 This is a hefty teak dining table with a meticulously constructed top utilizing mitered rail and stile joinery. Many careful cuts later, the top fit perfectly together. Originally built as an octagon, the maker trimmed the edges using his own customized circle-cutting jig on the bandsaw. |
 Based on a Leonardo da Vinci design that was never built, this amazing drum wagon left the studio this summer and has been making the rounds at fairs with its maker and his band performing medieval music from the 13th and 14th centuries. Yes, this thing actually works! |
 As a follow-up to the furniture making class, one student designed and built an entire outdoor dining set. Pictured are a tall side table of cedar, a trestle-style dining table of cedar, and a long slab-style bench of sapele. |
 From our bent lamination class this summer, here is one student's finished chair. This is a clever variation on the design used in the class, with the legs re-positioned in a crossover rather than straight front to back. All pieces were formed in a vacuum bag using multiple layers of Italian bending poplar as the core material and paper-backed walnut veneer on the faces. |
 One of the custom designed lamps from our most recent "Light Fixture: Design + Build" class. The wood base is two chunks of sapele finished in Danish oil and the shade is rice paper backed by thick mylar sheets for rigidity. Simple and elegant. |
 An in-progress photo from the bent laminations workshop in July. These are the forms for the leg pieces with the glued-up laminations clamped securely in place. Once dry, the wide bent wood pieces will be cut down the middle on the bandsaw into two legs and tapered to their their final shape and size. |
 Just finished in April, a small side/coffee table with very creative joinery holding all the pieces together. Made from European steamed beech and sapelle for the cross pieces. Nice design! |
 From last month's "Getting Started in Furniture Making" class, one student got creative with the design and added a shelf below the bench. Here is the result--looks great! |
 Check out these maple/walnut/oak cutting boards that were made in the 2-session "Routers 101" class. While making these, students got some hands-on experience learning just how versatile a tool the router can be. |
 A simple, mid-century modern-inspired coffee table made from edge-joining narrow boards of sapele (an affordable alternative to mahogany) into a large slab. Hairpin legs in raw steel complete the piece. There is also a matching set of end tables--pictures coming soon. |
 Using some leftover walnut plywood from a previous project (thanks for the donation, Victor!), this large "Parsons" style blanket chest is trimmed/framed in wenge, finished with shellac. |
This platform style bed was made from 1" thick clear pine lumber,  all hand-picked from the Lowe's around the corner from the studio. The headboard was jointed up from narrower pine boards as well and then carefully planed. This bed is a great example of a functional yet elegant design using affordable materials. |
 The frames made in our most recent "Table Saw 101 + Art Framing" class turned out beautifully--square and seamless miters at the corners reinforced with perfectly fitted keys of black walnut. One is to be a picture frame, the other will frame a mirror. |
 Some updated pictures from the solid walnut console and matching stereo cabinet being made here during the winter.
The console was eventually mounted on a stainless base. The final creation included a number of nice details not seen here including custom-made aluminum pulls for the doors.
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A few other big projects completed this winter are pictured below.
Two hefty solid oak tables, with legs designed with a beveled profile and mitered corners. In the background are a beautiful teak bed frame and head board by the same maker. |
 In a recent "Intro to Hand Tools" class, students  made small boxes from mahogany, sawing and chiseling halp-lap joints to build the box.The lids and box sides were then hand-planed to a gentle curve and a walnut handle was mortised into the lid. |
 Check out these cool stools made in our last biscuit joiner class. Despite the simple design (based on Ron Gilad's "Void Stool"), laying out the joinery was quite a challenging exercise in visualization. A single stool can be made from a single 2'x4' sheet of 3/4" plywood. |
 This light fixture was an original design by a student in our "Design+Build: Make a Lighting Fixture" class. The base is a chunk of rough mahogany on rubber feet; the shade is formed of heavyweight vellum and fastened with nuts, bolts and rubber washers to match the feet. A low wattage compact fluorescent lamp creates a soft glow while saving energy.
 Here is another lamp from the same class that was custom designed for this table. The oval base is solid mahogany with a hand-rubbed oil varnish. The arm is bent copper tubing, concealing the wiring, and the shade is birch veneer. |
 In September's "Routers 101" class, we made a coat rack / entry shelf of solid oak. All the joinery--simple dadoes and rabbets--were done using the router table. This one was finished with a hand-rubbed oil varnish finish. |
  
These speakers were meticulously built to audiophile standards. Starting from a few sheets of 3/4" MDF, the boxes were constructed with precisely mitered sides (reinforced with biscuit joinery) and snug-fitting inset/rabbetted tops and bottoms. The result is an airtight chamber for optimal acoustical performance. Holes were jigsawed out for components and wiring. Then the boxes were finished in birch veneer and flat black point (to be covered by a fabric grille). Great project! |
  
Here is a bookcase made of poplar. The rough boards were dimensioned down to exact thickness on the planer, then ripped into narrow pieces on the table saw. The maker also built a cutom jig for the table saw to cut the numerous dadoes required for his "lincoln-log" joinery design. Completed in one day--impressive! |
