Friday, January 1, 2016

Handcrafted Hatchets/Carpenter's Axes

The smaller hatchet is made with cherry and is hand carved. It is finished with Danish oil and wax. The larger hatchet is made from cherry and black walnut. The sheaths are had stitched and the larger sheath has hand tooled artwork.
















Saturday, December 26, 2015

Living Room Furniture Set


This is a recently finished living room set. The customer ordered it as a Christmas present for his wife.

Here is a bookcase


This is a living room console cabinet with a top compartment with a velvet lining. The customer wanted this compartment so that his wife could store her violin.



In the background of the photos you can see the end tables I did for the set. Unfortunately I failed to photograph the tables before delivering the order. Here are some photos taken before finishing.




Thanks for viewing and have a wonderful day!





Wednesday, March 18, 2015

End Table Instructions

Hello readers, I have recently started selling instructions for some projects for sale on Amazon in Kindle format. Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UVXESCM
There will be more instructions put up for sale on Kindle and other formats shortly.
Thanks for your support!

Monday, March 9, 2015

Minwax PolyShades

Hello readers, today I would like to focus our attention on different finishes and stains for various projects. Last month I was wandering the paint aisles of the Lowe's where I currently work. There is a wide selection of brands, colors, chemicals and methods to choose from. However, I did not see Minwax PolyShades among the selection. I had heard of this a few weeks earlier and was interested in trying it out. It is a combination of stain and polyurethane finish and is supposed to be a faster process than more traditional methods.

So in my curiosity I decided to try it out. I purchased a very dark color, Bombay Mahogany, and I tested it on a mirror frame I threw together last week. I also tested it on some pine and oak scraps laying around my shop. There are a few problems I ran into with this wood finish. Unlike stain, it does not soak into the wood very easily. This was more of an issue for the oak as it is harder than pine. The finish ran into patches and did not go on evenly. The instructions state that a very thin layer is to be applied followed by a six hour waiting period. The problem here is that the thin coat hardly darkened up the pine or oak, thus to achieve the pictured color, many coats would need to be applied to the project.

That is just fine if you are willing to wait, as with traditional finishing methods. However, PolyShades is meant to be an easier process. I found it to be touchy and a bit more difficult. But one of the main uses is to change the color of already finished surfaces, which this product would be great for this purpose.

If you are interested in achieving a beautiful finish on your next wood project, I would recommend using traditional finishes and make sure you follow the instructions exactly. The finish of a project can create or destroy success, just make sure you study how to do your finish of choice.

Friday, January 9, 2015

Hello readers, my name is Jim Bates. I am a wood carver and furniture builder. I intend to use this blog as a means to make wood working popular and exciting among the masses. I am in my mid twenties and I am a college student and I work full time at Lowe's Home Center. Every week I will bring reviews of articles, books, tools, and much more concerning the craft of wood.

Furthermore, I will also be uploading plans and drawings for simple weekend projects that will be for sale and can be downloaded.

This afternoon during my lunch, I read through the February 2015 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. This magazine is a wonderful resource for the hobbyist woodworker that most likely has a bare bones shop with limited supplies and tools. In every issue they send plans with detailed dimensions so the piece can be easily created. In the most recent issue there is a fantastic article on how to build a medieval aumbry. The author of the article, Christopher Schwarz, does a great job of using common tools that most of us have in our collection. The piece he built is classic and beautiful, with patience and hard work anyone can build the aumbry for their home.

In a world of particle board and plastic, many consumers are choosing to purchase products that barely pass for furniture. I know I stand with many of you in recognizing the beauty, and quality of solid and handcrafted pieces.

Thanks for reading and together we can keep fine craftsmanship alive.