BuiltSmart Woodworking

06/24/2026

Well I got the chair all finished up today. Got the seat carved and one coat of finish on the chair frame. This Cherry/Walnut combination is going to look amazing. I also made it over to Appalachian walnut today and picked up some Maple and Poplar for some upcoming projects. I went to Hickory and picked up some maple plywood and stopped by Devineys to pick up some pine. Now I have to get building. The projects are stacking up!

06/23/2026

06/23/2026

Hot and busy day in the shop today. I finished up nine little airplanes that will be for sale at Big Day Ellenboro on July 4th. Last time I built these I had 10 and sold out in less than two hours. I also finished milling the parts and assembling one of the chairs that will go with the live edge walnut table. I changed the design a little bit on this chair and I wanted to build one before cutting all the parts for eight to make sure it was comfortable. Tomorrow I’ll work on the seat and I’ll be able to tell. So far it feels really good. I’m also going to pick up some finish that I’ll be using on the chairs so I can see how it looks as well. I also got the pop up bar installed on JW’s barbecue trailer today. And I don’t have pictures yet because it’s just parts so far but I got a good start on the fireplace surround.

06/22/2026

Good to be back in the shop today after a much needed vacation at the beach. Jace came over and we worked on cutting the walnut slab to size. Next I’ll true up the joints and get them joined together.

06/21/2026

Looking forward to sharing my journey with Santa Chris on September 7th.

06/11/2026

Well the walnut slabs are in the shop! I cut them to length today and have them arranged the way I currently think I’m going to join them. I’ll study them for a bit before making my final cuts. I should end up with about a 44” top.
The Offcuts from the ends will become seat blanks. I also started turning this huge pile of cherry into chair parts.

06/10/2026

I got started this morning cutting out the pocket for the pig inlay for JW’s barbecue trailer bar. It came out awesome and fit perfectly. It’s a bit hard to see in the photos from the glare from the lights. I can’t wait to see this piece installed. After that I spen some time gluing and milling stock for the cherry and walnut chairs that will go with the live edge walnut table. I also made a few adjustments to my back leg templates and cut new templates for these chairs on the CNC. Tomorrow I’ll get started cutting some chair parts. This table will be 48 x 96 and be 36” high so the chairs will have a 24” seat height. Hopefully I’ll get to lay out the cuts on the slabs tomorrow as well.

06/09/2026

Well Larry and Jace were at it again in the shop today! Making toys for the Toys for Tots donations today. We finished up a few more trucks. I also worked on some what of a repair job today.
About a week ago I delivered this bar top to JW’s barbecue trailer. When I made the delivery the top had a chance to be out in the sun for the first time. I noticed a soft spot in the epoxy I used to fill some defects. At that time I thought it would continue to harden and be ok. I went to check on it Saturday and found it was still not cured. I told Joe and Wayne I was going to take it back to the shop and redo it.
Well, if you’ve ever worked with epoxy that didn’t cure, you know it’s a real problem to clean out and redo. After some head scratching I came up with an idea. I’m going to inlay the area with a pig! This was my test run today. It came out perfect. Tomorrow I’ll cut the actual top and get this one wrapped up and move on to the live edge walnut table and 8 chairs.

06/06/2026

Only spent a short time in the shop today. I finished a couple of cat puzzles and got them oiled up and delivered the D&M logging truck. I have a busy week next week. Larry will come over again to work on some more toys, I’ll be moving the other two walnut slabs into the shop in preparation of getting started on the live end walnut table, I’ll also get started on the range hood and go onsite to make some templates for a fireplace surround.

06/05/2026

Went today and picked up a pair of Brunt wookboots. This is the OHMAN style. They are super comfortable. The have an adjustable insole insert. If you’re looking for a change in your workboots I highly recommend these.