Here's My Woodworking!
by Mike DeCarlo
Apex, NC
Click on any picture to see a larger version.
As a kid, I always attempted to build stuff. Which proved futile, since the only tools I had to work with were low end tools from Sears and alike. Believe it or not, but during my college years I took Furniture Making 385, an elective outside my major of computer programming. Well, let me tell you, they had every major woodworking tool and all of the hand tools free to use, it was great! It's been almost 30 years, and I'm not even close to a shop like that but there's more than one way to cut wood. The woodworking TV shows have changed the price, availability, quality, and smaller scale power tools for home use, the things they can do with aluminum these days!
The following oak corner cabinet was built for a friend, who was so happy with it, they made me sign it! I actually saw this in a magazine and made a few alterations. I didn't apply a stain to this piece, I only applied a few coats of wipe on poly.
Below is a solid Cherry trestle table made to display a ship model for a large shipping company. Actually, I made two, for two different office locations. I always wanted to do a variation of the trestle table and then I got the opportunity. Here I use two continuous stretchers which interlock the legs. If I remember correctly, getting the finish right took longer then the table itself.
Next is a mahogany TV console lined with plywood to add the second color to the piece. Very functional, still supports my living room flat screen. I finished it with varnish oil and left the inside unfinished. I liked the contrast of the light plywood to the darker mahogany.
The following is a Bubinga Demilune table. I always wanted to make a demilune table and test my inlay ability. This table was my first attempt at inlays. I also made the banding on the legs. I doubt I could have achieved these results without viewing Steve Latta's inlayDVDs. For the black leg ends, I cut the dados for the banding first, then using black dye I applied multiple coats to get the look I wanted. Then finished it with shellac.
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After having success with the demilune, I decided to try making a Bubinga drop leaf bed side table seen below. But I added bell flowers and banding both handmade by myself. The use of curved chisels facilitated the bell flower inlays. The black tips on the legs where achieved by simply cutting the banding dados first then dying the tips black. Before I applied shellac to the legs, I applied a few coats of shellac to just the tips. Since some black dye runs into the brush, this prevents any black streaks in the rest of the leg. I subsequently made a matching table for our bedroom. I finished it with shellac.
You can email Mike at
decarlowoodworks@aol.com
or take a look at his website at
http://www.decarlowoodworks.com/
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