FAQ

Yes I do! Basically anything wooden I make myself (with the exception of dowels and plywood for projects that require that). I also mill most of the wood I use as well straight from the log and then also dry it. I have two dehumidification kilns, one for lumber and one for turnings and small items.

I source all domestic species nearby/locally. Most comes from NC or TN. Occasionally some comes from VA. I typically buy or salvage whole logs or entire trees for my domestic lumber needs.

For exotics, I buy from other woodworkers who use much larger pieces of exotic species. This allows me to acquire very rare species, lessen the burden on forests and wildlife where these rare species are harvested and sometimes it helps reduce the cost of very expensive species.

A very tough question to answer. The short answer is a long time. I do whats called "twice turning". The majority of woodturners (woodworkers who produce rounded objects produced on a lathe ie bowls, vases, spindles etc) make bowls with a "once turned" method.

The difference between the two methods is this. A once turned bowl starts green, which means the wood is still freshly harvested from the tree and contains tons of moisture (almost as much as when the tree was living) and the bowl is turned intwo its final form all in one go. The bowl is then set to dry and during this process the bowl will warp and change and often have an irregular shape.

A twice turned bowl is initially turned green, but left thick. It's then dried, I dry mine in a dehumidification kiln that I built from scratch for my turnings. After drying, during which its done the majority of its moving/warping, I then turn the bowl to final shape and thickness. By doing the process in this order, my bowls have a perfectly round shape and will stay like that as long as they remain sealed for the rest of their servicable life (which with proper care can be multiple generations).

I make my own finish, which I started selling after repeated requests. I found it hard to find a non-toxic, food safe/food contact finish that was made with minimal high quality ingredients and also that were proudly and transparently named on the label of the product.

So to fill the void I started experimenting until I found the perfect formula. My finish is a Tung oil based, a centuries old finish that's considered Food Contact safe once cured and comes from a tree. Blended in is local NC Beeswax and Organic Carnauba Wax followed by pure Citrus Limonene-d. The addition of the wax makes this a hardwax oil. Simple to apply, simple to maintain, 4 simple and safe ingredients for you and your family to feel good about while using your wooden implements.

Yes! I will make a table from slabs you provide or you can shop the slabs I have available. Of course tables can also be made out of dimensional lumber and variability and styles are nearly endless. An important note to take into consideration, I will not produce any work for interior spaces unless it has been kiln dried. I do not care how long its been air drying. I'm happy to explain why, but the short response is, air dried wood is still much to moist to put inside and expect it to have done all of its movement (wood moves because it's made up of once living fibrous cells that contain moisture which reacts to ambient temperature and humidity). Contact me through my Contacts page to inquire about what you have in mind.

I have a page specifically dedicated to this, please see our Oil Guide for complete instructions.