Today, I’m excited to share my latest project—a custom reception desk for a local art gallery! This piece isn’t just functional; it’s designed to enhance the gallery’s aesthetic while keeping operations smooth. The desk features a hidden drawer for storing packing paper (to safely wrap sold artwork), display corners for featured pieces, and plenty of cabinets and cubbies to keep everything organized.

Since all the cabinets were the same height, I started by ripping the sides to width on the table saw and cutting them to length with a track saw. After referencing my cut list, I set up a stacked dado blade to cut all the shelf dados at once. Then, I adjusted the dado stack to cut rabbets for the backs, bottoms, and top braces.

Cabinet construction is straightforward, but ensuring everything stays square during assembly is crucial. I pre-sanded and pre-finished some parts that would be tricky to finish later. For assembly, I used wood glue and a few staples for reinforcement. Each cabinet was slightly customized—some were sized for a printer, while others accommodated shopping bags and other essentials.

To simplify installation, I built the toe kick separately. Using offcuts from the cabinets, I ripped them to width and constructed a base. Cleats stapled to the cabinet bottoms allowed them to clip into the toe kick, making alignment and on-site assembly much easier.

The legs taper from about 3.5 inches at the bottom to a few inches at the top. To achieve this, I laminated 8/4 material, planed it smooth, and carefully matched grain patterns to hide glue seams. After the glue dried, I cleaned up the joints and cut the legs to length.

A custom jig helped me cut the tapers on the bandsaw. Since the legs taper on multiple sides, I saved the first cutoff to use as a spacer for the remaining cuts.

For the lower decorative panels, I book-matched 5/4 material, ensuring a seamless grain pattern. After glue-up, I ran them through the planer for a smooth finish.

The frame was built using 1/4 stock, with dados cut for the panels and a large rabbet for glass installation. I opted for two passes with a standard blade instead of a dado stack to avoid burning and ensure a cleaner cut.

Stopped dados on the legs were routed out, and I squared the ends with a chisel. The center dividers needed stopped rabbets for the glass gridwork, so I used a router with a plywood fence for stability.

The hidden drawer was a fun challenge. I cut matching dados in two boards—one for the slide and one for the glide. The drawer front is secured with dowels for strength, and the extended back acts as a cantilever, preventing tipping when fully extended. A bit of paste wax ensured smooth operation.

A local glass shop provided frosted glass panels, which I carefully measured and cut (though I did break one—always order extra!). Quarter-inch hardwood strips were pinned in place to hold the glass securely.

For the filing cabinet drawers, I used a Leigh dovetail jig for precision. Blum soft-close hardware was installed (ignoring the confusing instructions at first) with the help of a jig for accurate hole placement.

The desk top was made from 1/4 stock with floating tenons for alignment. After glue-up, I sanded and finished it before installing LED strip lighting under the top and shelves.

Due to its size, I could only test-fit the desk in sections in my shop. The final piece now resides at the Hunter Wolfe Art Gallery in Old Colorado City—if you’re nearby, stop in and check it out!

This project was a great blend of functionality and craftsmanship. If you enjoyed this breakdown, consider subscribing to my channel for more builds, and a huge thanks to my Patreon supporters for making these projects possible!

Woodworking often blends creativity, craftsmanship, and problem-solving. In this project, I set out to build a bench unlike any other—one that incorporates a massive granite boulder as a leg, refined joinery, and an elegant wooden arch. This custom bench project was built for a Colorado Springs Client. Here’s how it all came together.

The project began with the most physically challenging task—working with the granite boulder. Since the stone was too heavy to lift alone, I used an engine hoist to move it from my truck. Once positioned, I scored the base with an angle grinder and broke off the excess with a coal chisel to reduce weight.

But that wasn’t enough—I wanted the bench to be movable by one person, so I spent an entire day hollowing out the rock with a 4-inch angle grinder. By the end, my arms felt like they’d grown three sizes!

The idea for this bench came from architect Erick of 35×40 Design. He once designed a house where a boulder was craned through the roof to become a fireplace. That got me thinking: How can I incorporate raw stone into fine woodworking?

