A flash from the past

​A Lifetime of Projects
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I thought it would be fun to re-visit old furniture and old building projects from my life. I hope that you'll find it a hoot! At least you'll get to see a a bit of my history and love of woodworking. It's been a lifetime of enjoyment as a hobby (and side income) that's been beneficial to me and my family. I really hope to encourage you to not be afraid to start building things from wood, no matter how small or few tools you own.

Heck, I started with a hand held circular saw, a tape, a square, a jig saw, a router, and a couple of other cheap hand tools. You can too! Just start with something simple, and build your confidence as you go along. I still own and have used some of these projects built 40 years ago today, and they're just as sturdy. 

You can't beat a handmade product. Today's particle board pieces will fall apart after being moved around. Well built pieces will stand abuse and moving, and may only require an occasional touch-up. They can be made to look brand new all over again. Talk about make you feel good ... seeing that old piece brought back to life. I've done it many times.
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My First Display Cabinet

          


Ok ... So the picture above is, I believe, one of the first real furniture pieces I made. I think I may have ordered a full size plan from a magazine with instructions and templets on how to construct it step by step. It was rough, and I didn't know much at all about making furniture. It helped me get started though, and I learned A LOT from doing it. 

One of the first things I learned was the importance of sanding. I think I tried to fit the joists as well as I could, and didn't realize that sanding all the joinery and applying wood filler could help the look. That's a good example of the basics that you'll learn with time. I had no idea what I was doing, but caught on fairly quickly. This may have been around 1975 or so.

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You can start with anything. Below are a couple of small shelves built from ponderosa pine 1"x12"s. Just sketch a shelf configuration that you need to display various items, and make the individual areas a few inches larger than your item. Adjust the depth of the shelf also to fit.

​The joints can be flush, and simply glued and nailed together with #6 finish nails. I probably didn't even pre-drill the holes before I nailed it together (another thing you'll learn in order not to split the wood grain). I probably used a router round over bit on the front face of the left piece which gave it a much cleaner look. This is nothing fancy folks, and a great way to tip your toe in the pool. And fellers, trust me, if you made her one, she'll love you for it! And you'll be proud of your accomplishment too.

​Knick Knack Shelves

My wife and I married young in West Monroe, Louisiana. We were both 18, and that's almost 50 years ago now! When you get this age, you'll realize how fast the years really do zoom by. I'm going to take you on a journey through our past on some other posts, but for now I'll stay focused on some more projects I've done. You can see the progression of my skills as I went along. I guess you've figured out by now I'm just trying hard here to get you started. You really need to put the phone down and get out, get some exercise by moving around, and build something useful. It really becomes addictive in a great way. And who knows where it could lead!

So, a year or so after our marriage in 1973 and since I played music, we moved to California. I did play around the Los Angeles area with different groups off and on, but ended up going back to finish college at CSULB. I majored in Industrial Arts, basically shop class, focusing on drafting and furniture. The program is no longer offered unfortunately, but I learned tons about both subjects and used that knowledge throughout my life as a residential designer and woodworker. After about three years we were so homesick we moved back home to north Louisiana, and lived here ever since. 

The projects above were built in California around 1975. We moved back home after I graduated in 1977. That's when I got a job drawing house plans in Monroe, Louisiana. Eventually I went on my own a couple of years later, and been self-employed ever since. Since moving to the country about 15 years ago, I've been able to pursue the dream of building many things which I've begun to document on this website.
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Early Projects

I've collected many woodworking books throughout the years. I've always bought books with detailed instructions explaining how to build specific furniture pieces. I was always intrigued by early American colonial furniture, and still love it today. We've visited many museums, such as the one in Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, and Winterthur in Delaware. These collections of premiere antique furniture pieces demonstrate how well some pieces from our past were constructed. 

In fact, the small pieces above are from a few of those books. I felt confident as I built them by simply following the directions given. It was not much harder than assembling some of the cheap stuff sold today, and yet these pieces are still functioning well today and not filling up a landfill somewhere. When it's hand made, it's more likely to take abuse and last many years ... perhaps generations.
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My Daddy around 1978 

This picture is a classic! My Daddy was in his element here. I didn't realize all the things I learned by following him around until he was suddenly gone. Now, when I don't know how to proceed in doing something, it'll occur to me what he always did. I do it the same way, and voila! Folks, love your parents. You really do not realize how much you'll miss them when they're not here anymore. 

That was taken, I believe, when my wife and I began building a personal home after returning from California to Louisiana. I'd follow him around and do whatever he said do, and I know now that I was unknowingly soaking it all up. When I first began designing homes, and didn't know how to build a particular thing, I'd ask him and he'd tell me how it was done. It was a fantastic thing to have as a resource, and still benefits me daily in my work.

Here's a few pictures of the kitchen cabinets I built in a tiny (and freezing) rent house garage:

​Building Some Cabinets for Our New Home

​And here's some pictures from the interior of the home. I trimmed the home, and built a small bedroom staircase and made some paneled walls. It was a learning experience for me! Remember, each item you build will increase your knowledge and skill level. You just have to start somewhere and develop it.

​Interior Trim work Being Done

I'm glad I took a lot of pictures through the years of some of the things I built. To be really honest here, I don't remember some of them, but I guess I did them because they're in our albums. Here's a few of the items I've made through the last few decades, and these are only the ones that I documented. Some are from my books, and others are things I designed myself. 

​Furniture Projects Through the Years

The final piece I'd like to show is from a book by Franklin Gottshall entitled Heirloom Furniture​. He is basically my role model for furniture making. He was an Industrial Arts teacher for many years, and wrote many books on how to build furniture. His drawings and detailed instructions were the best in my opinion ever done on the subject. I can only hope to live up to his level in the projects I hope to document in future posts. Here's my most ambitious and favorite furniture piece to date:

​Queen Anne Highboy

​Shown above is the front cover of the book, along with the first page containing the highboy. The drawings are highly detailed, and this is an advanced and ambitious project. You really need to have a few years experience before attempting a build of this scale.

And finally, my wife and I had the honor of visiting Mr. Gottshall and his wife in 1983. I shared with him my excitement about his great books, which I'd brought along. :) He graciously took the time to sign them all, and it was fantastic to see in person many of the projects I'd hope to make and had already made myself. He showed us his shop along with his beautiful home in Pennsylvania. My wife took a few photos while we were there:
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​I'll always cherish the memory of meeting him and his wife. If you can find one of his books and want to learn the art of furniture making, be sure and buy it! Thanks for reading!