This sleigh bed was completed in May of 2002. It was featured originally in Wood magazine and is made of hard maple with cherry raised panels inserted in the end-pieces.  It was made through creative use of the table saw, router, and bandsaw!  Quite a fun project. The matching dresser and nightstands will follow...

Following the sleigh bed project, I kicked off a maple and cherry dresser.  This took me a full year to finish, but was worth the wait.  The top is solid maple finished with several coats of varnish and sanded well beyond 2000 grit.  The sides and drawer fronts are finished with danish oil.

OK, so this doesn't qualify as "fine woodworking", and maybe Norm would be able to knock it out in under an hour...but it was a fun weekend project. The picket fence was a requirement for fencing off Jean's garden area...a picket fence complete with a walk-in gate...Now, we just need a dog! This project was completed in Fall of 2001.

This built-in wine cabinet was one of my first projects.  Built into an existing hole in the wall, I lined it with oak plywood, then built sliding oak drawers (dove-tailed of course!) that fit in.  The glass doors and recessed lighting was an added touch that made it look just right. My brother Ben gets credit for the design...and much of the instruction on this piece.  It was built in 2000.

Fiona was born in September of 2000, and we had no bannisters!  By the time she started to crawl, we realized we had better do something quick. This custom bannister is made of oak and alder (painted). The oak was glued up and routed for the finished look. One cool think about the bottom half is that it is made to be removeable, which is a requirement for our house which is difficult to get large furniture pieces upstairs. We finished this in early 2001.

In December of 2001, my Aunt Liza passed away.  This was a hard time for all in my family and a project I worked on during this time was a gift for my Uncle Paul (her husband). It is a memorial flag case.  Normally given to a person that serves their country, I thought of my Aunt as someone whose devotion was to God and her family.  Her inspiration remains with us.  This is also a gift that was also given to the spouses of the victims of the 9/11 tragedy by the American Woodworkers Association. It's a mahogony case with a glass front.