Buckeye Whale Carving

Buckeye burl humpback whale with manzanita base. Carved by Bruce Stamp. Discovered at Forest Gems in Pt Townsend, WA.

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Kitchen upgrade

After my knee diagnosis last year, I decided to move forward with renovating the kitchen.

I replaced 33 doors using hickory frames and different veneers for the panels (cherry, bubinga, padauk). I used bubinga, cherry, and hickory for the other trim pieces. I trimmed the sink area and added a printed roller blind with a sunset scene. I upgraded all the lighting and replaced and added trim to the lighting. I added a cup holder for my coffee mug collection. I replaced the granite countertop and large cabinet with a high-top table previously featured. I finished all the cabinet ends and where the bar was removed. Finally, I painted the kitchen and added some new artwork.

Winter Projects

Mahogany Hightop Table

I designed and built this table to replace the bar I had in the kitchen area. The table leg design and construction was my design based on other projects I had done. I used AutoCAD to design and lay out the legs. the stretcher pieces on the bottom were fit in by hand and involved some compound cuts. One of my more ambitious builds. Very happy with the way it came out!

The leg shape was created with two radii resulting in a curved taper. I used AutoCAD to determine the angle to tilt the legs and rotate them outward. The bottom of the legs is just slightly smaller than the table’s footprint.

The detail shows leg attachments to the table and stretcher between the two legs. The legs are held in place by bolts. the upper stretcher was fit with a compound cut. Both stretchers are held in place with mortise and tenon joints.

The long stretcher between the table assemblies is held in place with a mortise and tenon joint. The two stretchers are glued to the legs.

The stretcher between the two leg assemblies is held in place with a dowel

Final assembly before finishing. The table top uses bubinga and maple trim pieces with a wood banding strip running lengthwise down the middle.

The table replaces the granite bar and cabinet. It opens the kitchen up better than I expected. My bar stool from an artisan in Argentina I got earlier looks excellent with it.

Dining Room Lamp

I replaced the dining room lamp shortly after moving in with a temporary fixture until I could find something nice! I finally found a unique wooden lamp by an artisan in Greece that fit my aesthetic. It is made from a mango wood veneer. I built a cherry, walnut, and maple ceiling panel similar to those in the bar area for the finishing touch. Very happy with how it came out.

Unique Woodworking

Cocoa Beach has hosted an art show over Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember. I always look for unique woodworking like this Nautilius shell made from spalted maple. You can check out the artist’s other work at Rustling Palms Studio.

Walnut & Cherry Bassinet

When Kari & Carl surprised me with the news they were expecting their first child (Baby Uno) they told me by asking if I would make a bassinet for them! Of course, I replied, and here is the result along with some pictures I took during the build. The build was fun and I expanded my skill set with the rocker legs and double mortise and tenon construction.

I found an excellent design on YouTube from Matthew Cremona. The walnut came from a cabinet Dave & Lisa had that was damaged in the hurricane that destroyed their home. Thanks to Armand and Mary Jo for offering to drive it to Wisconsin!