After some brainstorming—and a hike through Oregon’s Cascades—the vision clicked: a bench that bridges organic stone with precise joinery.

With the rock hollowed and manageable, I milled lumber for the bench top. The next challenge? Carving an opening in the wood to fit the irregular stone shape.

1. Initial Layout: I drilled holes and chiseled out the rough shape.

2. Tracing & Refining: Placing the board over the stone, I traced the outline from underneath.

3. Power Carving: Using an angle grinder with a carving disk, I removed material up to the marked line.

4. Final Fit: As I got closer, I switched to rasps and files for precision, ensuring a snug but slightly loose fit to allow for wood movement.

The bench’s arched backrest required laminating thin walnut strips around a plywood form. After gluing, I:

• Cut the arch to length with a Japanese pull saw.

• Shaped the ends to match the leg’s angle using a bandsaw and hand plane.

• Hand-cut through-mortises for the cross braces, carefully chiseling to match the arch’s curve.

Before final assembly:

• I reinforced the hollowed stone with spray foam to prevent cracking.

• Added a steel bracket to secure the wood to the stone, carefully drilling and welding custom-fit rods.

• Applied a water-based dye to the mahogany to enhance its grain.

Finally, I epoxied the arch in place, using screws (later replaced with decorative dowels) for clamping pressure. The last step was bolting the top to the stone—tight enough to hold, but loose enough to allow for wood movement.

This project pushed my skills in stone carving, joinery, and design. The result? A functional yet sculptural bench that blends natural stone with handcrafted wood.

For today’s Custom Furniture project, I set out to build a unique oval table with abstract lower shelves and sculpted legs. The process was a mix of careful planning, improvisation, and a little bit of trial and error—especially when my daughter compared the Oval Table design to Squidward’s head from SpongeBob SquarePants!

I started by milling the lumber as usual, but when it came to the glue-up, I decided against using dominos for alignment—something I typically rely on. Since I was cutting an oval shape and some abstract curves later, I didn’t want to risk a domino being exposed on the edges.

Instead, I cut some cauls and covered them with packing tape to prevent glue adhesion. These helped keep the panels flat during the glue-up. To make clamping easier, I spaced the clamps off the workbench with scrap wood, allowing room for the clamps to slide underneath the material.

After the glue-up, I crafted a quick shop-made oval-cutting jig. I’m no mathematician, but the basic idea is that the jig has two sliding pivot points—one controlling the length of the oval and the other controlling the width. I double-stick taped the jig to the center of my workpiece and made several shallow passes with the router until I cut all the way through.

The lower shelves only extended halfway across the table, so I glued up two shorter blanks and traced half of the oval onto them. After rough-cutting them on the bandsaw (leaving the line for cleanup), I used double-stick tape to attach the top to the lower shelf. Then, with a bearing-guided bit on the router table, I matched the shelf’s curve to the tabletop.

Where the oval transitioned into the abstract shape, I blended the curves with a disc sander. My daughter’s observation that it resembled Squidward’s head was too amusing to ignore—so with her approval, I refined the shape and cut it out on the bandsaw. After cleaning up the cuts at the spindle sander, I used double-stick tape again to make a matching copy for the second shelf.

Originally, I thought using the oval’s arch for the legs would be clever, but after sketching it out, I realized it looked too busy with too many steep curves. Instead, I opted for straight legs with a curved top section, resembling the shape of a calla lily flower.

To cut the legs safely, I used a table saw for the straight portion and switched to the bandsaw for the curve. Then, I refined the shape at the spindle sander and hand-sanded with a flexible strip to ensure a smooth transition.

To prevent kickback at the router table, I added small plywood blocks with CA glue at the start and end of the template. This gave the router bit a solid surface to engage before cutting into the workpiece.

The legs were notched to fit into the tabletop and shelves. A dado stack cut the notches, but since the tabletop was curved, there was a small gap. I fixed this by chiseling a concave curve into each leg to match the table’s shape.

During a test fit, I noticed a gap on the lower shelf due to Squidward’s sharper curve. I marked the leg’s position, sawed a notch with a Japanese pull saw, and refined it with a chisel until everything fit snugly.

