I’ve been working hard to get my Portfolio updated. I’ve included a number of my favorites. I hope you enjoy it.
DSK22-425
HBD22-426
TBL21-424
TBL19-407
SEG19-406
OAK19-Misc1
BXE19-405
BXE19-404
CED19-403
CED19-402
CED18-400
CED18-399
ASP18-398
CED18-397
TAM17-377
TAM17-376
TAM17-375
TBL17-374
TBL15-332
TBL12-267
TBL15-327
LMP12-272 & 273
The Bear Tree
TBL14-324
ASP17-363
WR #1
TBL11-139
PIN17-371
ASP11-138
COT17-368
BXE17-369
ASP17-360
ASP17-362
OLV17-366
ASP17-364
ASP17-359
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DSK22-425
Box Elder desk with a Black Walnut limb and AZ Turquoise inlay
First piece that I've ever set out to build for myself. Both trees came from the family property. Box Elder tree died around 2019, but wasn't until the fall of 2021 that I figured out how to bring down without splitting that lowest split. Have worked on it the past 2 winters.>
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HBD22-426
Box Elder Headboard with a little White Coral Inlay
First piece I've done in a while ... last year was taken up by building my new shop. Base of a large Box Elder tree slabbed up and flattened by hand using router sled. Coral was from Mexico. Thought it came out pretty nice. >
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TBL21-424
Beatle Killed Spruce Table & Bench & Custom Steel Legs
When you hear from an old friend after a couple of years, and the first question she ask is "What is the biggest table you've ever made?", no telling where the conversation goes from there. 96" x 46" multi-piece table custom crafted for JaCee Apple in Cortez, CO. Top is BK Spruce with turquoise inlay. Individual pieces were doweled together, and oak slats were inlayed on the underside to add additional support. Metal bases were hand crafted by Kirby Carver, also out of Cortez. As always, a one-of-a-kind piece for a an old friend.>
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TBL19-407
Beatle Killed Spruce & Cedar Burl
Always love doing these corporate pieces. Created specifically for Spade Excavating out of Draper, UT. Top is BK Spruce with multiple stone inlay types, and base is Cedar "Candle Wax" Burl. Ended up being just a beautiful piece.>
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SEG19-406
Oak & Walnut Cutting Board
Had a request this year for a special Christmas gift. Future owner had just discovered the art of smoking meats. Wanted a cutting board a little bigger than what was available. 20"x24" seemed to do the trick.>
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OAK19-Misc1
Oak Burl Shifter Knob
Only a woodturner is going to take a $20.00 piece of wood and then spend 4 hours & a few dollars in shop materials to create something they can pick up for $25 at the store. I'd had this piece of wood in the shop for 10 years. To small to do a bowl or vase, but when I upgraded my Jeep this summer, I had the perfect use for it. And no, it's not exactly the same as the one you'll pay $25 at the store for. That's why we do it.>
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BXE19-405
Beetle Killed Pine & Cedar base TV Stand
Just another question answered. "Can you …" will always get a yes answer from me. May not know the how, but it will always be unique. This is a 60" wide by 16" tall TV stand. Client wanted a shelf, so I added that as well. Inlay is a little bit of Jasper in a section that split. And my prices won't scare you … similar one can be yours for $595.00>
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BXE19-404
Spalted Box Elder Bowl
Another one of the "really rotten in the middle" pieces I've done. Little epoxy and a little turquoise in the bottom of the bowl makes it not only beautiful, but adds some stability to a less solid piece. Wood is from family property on the Western Slope of Colorado.>
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CED19-403
Spalted Maple Vase
I came across this piece in my stored inventory and figured it was time. Had purchased in on e-bay years ago, long before I was seasoned enough to deal with a piece of wood like this. Piece of Maple from somewhere back East with heavy spalting and just a little turquoise to finish it off.>
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CED19-402
Free-form Oak Vase
This is a piece of wild oak that I just happened across. Was able to leave a Natural edge around the top and a rather substantial natural void (fancy name for a hole) in it as well. Just a little turquoise inlay to really set it off. Just a beautiful piece.>
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CED18-400
Cedar Burl Wildlife Mount
I got this bear several years ago and finally got around to making a mount for it. Have been getting a few folks ask me what I could do for them with regard to artistic display pieces. Though this might be a good example. Skull is mounted on a piece of Cedar Candlewax Burl. It does not take a huge piece to highlight your trophy … only the right piece.>
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CED18-399
Multi-wood End Table
The husband of a friend at church was also a woodworker. He turned the Cedar stand years ago with the intent to make an End Table. He passed away before he could finish his project. I paired his work with a Russian Olive base and a natural edge Cherry top. Included a little Jasper to fill some cracks. A fun little project and hope the family gets years of use out of this one-of-a-kind end table.>
