Hubby’s Got Talent

Many years ago, what were dinosaurs like?, Hubby actually was hired by his high school (his senior year) to work for them in the wood shop making cabinets, podiums, desks and the like.  He has since had a long seperation from wood working but has recently jumped back in to it so that he can make cabinets for his grandmother’s new addition on to my inlaw’s house.  He’ll also make cabinets for his mother’s kitchen.

We’ve converted the upstairs of our barn into his new wood shop — he’s got the best view around.

Being her father’s daughter, Annie can often be found up stairs working with the tools and “helping” her Dada.  She likes to pound the rubber mallet and turn the screw drivers.

How could you not hire such a cute little face?

Hubby’s first project, other than planing boards for various other things and just for fun too, is his grandmother’s bathroom cabinet.  The pine he is using is “blued” which accounts for the blue-ish streaks you can see running through the yellow flesh.  This is a sign that the pine tree was actually starting to rot before it was cut down and milled. 

Blued pine can actually be quite expensive because it is so unique and rustic looking.  My Godfather actually owns a bandsaw mill and he mills all our lumber for us, including pretty much every board in our barn itself.

Among Hubby’s tools and machines he uses are a planer, a shaper, a few jigs, a table saw, and many other things I’ve forgotten.  I’m so new to this woodworking thing that the names, let alone the functions, are not quite embedded in my memory yet but they sure are neat and what Hubby can make out of a funky rough cut piece of wood is nothing short of impressive.

This is what he calls the “face frame”  which is the frame of the bathroom cabinet without the doors and drawers installed.  Since these photos were taken, the cabinet is almost done — laquered and drawers installed.

I am really impressed by these drawers.  He bought a dovetail jig that is really a neat tool.  Dovetailing makes the boxes of the drawers very sturdy and strong.    I love the face plates on these, they’re so beautiful and unique. 

I love all the little pin marks in the wood and the coloration.  The dovetail is beautiful in and of itself, the way the color of the face plate blends with the rest of the drawer.  Hubby is looking forward to blending a darker wood with a lighter to make it stand out even more.

Whatever grandmother has to put in these boxes, surely won’t burden it any! 

Each step of the way I know that Hubby is putting his love in to his work with his grandmother on his mind.  See, I told you he was talented!

I also know there’s a little girl following quickly in his footsteps.