Custom Furniture and Woodwork Process Details

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My custom furniture process starts with selecting materials. I hand-select individual boards or slabs from a regional dealer or local sawmill. For outdoor furniture I will only use woods that perform well in exposure.

I pay close attention to grain orientation, color matching, and potential weak points in each board, and select only those with appropriate qualities and/or character. I often select wood at the seller for each individual order, but I also keep a significant stock of a variety of species that can be used.

Depending on the origin of the wood, I may let it acclimate to my shop conditions for several weeks before milling. Thicker boards, more time, similar environmental conditions, less time.

If the moisture content of the wood is already suitable for a finished piece, I may start the project right away. I may also use wood right away for pieces that will go outdoors. Acclimation helps prevent the wood from warping during and after the in-shop milling process.

Once I receive a request for a custom piece, I spend the time necessary to flush out all the details by providing options for materials, joinery, and finish.

I'll collaborate with you to determine exactly what will create the piece you want. This step includes communication about the location and function, and what sort of aesthetic elements you find appealing. These choices will guide my recommendations for the materials, joinery, and finish. May include a 3D CGI rendering of the piece.

Once the design is complete the production process is ready to begin. This begins with going through the wood to decide what components will come from what pieces.

Once chosen, solid woods are milled to rough dimensions and let rest at least overnight. At the next available opportunity they will be milled to final dimensions and then I create the joinery. Finally, I dry assemble the piece to check its fit, finesse the joinery where necessary, then glue or otherwise join it together.

This process includes flush-trimming various parts of the joinery, easing edges by adding chamfers/roundovers, planing, scraping and sanding the wood surfaces. The piece is thoroughly cleaned off to remove dust and debris.

The final finishing can be as simple as clear coating, or may involve other steps like dye or pigment stain. The final finish coats are  applied, sanding between coats when necessary.