Woodworking

Outside music, I have been involved in art since I was very young. Painting and sculpting were my main artistic outlets until music took over as a focus. But working with wood has been in my family for generations with my grandfather being a part time carpenter and building his own home, as well as my great great grandfather being a famous carpenter in Massachusetts back in the 1800s. I was a part time framing carpenter in my early 20s and have always been a bit of a handyman. Since around 2019 (around when I stopped touring so much), I became more intensely interested in old school woodworking and furniture making using joinery rather than nails and screws, but also an interest in experiencing what is required to create furniture from rough lumber using non-power tools (hand saws, axes & planes). And more recently, my family and I moved to Japan, and I am beginning to learn about the amazing tradition and wisdom of the woodworkers here.

This gallery is simply a journaling of the occasional projects I do for my family, or as gifts for some friends in the community. Enjoy browsing!

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WORKBENCH - this bench is a beefed up version of Will Myers’ Moravian workbench. A special feature of this bench is that it comes apart and is very easy to move and transport, and yet when put together, is as solid and strong as any workbench out there. Especially using the dimensions and type of lumber I chose. The entire bench is made of 30 year old air dried, rough cut timbers. All very old seasoned Keyaki (Zelkova), a tree native to these mountains here in Japan.

CHISEL CHEST OF DRAWERS - My chisel collection was laying on shelves for a while, and then I decided to make a place I could house them. This chest has 5 drawers made from a Japanese Poplar and I used figured Keyaki that I hand planed down as the veneer. The case is from local Walnut. I hand planed and dovetailed everything in this project. Lots of fun, and a happy home for the chisels.

SEWING TABLE - This table can be taken apart and is a portable style table, with straight legs rather than 15 degree angled legs like on my workbench. It is a true trestle table design with wedged stretchers and pegged (removable) top. All the timbers for this project is again, local Tono mountain wood, air dried for the last 20 years. The top is Japanese Elm. The breadboard ends are the Keyaki offcuts from my workbench as well as the tops and bottoms of the base. The legs are the same Elm I used for the top. The finish is the Sam Maloof finish (just one good coat).

HOT TUBE COVERS - This project came up after renting our place in the mountains in Northern Japan where it gets quite cold in winter. Since we have the older style deep tub that does not re-heat the water, we needed a top to keep the heat in. And wow, it really works well. It is made with no screws or nails and held together with tongue & groove joints, and long, tapered sliding dovetails. Made from local Cypress.

We used them unfinished to see how they faired with tubs pretty much every night for 6 months. Then as I could see evidence of mold, I dried them and did a treatment of SugiBan (burning them with a torch). Then sanded a little just to get the loose char off, and did a nice coat of the Sam Maloof finish which gave them an amazing old and polished look that I love. They will have a nice long life now!

MUSIC DESK - I needed a place to work on my music where my Protools and keyboard were all set up and ready for action. So I made this custom desk specifically for the job. It is set up as my other tables are, to come apart and move easily, but this one has a keyboard side desk that can attach to either side (left or right side). The entire desk and base are made of local Japanese Chestnut and is a pleasure to work with.

SMALL COMPUTER WORK SHELF - This simple computer stand / shelf was made at a specific height so I could teach my tabla drumming to students online. The shelves slide in and out with a light tension fit for papers and music notes. I wanted to exercise my dovetail making, so I went wild and did 12 dovetails per corner. The is all old growth Keyaki (Zelkova) and the shelves have all curled figure.

CRIBBAGE BOARDS - I made these two cribbage boards for some of my family members for their birthdays. Believe it or not, these two pieces are from the same piece of Keyaki, literally about 2 inches from each other. I didn’t realize how different they were until I put on the walnut oil.

SERVING PLATES - My son Tei and I made a set of 4 serving plates for his school summer project (as well as to teach him some wood working) and we came up with these beautiful plates. They are made from Keyaki and are ‘Yakisugi (焼杉)’ burned and then rubbed with Camellia oil (tsubaki) and wax. We eat off them and wash them every day, and not one sign of wear.

HACHMANGU SHRINE SIGNS - I have made 4 different signs in this style for the Hachimangu Shrine in Tono. They are made from clear local Cypress and hand planed to a finish that will allow the head priest (Yoshi Fumi Tada), to write the prayers that go with the ancient rock Kami that are around the property. The post is also hard Cypress and is SugiBan burned to keep them from decaying.

TSUKIMOSHI DOLL MUSEUM SIGN - This project was for our friend Sasaki-san who is the elder artist and last remaining crafts person of the Tsukimoshi Clay Doll. She has a beautiful studio and Museum (open to the public) at her home on the outskirts of Tono City. We did a YouTube Episode about her and her craft on our ‘Treasures of Tono’ YouTube Channel.

This sign I made to replace her old sign which was falling apart and hardly readable. I wanted to make a design that would be noticable for passers-by, and easy to read for people searching for her Museum. I also wanted to make it all with joinery and no nails or screws. So this is what we came up with. All locally made lumber, with the sign wood from a local mill, as well as the frame made from local cedar trees.

SHAKUHACHI FLUTE RACK - Making the things we want to practice accessible, is what this build was about. I simply don’t make the time to play these flutes if I have to go find them and unpack them etc… but when they are right in front of me, looking awesome, and displayed in a classy way, then I grab them quite often and over time, actually learn to play them.

The wood back board for this I found at a Farmers Market here in Tono Japan for next to nothing. I is a beautiful piece of Cypress and as soon as I saw it, I knew what I was going to use it for. I hand carved all the little Zelkova holders, from the off cuts from my workbench and did a through mortise & tenon joinery for each. The finish is the Sam Maloof finish and the flutes have never been happier!

REFURBISHED ANTIQUE HIBACHI - We were given this Meiji Era hibachi and under the old paint and soot, I could see some beautiful Keyaki wood. So I sanded it down to the raw wood and refinished it in walnut oil. I also made a top to fit over the ask cooking area so we could use it as a coffee table.

SMALL MUSIC SHELF - I needed a place to keep my digital interface and preamps at my music desk, so I made this small shelf made from some local Japanese Ash called ‘Yachi Tamo’. A very simple and quick build, but very functional. As usual, no nails or screws, only Joinery.

SAW TILL & PLANE CASE - I designed a saw till to make it easy to access my Japanese saws. A simple project and works great. Again, I used Keyaki wood for the frame and dovetailed it together. Then, for my western planes, I made a case which allows me to hang my planes by there leather holders. I was given one of these by my buddy Jon Crane, and then I liked it so much I made one for all my planes. This as well is made of Keyaki and fits nicely next to the saw till. They are both bolted to the heavy duty tool shelf top that they are sitting on.