Buckwood Cottage

Introducing the ladder leg table. This version is a sofa table with folding hardware on the legs.

The base is painted in graphite black (dark gray) the top is oak with a hand rubbed fruitwood oil finish.

Not shown but available as an option would be a removable lower shelf that spans the ladder rungs.

Handcrafted heart bookmarks made from Black Walnut & Cherry wood.

I have been getting a bunch of requests for these bookmarks again. I am getting creative with the packaging on these at the moment for orders of half a dozen or more. This set of six is going out in this simple rustic log keepsake box.

When I told the boys what a customer ordered they wanted one too! What boy doesn't love trains!

How would you decorate this train? The little engine that could? The polar express? Or leave it natural?

Built with 100% Ohio grown Oak.

This farmhouse style desk is off to its home!
It has a solid Black Walnut top and a milk paint on the base. The bottom drawer is designed for hanging file folders.

During the spring season we get to build a lot with cedar. The smell is amazing! Usually most of the spring orders are planter boxes but this year we got a lot more variety. Including some Red cedar windows boxes, A/C unit covers and some planters with built in trellises.

We had a tornado in our county a couple days ago. We are fine and fortunately the house and shop survived but it was close! We had a large tree land right between the house and shop so we have a big mess to cleanup.

But everything can be a teaching experience for children! I built this barometer / storm glass from an old ugly one last winter and the boys like checking to see the level in the tube. This was the first time we had this much water coming out the top of the tube into the overflow. So we got to talk about what that means is happening in the atmosphere.

There are times you have to finish those shop projects instead of puting them off yet again. It is nice to have these clamps off the floor! These French cleat hangers for my clamps are one of those projects.

I am installing these French cleats around the shop walls as I get the walls paneled. This system allows all the hangers to be moved wherever needed as things get reorganized over time.

I haven't been able to find the exact origin of French cleats but from what I can find the idea was likely developed by French shipbuilders. French cleats are a board installed horizontally on the wall with an angled top. A matching angled piece is installed on the item intended to be hung on the wall. This system allows for very heavy items to be hung and yet easily moved as needed without making it additional holes in a wall.

Here is the finished Farmhouse desk. Black Walnut top with a white milk paint finish on the base.

After seeing the plans for one of the desks I am building for a customer James informed me that he would like me to build him one as well. A couple days later he came back to me with a modified request specifying that he would like the desk made from Oak and painted red!

So I sat down with him and we drew up the plans. We discussed the size and features he wanted as well as measuring him to decide how big to make it.

Once we had the plans drawn up and the cut list created we went out to the lumber pile and selected the right size boards. After that I showed him how we run them through the planer to get them flat and the right thickness. And ran them over the jointer to make the edge straight. Then took them to the table saw to cut the to the widths on our list. And the chop saw to cut them to length.

Next we laid the first end section out to mark and cut the mortises for the loose tenons. Finally we clamped and glued the first section together.

James has helped at various stages of projects in the past. But this is the first time we have gotten to work though every step of the process and explain it all to him in this much detail. This one is still a work in progress and we are still discussing with him about whether to paint it red. But he has been very persistent so that is likely what we will do.

This is one of the current pieces I am building in the shop. It is a modern farmhouse style desk that will have a Black Walnut top with white milk paint on the base.

I don't talk about the shop it's self much but it is a small space for the equipment that fills the space. As you can see behind the desk it is a cinder block building. Unfortunately it was painted an assortment of colors inside including a section that was pink! Since the building was also uninsulated I am working my way around adding insulation and tongue and groove oak. The goal is to make the space more photogenic for my wife.

I also included a photo of my new heat source a tiny little wall mounted wood stove I found from a company in Canada. My wife had been asking for a wood stove in the house because she likes the look. But since we already have a gas furnace in the house for heat it didn't make sense to take up the extra space a wood stove would take. Adding the stove to the shop seemed like a nice compromise since she likes to use the shop too.

This is a chair I made with/for James as part of Christmas. He really enjoyed learning how to cane a seat with me. Both him and his brother love using this chair so I will have to make a second chair for them when I get time.

I know this is kind of late for a post about a Christmas project but I often get to busy building and forget to stop and take pictures! Over the next few days I will try to post a few other projects that I did get a chance to photograph.

I’m venturing into some built-to-order modern farmhouse style pieces. I try to do as much of the projects as I can with the boys to free up Kelly to work on her writing and photography. James likes to help paint whenever he gets the chance and Thaddeus likes to hand me parts as we assemble them.

