Woodworking is a great hobby and a fantastic way to create something that lasts. I'm lucky enough to have a home workshop and an understanding wife that enables me to buy the tools, wood, varnish and all the other odds and ends that are necessary to create things that I didn't know I could do.

Learning as I go, and trying to keep all my fingers, is an ongoing challenge, but it gives me a feeling that I could actually grow up to be my dad someday, because he could always do, or fix, or build everything when I was growing up. I've set up a nice shop in my 1350 sq. ft. basement with about every tool I can figure out how to use. In the process, I've actually built some furniture and other items I'm pretty proud of.

As in theater, I've been lucky to have friends to work with and learn from. Foremost being Donnie Baillargeon, with whom I built the desk shown below. It now resides in Concord, MA at a spa. The desk was an orginal design and is built out of maple torsion boxes and solid maple. As its final home was an over 100 year old building, it was built in sections and assembled and finished on site. This was Donnie's project and I was lucky enough to be asked to supply some design ideas and grunt labor. Donnie is a true craftman, and I learned a lot during the building of this project.

Installed before finishing


First coat of stain complete

One of the nice things about having a shop is that you can make nice gifts for the ones you love. Our friends Mark and Karen bought a house a number of years ago and I offered to make them a headboard and footboard for their new master bedroom. Mark and I picked out some great rough ash boards and with his help I finished them down to usable lumber. From there the process slowed down a bit, and it took me about a year or so to finally complete the project. But, overall they, and I, were pretty happy with the result.

Mark and Karen's Mission Style Headboard and Footboard

This is where the magic happens. I have tools from about every manufacturer in the the world, including, Craftsman, Grizzly, Rigid, Ryobi, Black & Decker, Delta, Bosch and some others that are buried beneath the saw dust. Overall, I'm happy to have a big space to spread out and do all the odd jobs and occasionally get creative.

A view of my basement shop


...another shop view


...and yet another