Woodworking

I was born with tools almost molded to my hand. Father (and mother) built flathead Ford stock (racing) cars in the early 50's and owned an HVAC business. My maternal grandfather was a carpenter and woodworker all his life. I grew up playing with all the tools in these shops (and making things.) My paternal grandfather was an artist painter (and also had a shop full of tools.) He help me with my eye for form and creativity. Grandpa Kautz was retired for as long as I can remember but worked for the gas company and started a heating business installing gas conversion burners into coal furnaces before I was born.

So besides earning a living and all my interest in electronics, computers, etc., I also enjoy the creation of tangible products from raw materials. As I grow older I realize and feel the need to "leave something behind." One grandfather left his furniture and other woodworking projects as a legacy. My other grandfather was prolific with his oil and watercolor paintings produced through his long retirement. Both left their descendants (and people who own their crafts) indelible reminders of who they were and something of what they produced in their lifetimes. Dad, on the other hand, never enjoyed "finished product" or craft hobbies the same as I, his father or his father-in-law. He always had a shop full of tools and enjoyed working on many improvement "projects" around the house. Dad's art is his business management and love of working with people. He did impress upon his children the desire to work with our hands as well as our heads. That will be his legacy.

Now it is my time to leave a mark. No one will long remember the life's work I accomplish, the computer I use, my favorite web page, the difficult DX contact using ham radio or the broken model airplane. However, the quality table I built or the chair I designed, will last many lifetimes. I can almost hear my (future) granddaughter say, " Put grampa's chair over there!" (It is appropriate to shed a tear here.)

I haven't been very productive in woodworking to date. The nicest furniture project I have built is the solid oak and marble coffee table pictured. This table is about 42 inches square and stands about 18 inches tall. The wood is red oak and the top is 9 square feet of solid marble floor tile. The table weights about 150 pounds! The finish is satin polyurethane. I have also built at least a half dozen very sturdy wood work benches that will all surely outlive their present owners.

I have finished a lot of "nude" oak furniture that now lives in our home. My preferred finish is tung oil. The grain of oak does not "fill in" but the finished look and durability is quite nice.

My plan is to built up my personal workshop and start tackling more difficult projects. I have always had access to all types of tools and workshops in my businesses, but now that I have moved to Texas, I have to start over. At least at this point I know what I want (or need) to get started again. (We all realize you never have all the tools you need!)

Update 11/20/99!

The shop is getting into order. I have completed another project. Gloria asked for open cupboards in the laundry room rather than plain shelving. I built them from 5/8 exterior grade plywood and ripped 1x4 clear pine for the facing. The completed unit is 34"h x 16"d x 85"w. Here are some photo's from construction and after they were installed.

Inside the shop	Two down, one to go.
Installed and painted: left.	Looking right.

Not quite a "furniture grade" project. Never-the-less this unit proved an interesting challenge to design and build from scratch. It is now a permanent and useful feature of the laundry room.

Update 12/31/00!

Wow! More than a year since the last update. This time it is more shelves. In the garage. I have acquired more tools and some were from Santa this year. That is why the date above is so close to the end of the year. I used them to help in this project.

The shelves were made entirely from 1x6 white wood (cheap pine) with 1/4 inch ply for the back. I ripped the little shelf support blocks from some of the extra 1x6. At the top of the top shelf is a 1x3 (also ripped down from 1x6) to supply extra wall screw support. No need to buy special lumber. The paint is a latex enamel from Lowe's (Almond). Three coats on all exposed surfaces, one coat on back.

The shelves were built on sawhorses then moved and screwed in place using the bottom ledger board for support. Loved using the new air powered brad nailer on this project. (Thanks Santa.) Design is again my own, but it doesn't take much skill to plan simple shelving.

Overall 3'x4'x5¾" on left.	Overall 3'x8'x5¾" on right.

Another Update 1/15/03

OK! This is becoming a habit. I only get to update this page once a year. Here is another project that is the Christmas present to my wife. She has been after me to improve this corner of our "great" room for the TV and so she would have a place to show off her collections. This is the result.

The design is completely scratch built. Only the hardware is store bought and a few pieces of molding. I wanted this design to be a blend of the window and fireplace design

This is the original look. You see that it is Christmas (2002) and the TV location is nothing to brag about.	First step was to build two 3/4 inch plywood boxes. The top one is about four foot by four foot!
Next came the front frame which is made from 3/4 popular. The corners and center divide are installed with 1/4 inch gluing dowels.	The doors are built and trial mounted. The corners are built with full depth tenons. I needed as strong a corner as possible to hold shape with the glass.
Gloria did the painting. This is to help show the size of this cabinet. It is nine feet to the top!	The TV has been installed and for some reason a football game is on...
The final result. The TV will pull out and swivel. The cabinet has dimming internal lighting.