For a smooth roundover on the legs, I used a router table with starter blocks to prevent catches. After knocking off the blocks, I trimmed the leg tops at the miter saw (though in hindsight, the table saw might have been safer—lesson learned!).

A hand-sanded chamfer along the edges softened the transition between the legs and the table. Before final assembly, I pre-finished the pieces with wipe-on satin polyurethane, masking the joints to avoid glue interference.

With nine joints across seven pieces, I opted for slow-setting epoxy. The band clamp, as usual, proved frustrating and was eventually abandoned. Despite my daughter vetoing the name “Squidward Table,” I’m really happy with how it turned out!

Today, I’m excited to share my process of building a Mountain Contemporary Japanese-inspired bench featuring a hand-carved crack with decorative bowtie inlays. Along the way, I’ll explore three or four different types of joinery to bring this piece together. This project was originally built for a Manitou Springs Client.

I started by cutting 8/4 cherry boards to approximate length for the bench top. While a live-edge slab with a natural crack would have been ideal, using standard cherry was more cost-effective, and I could control exactly where the “crack” would go.

After milling the pieces, I arranged them to hide the glue line, ensuring the grain flowed naturally. Once satisfied, I used tracing paper to map out the crack’s path, following the wood’s grain to make it look as organic as possible. Carbon paper (yes, it still exists!) helped transfer my design onto the workpiece.

Using a power carver on an angle grinder, I carefully shaped the crack, starting at the top and working downward. A soft pad on my random orbit sander smoothed out the grinding marks. On the opposite side, I removed bulk material from the bottom and feathered it upward to meet my layout line.

To enhance the crack’s realism, I applied a dark brown dye stain, then misted it with water to create a weathered effect. After speeding up drying with a heat gun, I sealed it with shellac to prevent any dye transfer onto clothing. A quick pass with 0000 steel wool toned down the shine.

Before glue-up, I mortised the edges for floating tenons to ensure perfect alignment.

I experimented with different bowtie sizes and shapes on paper before settling on a layout. Using spray adhesive, I attached the templates to walnut scraps and cut them out on the bandsaw.

Double-sided tape held each bowtie in place while I traced around them with a razor blade. This created a precise outline for chiseling.

Starting just inside the razor line, I removed waste in small increments to avoid compressing the wood fibers. After several test fits and adjustments, I glued each bowtie in place, planed it flush, and used steam to swell any compressed grain for a tight fit.

I laminated 8/4 lumber for the legs, carefully matching grain to hide glue lines. After squaring the ends, I cut bridle joints on the table saw using a shop-made sled, taking shallow passes to avoid blade strain.

A quick tapering jig on the bandsaw (made from scrap plywood) helped shape all four sides of each leg. The jointer cleaned up saw marks, leaving smooth, even tapers.

I shaped the upper rails using a template and double-sided tape. After rough-cutting at the bandsaw, I routed the curves with a flush-trim bit, switching between top and bottom bearings to avoid tearout.

Finding the leg’s center, I marked mortises and used a mortising attachment (shimmed for squareness) to chop them out. A chisel cleaned up rough walls.

For the stretcher tenons, I measured each leg’s angle individually (since slight variations existed from tapering) and cut matching angles on the table saw. Hand-sawing and chiseling finished the shoulders.

Before making the trestle, I dry-fit the legs to determine spacing. Using a naturally curved piece of wood, I traced an arch with a flexible strip and a nail as a pivot point.

A dado blade cuts half-laps on the trestle and stretchers. After test-fitting, I bandsawed the curve, smoothed it with disk and spindle sanders, and hand-sanded any imperfections.

This project combined carving, inlay, and multiple joinery techniques to create a functional yet artistic Mountain Contemporary bench.

A while ago, I built a barn door with a steel frame that encased the wood for a client in Denver, Colorado. It turned out great, but one question kept coming up: How did I keep the bottom of the door from swinging around? Most barn door hardware kits include a T-track that gets screwed into the floor, with a slot routed into the bottom of the door for guidance. But since my door had a steel base, routing a groove wasn’t an option.

So, I came up with a custom solution—here’s how I did it.

