Custom Woodworking, Cabinetry, Furniture, Repair-Restore-Refinish

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. Get several bids for your project but don't assume you are comparing apples to apples. The materials and construction methods as well as quality of assembly can vary greatly and are not always apparent at first glance.

The low bid is not always the best value.

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. Cheap is expensive. Economical is something else.

Q. What important information should buyers have thought through before seeking you out?

A. If you can find it at a store, any store, it is almost always less expensive than custom work.

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. Quality, attention to detail and state-of-the-art customer service.
Every effort is made to give you the quality you deserve at a price that won't break the bank.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. I think I was born with sawdust in my veins. This is definitely the perfect job for me. It allows me to exercise both sides of my brain and there is more than enough physical work so I am not trapped behind a desk and I will never have to join a gym.

The mental challenges can be daunting at times. It involves a ton of math & logistics and mistakes lurk at every juncture. Transposing a figure or a moment of dyslexia can be deadly and if a piece of equipment is slightly out of square you can be re-cutting for days.

It is a challenge artistically as well. Trying to get a feel for someone else's style can be difficult and producing shop details allows me to get in some drawing now and then.

Q. How did you decide to get in your line of work?

A. Originally from NY I worked for cabinetmakers over the summer to pay for school. After about 3 years I decided I liked woodworking better than physics so I dropped out 13 credits short of my degree. I thought my old man was going to kill me. It was the best decision I ever made.

Q. Tell us about a recent job you did that you are particularly proud of.

A. I just finished a project that was about to drive me out of my mind.
It was refinishing a huge mahogany door that was about 200 ft from the bay and the weather had taken its toll. There were 48 recessed squares about 6"x6" and the panel they used was disintegrating.

We first stripped all the old finish then glued the squares over the old panel. I milled some solid lumber to about 1/8" thick and glued them onto the old panel. This turned out to be more of project than I had anticipated because the compromised substrate was not holding the corners down.
Even though It wasn't my fault I didn't feel the customer should have to pay for repairing it since I thought it was on me as a professional to make sure the squares were flat regardless of the cause.
It took about 3 extra days to go back, inject glue in the corners and re-clamp everything. I thought that was the end of my troubles. It just goes to show how many times you can be wrong in 1 day.

Because of its location I wanted this door to be bullet proof so I started with boiled linseed oil which takes about 3 days to dry and over that I used spar varnish.

I think I made about 15 trips (30 mi. one way) until I finally got it to look like it was done by professionals.
(I am very picky)

It looks great now and it has about 5 coats of varnish so it is definitely bullet proof.
Needless to say I didn't make a dime on this job but the client is happy and I'm happy with the result which is all that really counts.

It happens to the best of us.

Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?

A. I stay on top of new materials and hardware. There is new stuff, it seems, almost every day.