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ASP18-398
Spalted Aspen Vase
A wedding gift for my niece & new husband. This began as a really rotten piece of wood that I just couldn't throw away. A couple of secrets, no big hurry & they won't kill you in the turning process.>
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CED18-397
Cedar Wildlife Mount
Base and up-right piece on this is Cedar from Western Colorado. Friend of mine got a very special bull (about 340 for those who might ask) but had a normal ceiling in his home with no where to put him. Just a little ingenuity and he now has a display for the bull of his dreams. He'll share this with family and friends for many years to come.>
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TAM17-377
Tamarisk Burl
This was the base section of the original piece of Tamarisk Burl. It is truly unique and very beautiful wood. Am hoping to get my hands on much more. It's a very hard wood but is very much worth the time and effort. Will be headed to the Ago Gallery in Ouray in the next 10 days or so.>
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TAM17-376
Tamarisk Burl
Another of the pieces taken from the first piece of burl that I was able to get my hand on. Believe this was the middle piece from the original piece of wood. This also will be headed to the Ago Gallery in Ouray here shortly.>
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TAM17-375
Tamarisk Burl
I had never seen a burl in this species until a friend of mine wandered in one day with a piece of week I just had to have. He ended up with this one with a promise to show me where I could get more ... "by the truck load" if I so chose. We'll see if I can get my hands on some more of this.>
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TBL17-374
Beetle Killed Pine / Cedar Base with multi-stone Inlay
Here is the very first entry into my "Last Light" series. This is not a traditional table, but rather a 7 1/2' bar top custom designed for a special client. Besides the 5 separate stones that it took to make this design work, there are also two elk teeth (client's own bull) inlayed into the wood. I've also include a few of the initial "work in progress" shots that may give you an idea of what it takes to do this. To finish it off, there is a single antler mounted between the braces. >
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TBL15-332
Beetle Killed Pine / Cedar Base with multi-stone Inlay
This is my 3rd addition in my "First Light" series. They each have a different set of trees in the scene, and the deer is in a new position. This entire series will always have a deer in it. The inlay itself is 4 separate stones to create the colors and the depth.
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TBL12-267
Beetle Killed Pine / Cedar Base with Turquoise Inlay
Actually made this several years ago, and have been testing it out in my own home. A change in the interior décor' moved this back into my shop. Refinish on the top and a clean-up of the base, this one will be headed to it's next "forever home".
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TBL15-327
Cedar "Candle Wax" Burl / BK Pine shelves
A very unique piece built for a special client. This is what is called "Candle Wax" Burl. It was a large stump that I'd come across that I finally had a use for. Client has some limited edition statues that he wanted to show off. Needed a very special shelf unit. Think this did the trick. Shelves themselves were Beetle Killed Pine with just a little bit of Jasper inlay
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LMP12-272 & 273
Cedar Lamps w/Elk Antlers
Once I'd done a few Cedar lamps, thought I was ready to do something a little creative. These are two Cedar floor lamps with a set of Rocky Mountain elk antlers attached. Buddy of mine gave me the sheds (from the same bull), have paid him back a few times ... The Bear Tree is his. The elk would have gone close to 400". Both went to the same client up in Winter Park, CO.
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The Bear Tree
Full Size Cedar Tree
Probably the most interesting project I've had to date. All began with a buddy of mine saying "I have an idea". He is the ranch manager near Cedaredge, CO where I get most of my Cedar basses. He'd gotten a bear a few years ago that he was having a full mount done for. He wanted a standing mount with the bear reaching up into a tree towards a hornets nest. Wanted to know if I could fine him a tree ...
Follow the provided link to see this project from beginning to my part of the end. Will add future photos when the taxidermy is completed.
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TBL14-324
Cedar Lamp / BK Pine table
This was a combination piece I created for the Colorado Mule Deer Association. It is a typical Cedar lamp with a Beetle Killed Pine end table built into it. Threw in a couple of Mule Deer Antlers on the base just to keep with the organization.
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ASP17-363
Aspen Vase
Just a very colorful Aspen Vase. Showed the bottom of this one to show you what you're looking for in one of my pieces. They are all signed and numbered. I don't mass produce anything ... I couldn't even duplicate anything if I wanted. Every piece of wood (even from the same tree) is completely unique.
