WadeMade! Accessories

Accessories

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Wall Cabinet, 2000, Figured African Mahogany.
Exhibited at the woodworking exhibition at the 2000 Orange County Fair. Received a blue ribbon.
This is a much better piece of work than the CD cabinet and uses more traditional construction. It was built from rough lumber; the shells, moulding, and finial are hand carved. The wood selection came out far better than I expected.

In Tray, 1999, Maple and Zebrawood.
This was intended as a simple tablesaw project to verify I had tuned my saw properly. As a result of this project I installed a new blade, a zero-clearance insert, and an aftermarket fence. They made a real difference.

Coat Rack, 1999 Walnut.
This was a 'learning' project. The idea was to carve this piece as a half-size model of a headboard. If were happy with it then I would double the dimensions and start carving a full-size piece.
Needless to say, I won't be carving a headboard right away. The choice of wood, walnut, may get changed to mahogany. Due to some horrible grain selection I had a great deal of trouble with chips and tearout. The bright idea to finish it with shellac was another 'learning' experience. I needed a high-build coating to cover the surface flaws but the result was rather ugly. I ended up making a pumice paste to rub out the gloss and then applied a single coat of an oil/urethane blend to get a somewhat satin finish.
The idea of a carved headboard or full four-poster is not dead. I just need to do a little more learning. I may even make another coatrack. I probably spent more time drawing, erasing, redrawing, overlaying, redrawing, ad nauseum than I did actually making the piece. I might as well get a little more return from that investment.

CD Cabinet, 1997, Mahogany.
Yes, it is an ugly picture. Too bad . I made this cabinet to store my Blues CDs. It will hold 300 and is almost full. I keep my other CDs stacked around and in smaller racks. This was my first experience at serious carving and I learned a great deal. Close examination of the piece will show that. However, it hangs on the wall and does its job very well.
When the old masters carved shells they almost always made them a separate piece and glued them onto the door. I tried to make the door a single piece of wood and carve them from it. It worked, sort of. However, the next time I try this they will be a separate piece. The old masters did it that way for a reason, and they were right.
I had trouble designing the apron (the stuff on the bottom) since I did not have an example of a hanging cabinet from that era. Everything else is patterned loosly after the classic Robert Goddard secretarys from the late 1700s. When I was settled on an apron design it turned out to be more art deco than Early American, but tough, it works for me.

Tall Clock, 1989-1990, Mahogany and Maple. Won a blue ribbon at the 1990 Design in Wood competition at the San Diego County Fair.
This clock was primarily a router project where I used many different techniques to cut circles in order to achieve different effects. It was built on the balcony of my condo. The veneer was applied with Titebond and a steam iron. It is not a method I recommend nor will I repeat it.

Cradle, 1987, Walnut with a little Ebony. Exhibited at the 1988 Design in Wood competition at the San Diego County Fair.
This cradle was built almost entirely on the balcony of my condo. It was something of a silly project. After all, what does a childless bachelor need with a baby cradle? The idea was to make something nice to show off that I would have around for a while. As it turned out, a couple that were friends at the time had a baby and I gave them the cradle in February of 1988 (I think). I haven't seen it since nor have I heard much from them. I wonder if it held up.

	Wall Cabinet, 2000, Figured African Mahogany. Exhibited at the woodworking exhibition at the 2000 Orange County Fair. Received a blue ribbon. This is a much better piece of work than the CD cabinet and uses more traditional construction. It was built from rough lumber; the shells, moulding, and finial are hand carved. The wood selection came out far better than I expected.
	In Tray, 1999, Maple and Zebrawood. This was intended as a simple tablesaw project to verify I had tuned my saw properly. As a result of this project I installed a new blade, a zero-clearance insert, and an aftermarket fence. They made a real difference.
	Coat Rack, 1999 Walnut. This was a 'learning' project. The idea was to carve this piece as a half-size model of a headboard. If were happy with it then I would double the dimensions and start carving a full-size piece. Needless to say, I won't be carving a headboard right away. The choice of wood, walnut, may get changed to mahogany. Due to some horrible grain selection I had a great deal of trouble with chips and tearout. The bright idea to finish it with shellac was another 'learning' experience. I needed a high-build coating to cover the surface flaws but the result was rather ugly. I ended up making a pumice paste to rub out the gloss and then applied a single coat of an oil/urethane blend to get a somewhat satin finish. The idea of a carved headboard or full four-poster is not dead. I just need to do a little more learning. I may even make another coatrack. I probably spent more time drawing, erasing, redrawing, overlaying, redrawing, ad nauseum than I did actually making the piece. I might as well get a little more return from that investment.
	CD Cabinet, 1997, Mahogany. Yes, it is an ugly picture. Too bad . I made this cabinet to store my Blues CDs. It will hold 300 and is almost full. I keep my other CDs stacked around and in smaller racks. This was my first experience at serious carving and I learned a great deal. Close examination of the piece will show that. However, it hangs on the wall and does its job very well. When the old masters carved shells they almost always made them a separate piece and glued them onto the door. I tried to make the door a single piece of wood and carve them from it. It worked, sort of. However, the next time I try this they will be a separate piece. The old masters did it that way for a reason, and they were right. I had trouble designing the apron (the stuff on the bottom) since I did not have an example of a hanging cabinet from that era. Everything else is patterned loosly after the classic Robert Goddard secretarys from the late 1700s. When I was settled on an apron design it turned out to be more art deco than Early American, but tough, it works for me.
	*Tall Clock, 1989-1990, Mahogany and Maple. Won a blue ribbon at the 1990 Design in Wood* competition at the San Diego County Fair.** This clock was primarily a router project where I used many different techniques to cut circles in order to achieve different effects. It was built on the balcony of my condo. The veneer was applied with Titebond and a steam iron. It is not a method I recommend nor will I repeat it.
	*Cradle, 1987, Walnut with a little Ebony. Exhibited at the 1988 Design in Wood* competition at the San Diego County Fair.** This cradle was built almost entirely on the balcony of my condo. It was something of a silly project. After all, what does a childless bachelor need with a baby cradle? The idea was to make something nice to show off that I would have around for a while. As it turned out, a couple that were friends at the time had a baby and I gave them the cradle in February of 1988 (I think). I haven't seen it since nor have I heard much from them. I wonder if it held up.