• Angle iron (two short pieces, ~1.5” long)

• Scrap plywood (as a spacer)

• Welder

• Grinder

• Clamps

• Spray adhesive

• Felt pads

• Black paint

• Screws

I started by cutting two short lengths of angle iron, each about 1.5 inches long. Then, I modified one piece by cutting off the “L” (one of the flanges), leaving a flat strip.

Since the door’s steel frame added thickness, I needed to ensure the guide would fit snugly. I cut a piece of scrap plywood 3/16” wider than the door’s thickness to use as a spacer.

I ground down the two angle iron pieces until they just barely touched when placed around the spacer. This ensured a tight fit around the door’s base without restricting movement.

After clamping the pieces in place, I welded them together. Once cooled, I used a grinder to round the edges and smooth out any rough spots for a clean finish.

To prevent metal-on-metal grinding, I spray-adhered felt pads to the inside of the guide. This made the door slide smoothly while reducing wear.

Finally, I painted the guide black to match the hardware. Once dry, I screwed it into the floor, aligning it so the door would glide effortlessly without wobbling.

This custom guide keeps the door perfectly aligned without needing a routed track. It’s durable, easy to install, and works seamlessly with steel-framed doors.

In this episode, I designed and built a Craftsman-style fireplace mantel for a client in Colorado Springs. The mantel was made from hickory and stained to match some of the other millwork in the house.

In my last video, I shared the process of building a custom staircase and handrail for a client. They loved the newel post design so much that they asked me to create a matching fireplace mantel! Today, I’ll walk you through the step-by-step process of building this mantel, from milling the wood to the final installation.

I started by rough-ripping the stiles, mantel sides, and inner panels to width before sending them through the planer. This ensured consistent thickness across all pieces.

One key detail was selecting boards with similar grain patterns and coloring. Since I planned to miter the joints, I wanted the transitions to look seamless—almost as if the mantel was made from a single piece of wood.

I cut miters on the sides of the mantel where they met the front stiles. To keep everything aligned during glue-up, I used blue tape as a hinge, spacing it every few inches so I could monitor the miter joint while clamping.

Since I left the mitered pieces slightly long during initial cutting, I had some flexibility to adjust the grain matching before final assembly. Once the glue dried, I ripped the stiles and mantel sides to their exact final dimensions.

For joinery, I used the smallest Domino tenons available. If you don’t have a Domino joiner, biscuits or even small mortise-and-tenon joints would work, though the stock was only about 3/8″ thick for the reveal, so precision was key.

I clamped them in a vise to make cutting the mortises safer on the long, narrow pieces. For the small rail pieces, I stacked them against each other for stability while routing the mortises.

Since I was gluing end grain to long grain, I applied glue to the Dominos and inside the mortises for a strong bond.

The header was constructed similarly to the mantel sides—joined straight, ripped with a miter, and glued up with blue tape holding everything in place.

Next, I added plywood cleats to the legs to secure the header. Then, I mocked up the mantel to measure for a filler strip that would support the cove molding.

For the cove molding, I used a router to create the initial profile before removing excess material with a dado blade at the table saw. This reduced strain on the router and minimized tear-out. Afterward, I switched to a round-over bit to create quarter-round molding for the base of the legs.

The top shelf needed a bullnose edge, so I used the same nosing bit from the staircase project. I cut a test profile first to set the correct blade angle before routing the final piece.

Once all the pieces were ready, it was time for installation.

At the job site, I attached plywood cleats to the wall using molly bolts, ensuring they aligned with the legs. After securing the inner panels (nailed from the inside for a clean look), I positioned the legs and header, checking for a tight fit.

The filler strip added a subtle reveal, providing a mounting point for the cove molding. The top shelf was then centered and nailed from below to hide fasteners.

Finally, I installed the cove molding and quarter-round trim, using a headless pin nailer to avoid visible holes.

The result? A beautifully crafted fireplace mantel that perfectly complements the staircase’s design. The client was thrilled with the cohesive look, and I was happy with another successful custom build.

If you’re tackling a similar project, remember:

• Take time to match grain patterns for seamless joints.

• Use stop blocks for consistent lengths.

• Consider alternative joinery if you don’t have a Domino.