and touch it, to feel the smooth texture. |
2.  | 2. A local church needed a nice bookcase to display their brochures so a non-scuffing polyurethane-coating with a satin finish was used on the Pecan/Hickory beauty. Red oak was used for the fascia trim and backboard. No stain of any kind was used, as is my preference. I love to let the wood show through in all its natural glory. Also (no pictures available) I reproportioned the size of their Ash hardwood lectern (some folks mistakenly call it a "podium") and created a nice little modern candle stand with the excess wood. Both of these pieces were refinished in honey-gold polyurethane per church instructions. |
3.  | 3. Refacing the kitchen cupboard doors in my old WWI-era house was my largest and longest early task. I'll make new doors (rather than refacing old wood that had been coated with at least twenty coats of paint) and new faceframes the next time. I used mahogany plywood with several hand-smoothed coats of clear polyurethane as a finish. Lemon oil is my choice for monthly gloss touchups. (Some day I'll learn how to photograph from an angle to avoid glare.) |
4.  | 4. These clients wanted very soft lighting for their living room. Here is a wide U-shaped pine channel that was created to provide indirect lighting. It holds a pair of double-bulb 4' fluorescent fixtures which light up a 25' x 25' L-shaped living room. Various individual area lamps provide illumination for reading. |
5.  | 5. For this gent's dark-walled bathroom, a new lighting fixture was ordered and I had a brand new router to test-drive, so I went after it. The solid oak frame was rabbeted for strength, grooved to support the plastic lens, then stained to match the dark pine paneling. This is one of the few jobs where I actually put stain onto good hardwood, and then it was simply to match the paneling where it was to be attached. (We silly purists enjoy the natural wood colorings, shadings, and nuances far more than any pigments.) |
   6. Full shot, frontal, and back (heartwood removed). |
6. Here's a new "garage sale art" project which I haven't quite decided how to refinish. I'm torn between:
A: Stripping the old paint off this guy
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7. Here's a "Murphy" bench-style woodcarving knife that I remade from an
old high-carbon steel kitchen knife. One of these days I'll sit down, sharpen
the thing, and actually carve something. (grin) |
 | I get some of my Neandertools at Great nitrile glove prices! | |
So, what's next?Almost everything to do with woodworking has become a real pleasure for me and I find myself in a calm, meditative state while working on beautiful woods, especially with hand tools. The scent of the freshly cut wood is a powerful aroma-therapy which adds to the experience. I hope that at least some of you find the same satisfaction with any of the various aspects of woodworking that I do when working with wood.Namaste! |
For more projects click HERE
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| Larry Jaques, President DIVERSIFY Communications 4520 Averill Drive Grants Pass, OR 97526-4114 |
Call 1.541.476.6805 local/int'l 1.888.541.8868 Toll Free - Established 1991 - | |
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