Arbor Alchemy

Finished, the largest cutting board I have done to date. I was truly surprised at how much this one challenged me, coming in at 16 in by 24in, but I got it done and I'm pleased with the results!

I have the largest board I have ever done in the clamps right now, it's going to be 16 inch by 24 inch. It will be done with two separate glue ups, then each ran through the planer, then the two pieces will be doweled together. After that it's all just finishing, sanding and oil. Black walnut, wormy and curly maple.

And it is out of the oil, black walnut, wormy maple, Birdseye maple, and cherry woods make up this board. And it is up for sale! Message me for more info

And into the oil bath it goes, this one is up for sale!

This one will be pretty cool when it's done, Birdseye maple, black walnut, and cherry. This one is up for sale if anyone is interested, should be finished by Thursday. Message me if you are interested in purchasing this board. The first pic is another one in its oil bath, both are available for purchase.

Here is the finished product!

So question for you wonderful folks. If I were to print out some Arbor Alchemy tshirts, would any of you be interested in buying one? I'm thinking just the logo (the one on my page profile pic), and the words Arbor Alchemy. If I get any interest I'll totally get some printed. Not trying to turn a profit with this idea, I'd just love to see people sporting some Arbor Alchemy apparel.

Just whipped up this planter box, about 4 hours from rough cut lumber to finished product!

It is slowly but surely becoming planting season! Which means you need your cedar planter boxes! I can make them completely custom to your specifications, and I use northern white cedar which is naturally rot resistant and repels insects, this makes it the perfect material for planters. Here are some pictures of planters I have done over the last few years, but remember I can replicate any style or design you want within reason! Message me for pricing and to place an order!

Just have to seal the bottom, and fasten the top to the legs and it's done! Almost lost a finger making this one, but the end is finally in sight. Solid maple with an ebony black wash stained finish, and then about 8 or more coats of polyurethane for protection.

Ebony stain, thinned with mineral spirits to give the table top a "black wash" finish, I'm digging it. What do you think?

So I've been working on this table, it's solid maple biscuit joined with a ton of biscuits. Still have the finish work to go, but I thought I'd show you what I've been up to.

Another one done, black walnut, cherry, and curly maple. Really love using the 1/2 in round over router bit for the edges, makes it easy to pick up off of a counter top.

Probably my favorite cutting board I have made to date. It is black walnut, curly maple, and wormy maple. Love how this one turned out

New cutting board finished, maple and black walnut, with mineral oil and beeswax finish, love the contrast of the different woods in this one.

Everyone needs a good cutting board, and not everyone has a nice one. So, if you are looking for a holiday gift idea a cutting board would be a great idea for just about anyone who cooks! I have reasonable prices, and different options for size, construction, and materials. Charcuterie boards can be made as well, if you have a specific design in mind, I can make it happen. Message me ASAP if you want one before Christmas!!

So when I do a table top, or any panel glue up, this is how I do it. I biscuit join all the boards, this strengthens the joints a little, but mostly it helps with alignment. This particular piece is solid hard maple, and will be a circular 36 inch diameter table, there will be 82 biscuits holding it all together. One might ask, why did I cut the wood into 2 inch strips when I could have glued up say 8 inch wide boards to save time and work? Well the answer is simple, I don't take short cuts, and the smaller the width of the strips being glued together, the less likely it is that the table top will warp or bow over time due to changes in humidity and temperature. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. Lol, now back to making some sawdust!

Finally the build is complete, still have the final sanding to do but other than that this arbor is complete!

Almost finished, just have to add some perpendicular pieces on the top and the give the whole thing a final sanding and it will be complete

I've been working my day job a lot lately and haven't spent as much time in the shop as I would like, but here is the progress I've made on a Japanese style arbor. There are no nail or screws, all dowel joinery, and i milled all the lumber myself, it started as rough cut. A ton of work and slow progress, but when a customer asks for a Japanese style arbor, you do your best to be authentic, hence no nails or screws.

Here's a sneak peak at something I'm working on, guess what it will be in the end, hint: this is only one side of it.

So, I want to explain a part of my process that most people probably don't think about at all. I start with rough cut lumber. Then I process it all myself before I build anything at all. It takes a bit of equipment and a bit of elbow grease but here is a before and after of some cedar I bought

So the last few days, I have had the pleasure and privilege of helping out my buddy Anthony Malenfont. He is opening up a skateboard shop and skatepark called Major Skate, Bay City MI . We have been building ramps and all sorts of cool stuff. It is truly going to be a great thing for the youth in our community, so please go give his page a like and follow! And come see the place mid to late June when it's fully open!

As promised, here are some pictures with the boxes planted!

This is a project I've been working on for a bit. The vertical posts are pressure treated lumber, but the rest is northern white cedar. All from rough cut lumber, I processed it all myself. The boxes are all dovetailed and biscuit joined (no nails or screws in the boxes, all joinery). Pretty happy with how it turned out!! I'll have more pictures when the boxes are all planted, but here is the finished build for now.

Thank you to populace coffee and Andrew and Justis Heppner - Realtor for the opportunity to build them a deck on Saginaw Street for bay cities "Feet on the street". So come on downtown, enjoy some of their fantastic coffee on this great patio! Summer is here!

Planter boxes for a living wall I'm doing, all cedar, no nails or screws, just dovetails and biscuit joints! Got some more sanding to do, then I'll seal them up with spar urethane so that the wood won't turn gray from sun exposure. Almost done!