The boys got very excited when I brought the parts for these little wooden Christmas trees in from the shop!

Each segment has a wood dowel that holds them together. And the best part is they can be taken back apart and rearranged. Also the wood is thick enough that they can stand up on their own.

The ones in the pictures are 10 inches tall but custom sizes can be made! Sets of three make for a nice look! Message me if you are interested. I will be making these until the end of November if there is interest.

Just wrapped up this rustic coffee table. Built with 2" thick rough sawn Oak. The top has a Black Walnut bowtie inlay. The base is stained with a hand rubbed Walnut finish.

One of my favorite parts of venturing into making rustic farmhouse tables is getting to spend more time using my hand planes.

A recently completed Hickory butcher block cutting board. This chef size board is a beast coming in at about 24lbs! Measuring 2 & 3/4 inches thick and 22.75 inches long by 13 & 1/5 inches deep, there is plenty of space to cut and it isn't going to move around like a thinner board would.

I also have another in Cherry and one in Cherry with a Black Walnut strip coming soon. Message me for availability and pricing. Rubber feet /juice grooves optional add on.

As always the proceeds go to buying supplies for our old house restoration.

My latest design. A Cedar porch cooler! Just in time for your 4th of July (and other) parties!

The design for this sideboard table was inspired by the Stickley’s trestle library table.

The Stickley Brothers helped spearhead the craftsman style movement in the USA in the early 1900s. Their motto was "Als Ik Kan" which is a Dutch phrase roughly meaning "As best I can.” In a time when fancy furniture was starting to be produced that was not what it seemed to be, either because of heavy layers of stain, thin veneers, or fake joinery, Stickley wanted to produce "honest" furniture. This simple, well built furniture with "what you see is what you get" joinery created a lasting style that has had a strong following to this day.

This table is built with a joint on the legs called a tusked through tenon which reduces the need for metal fasteners.

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The wooden bench is a classic piece of furniture that can be found in a wide range of styles throughout history. This primitive version draws from the simplicity of the Shaker style.
The bench was built with Cherry wood which is has been a prized hardwood for furniture building throughout American history. Cherry is known for its unique aging process that requires patience for the light, almost pinkish, wood to turn the dark reddish brown color it is known for.
This bench is constructed with the legs mortised into the seat and the sides secured with old fashioned cut nails sometimes referred to as "square nails.”

A finger joint box made from Elm wood. This wood has a lot of beautiful grain patterns and natural color.

James trying out one of the new cookies and milk size serving trays.

Lots of new options available just in time for Christmas!

https://buckwood-enterprise.square.site

Not my normal type of project but here is a quick Christmas tree tip! If you are worried about a child or pet knocking over your tree over making a simple plywood base will make it much sturdier. All of these plastic bases that I have seen have holes around the edge for screws.

Make a plywood circle by putting a pin or nail in the center and using a string tied to it with a pencil on the end to trace the outline. You can make a second smaller circle like I did if you want to use longer screws.
Use a jig saw or Sawzall to cut out the circle. Then sand the edges.
Place the tree stand on the center and screw it down with pan head screws that are just shorter than the total thickness of the plywood and base.
The plywood can be painted, stained, or covered with a tree skirt.

Probably not the clearest set of instructions but hopefully someone will find them helpful.

Another batch of serving trays ready to go!
This time we have Saple Mahogany, Kentucky Coffee Tree, Flaming Elder, and Honey Lucust.
It is always fun working with new types of wood and seeing the beautiful colors and grain patterns unveiled as they are finished!

The last batch went quick so if you are interested message me for availability and pricing.

The latest project in the shop has been these noodle boards/serving trays. The Red cedar is definitely the most striking but I like the look of the Hickory and Spalted Maple as well.

Just in time to dress up your stove top for Thanksgiving!

Buckwood Cottage updated their website address.

Getting new tools is always fun! This shaper from Oliver Machinery Company will open up a lot of new possibilities for the shop. Looking forward to getting it set up and testing it out!

All caught up on current orders and have a few cutting boards and cheese boards left over!

This large Walnut cutting board is heading off to a chef in Texas.

It's a 14"x22" edge grain Walnut cutting board with juice groove.

Getting a batch of Walnut cutting boards ready for a customer!

This Shaker style end table was another fun project. All solid hardwood construction! The contrast of the Sycamore lacewood top and drawer front nicely contrast the Cherry legs and frame.

See comments for availability and price.