Let the Chips Fly.

Craftsman at the Tiller

Fri, 16 May 2008 14:51:46 GMT

Pictured (inset) is neighbor, craftsman and Cape Henlopen Industrial Arts Teacher John Dean. He is holding a tiller he made for his Tanzer 7.5 sailboat. It is made from Ash (for strength) and Honduran Mahogany (rot resistance and beauty) and finished with 9 coats of spar varnish. It is as nice to hold at it is to look at.

Walnut... Keeping Memories Alive

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 19:54:10 GMT

Ed Roskos, a relatively new customer from Milton recently sent me these pictures of two projects he has made from the Walnut pictured in an earlier posting.

"The clock is 42" high and will have a Westminster 8 day mechanical movement. I also built an asian looking night light for my wife with the remainder of the walnut. The light is 18" high and 8 1/2" wide."

The two piecesl look great Ed. We look forward to seeing more of your work.

Table Base for Glass Top

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 21:00:32 GMT

An unusually modern style for us which was challenging in that it had to be both stable and unobtrusive. Layton worked with the owners of this glass top to create a practical solution that fit their need.

Wood's Wood

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:39:50 GMT

This panel hope chest was done by friend of the shop, Bill Wood. It is made up of solid cherry. In his usual style Bill bought a new set of Freud raised panel bits, went home and knocked this out. ~ He did mention a several trial runs to get his setup just right, but otherwise a breeze. He is currently in the planning stages of a work bench.

Hand Plane by Ed Nock

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 19:55:10 GMT

This is infil or infill plane is made by Ed Nock. Ed is from the Eastern Shore of MD and is a member of the Mason-Dixon Woodworkers Club. Ed makes a tool for some of his family members each Christmas... Wouldn't you like to be on that Christmas list.

Dear Santa...

Layton gets religous....

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 15:34:56 GMT

No Layton didn't find religon, he made this prayer bench for a customer. It was a first for our shop and turned out rather well. We have done pulpits or lecturnes and now a prayer bench, what's next? How about a pew or an altar.

Refinishing a door

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 15:00:31 GMT

I don't like using this part of the site for "advertising" but this is really more of a testimonial than advertising. I have been in the process of refinishing the front door of our house for about 18 months. Needless to say it hasn't been at the top of my list.... Last week my wife raised its level of priority. I am not a big fan of refinishing, especially sanding. I brought home a Festool R/O sander and a Festool CT Mini Vac. I finished about 3/4 of the door by the time it got dark. I did a lot of sanding, yet I was not covered with sawdust, nor was the surrounding area and I was not deaf even though I did not wear hearing protection. The Festool combo was so potent that I actually am looking forward to finishing the project. If you have a sanding project in the near future and don't have a Festool sander of your own, let me know and I will loan you ours... and you will become a convert. It's that good.

walunt by the trailer

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 21:22:14 GMT

I recently had the opportunity to purchase the estates of three area woodworkers. The one thing in common that they all share... besides woodworking, were families that were concerned with their legacy. None of the families quibbled over how much they could "get" from the sale of their loved ones posessions. Instead they all worried that their posessions would find a good home and be put to use. After pondering this for a while I realized that they had left something very worthwhile behind. By and large the woodworkers that we encounter are truly a bunch of wonderful people.

Class / Seminar

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 23:29:50 GMT

One of the most frequent requests that we get at both stores is a variation of the question: "Why don't you offer classes? or Why did you stop?" The answer is pretty simple... there just aren't enough hours in the day. It's not that we don't want to, it's just that there are other things that need to be done first. Well, one of my New Years resolutions was to get this thing organized and set up. I have been contacting various professional woodworkers and discussing having them come to one of the shops. One of them is Master Cabinetmaker, Frank Klausz. (http://www.frankklausz.com) He is the artist responsible for the gorgeoous corner cupboard pictured above. He lives in Northern Jersey and would be willing to come down for a 2.5 day semianr. My question for you is....A:) would you rather a hands-on format of Friday evening lecture, Saturday build with handtools a mahogany jewelry box with hand cut dovetails and Sunday finishing seminar / finish your box. or B:) Demos by Frank covering Friday, general woodworking, handtools, stock selection etc., Saturday: hand cut dovetails demo - including blind, through, sliding and general techniques using hand tools (sharpening too) with Sunday being a finishing class / demo.The hands on class won't be cheap and is limited to 12 people while the demo class is less expensive but can handle up to 25. E-mail me your thoughts and suggestions at rakey@www.cheswoodsales.com

Unusual Jobs

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 18:07:57 GMT

One of the perks of our type of shop is that we do a lot of unusual jobs. You never know what will walk through the door. A couple of months ago we had a customer who was refurbishing a caboose...... Yes, that's right a caboose. He needed white oak cut into strips for flooring. He sent us a great picture so I decided to inlcude it here.