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WR #1
Unknown Wood
This was a very interesting project. The original wood on this was from a reclamation project in Canada where the building being torn down was in excess if 150 years old. I picked it up on a trip to Louisiana a few years ago. This was just a scrap section of 12"x12" beam. Original timber was purported to be out of Norway. It looked like Oak but did not turn anywhere close to old Oak. Still don't know what it is but do like how it turned out.
Follow the attached link to watch the transformation of this project from beginning to end.
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TBL11-139
Beetle Killed Pine Table
This is a table I made a few years back. It's a turquoise inlayed, Beetle Killed Pine table with a base made from Rocky Mountain Elk antlers. It was a matched set from a bull that would have measured 310+. Need to find a couple more sets ... pretty sure I could get rid of them..
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PIN17-371
Pinyon Burl
Here is a little Pinyon Burl I actually did find on the edge of a burn pile. It was on a large ranch in Western Colorado that was having some trees removed for Mule Deer habitat work. If you'd like to see how this started out, this link will take you there. I really like the "free form" projects where much of the outside is all natural. It does only leave one area to do any inlay though ... the inside. Just a little turquoise to highlight a really nice piece.
The last 4 photos give you an idea of how a project starts.
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ASP11-138
Aspen Burl
Probably the first "Natural" bowl I ever turned. Natural holes & voids can add things to a piece that more wood just can't.
This may very well be my favorite piece to date. It is a natural edge Aspen Burl bowl. I kept it in my personal collection for years. I almost placed it in a gallery in Sedona, AZ here a couple of years ago and just sold it in Moab this year. I do need to make another.[/p>
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COT17-368
Cottonwood Burl
Another one of those that hit me in the face shield. This is a Cottonwood Burl that was just stunning before I started. This piece is off of the family property at about 6,600' in the Colorado high country. Have more of these (and Box Elder) than I'll ever be able to get to in my life time. Just a hint of turquoise in the bottom of the bowl to highlight a couple of areas. I just love burl, you never know what you're going to get when you turn the lathe on but each one is very unique.</p
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BXE17-369
Box Elder "pith"
I kinda have a rule when I'm turning that when pieces start coming off the lathe (even spinning slow) that the piece is telling me it's done. This one let me know it was done ... flying piece of wood into the face shield. This was a mostly rotten piece of Box Elder that was half good / half really bad. Final result though is just beautiful. A little bit of Jasper in the biggest crack & she was headed off to Ouray to find a new home.
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ASP17-360
Aspen Bowl"
This is an example of lemons to lemon-aid. This was a small Aspen bowl with some great character. It was also just about as rotten (pithy) as you could imagine. I've learned to work with these types of wood & thought I'd give it a try. It was a nice little bowl with some turquoise in the bigger cracks. While I was trimming it off the lathe, I cut it alittle to close and actually cut the bottom out. A little more turquoise and some hand / power sanding and it's still a nice little bowl, only worth a little more.
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ASP17-362
Aspen Bowl"
This is a large Aspen bowl (almost 11" across by 5" deep). It had a natural void in it where I inlayed a large amount of turquoise. The other inlay area was some ant trails where they'd started the process of eating the wood, then moved on. The black lines along the top of the bowl & inside are called "spalting". It is a bacteria that attacks the tree once it is dead.
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OLV17-366
Olive Wood Vase
This is an interesting piece I actually started years ago. Top and bottom pieces are Olive Wood (as originally from Israel ... was an e-bay purchase out of Georgia). Piece was a little short for a vase so I had the idea of splitting it and inserting a band of Black Cherry in the middle. It had been almost done at one time but while I was cleaning out the inside after it had already been put together, I ended up blowing out a chunk of the Cherry. Needless to say, it was headed to the firewood stack when I had one more idea. I could cut the broken cherry band out of it, install another one and finish it up. By the time you get it to where your "finishing", it isn't easy to get it back on the lathe in any way, shape or form. I roughed in the next cut and got the new band in place. The seams were then very rough. I cut a couple of 'jigs' (or working forms) to be able to put it back on the lathe. I then cut in strips to clean up the transitions between the two woods and inlayed two bands of turquoise to bring it all back together. Came out beautiful but I'll never recover much of the time in this one. We'll write some of it off as education.
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ASP17-364
"Pithy" Aspen Vase
This ended up being just a stunning Aspen vase about 11" tall by 7" in diameter. It was almost rotten when I started and had extensive ant trails under the bark. Probably where the interesting color came from. A little turquoise was used to fill a crack or two.
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ASP17-359
"Aspen Bowl
This is just a small Aspen bowl (about 6 1/2" across by 3 1/2 inches tall. Hole in one side is from a previous inhabitant of the tree. Flaws were filled with a little turquoise..
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