Welcome to My Woodpile

In the process of woodworking, it's common to have wood waste, mistakes, and reclaimed wood from old projects. These things are made from a desire to make something from nothing, to create space in my shop and to have some fun. All of the items you see in this section of my website are made from old swingsets, playhouses and spare parts from my custom playset and treehouse projects.

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Custom Redwood Ping Pong
​Table Base with Concrete Top

This one of a kind outdoor ping pong table was a custom request from the Otness Family. They really wanted a cohesive look to match the custom playhouse we made in the Spring. I used spare parts from their playset build and created this fantastic redwood base for a concrete ping pong table top. The maker of the top also made a very cool removable stainless steel net so it could double as a table for outdoor parties and more.
This was my first attempt at an outdoor piece that was for someone else other than myself or friends so the pressure was on to deliver a piece of usable art. One of my all-time favorites.

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Recycled Office/Shop/Patio Chair 

This was another frankenstein creation. My neighbor threw away an office chair that was very plush and had all the bells and whistles. There were 9 different adjustments for any frame of man or woman. Everything worked, but the plastic on the seat  was cracked, unusable and very uncomfortable. My mind saw what you see below and thought, "this might be cool." The first shop/office chair was made from the trash of my trash scrap pile.
In the spring of 2010 it was time to make a new "shop chair" for my patio. This new one, seen to the left, is very nice and quite comfortable. Not exactly frankenstein material, but still made from leftovers and spare parts. I took the base of the old chair and mounted a newly designed and much fresher version of the shop chair to the wheel assembly. 

These cool rolling chairs are now available at OtterWorks USA!
Click Here for More Information

There is a fleet of these on my patio now and they're made in two different sizes. One for larger body types and the other one for a smaller frame. Hopefully this page and this chair will inspire people to get their hands dirty, to think outside the box and to make things for themselves. There's a  great deal of satisfaction in making things with your hands . Give it a try. 

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My One of a Kind Picnic Table

Sometimes redwood off the truck is too "funky" to use for a playset and it gets sent to my woodpile for future use. ​This is my redwood picnic table sourced from scrap pieces off custom builds and pieces that are too "funky" to use on larger projects. 
This picnic table was intended to be a quick simple project. Nothing fancy, just a one piece table and two benches. The wood was picked from my scrap wood supply, cut to size and left in a pile on my work bench while I built the 2009 Graham family treehouse. During this 3 week treehouse period, my mind wandered and 6 months later I finished this sweet picnic table. ​

Short pieces and previously used swingset parts were laminated together to make the legs and the braces. The tenons and curves are hand cut and shaped to a smooth finish and the tabletop and benches have fastener free surfaces. My  goal was to make an attractive, comfortable and unique picnic table.

My inspiration for this design was a friend of mine. He's about 6'5" @ 375 lbs. and built like a lineman. Being a large man he has difficulty finding comfortable chairs that fit his over-sized frame. This Corona design was my answer to his quest for a big chair.

Corona Redwood Chair and Bench

There are lapses in time between most of my projects where I'm on hold waiting for supplies or inspiration. During this down time I get my juices flowing with projects for my home or for friends. My long awaited "AdironJack Chair" project was finally on my shop table, but an early mistake in two of my cuts finished that plan before it started. My frustration at the loss of time and energy lead to using all of the parts to make a frankenstein chair. Later that day the "Franky Chair" was taken apart and refined into a really nice quality chair.​ See the Franky Chair below.

Del Sol Redwood Bench and Chair

There was another porch on my house without furniture so the Del Sol Bench and Chair was a natural leap after making the Corona Bench and Chair. They share the same base but with a longer seat, high back and built in lumbar support for comfort.
You would think making a chair is fairly simple and for the most part it's not rocket science, however, if you get the angles wrong or a leg is a fraction shorter than the others, you end up with a wobbly chair. After all that hard work on your piece of art, now you have to finish it with sugar packets. For shame.
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The trick is to set a stop on your bench top saw so all of the legs are cut at exactly the same length and angle or you can make a pattern board so it's easy to duplicate if making multiple chairs.

Like most of my projects, this duo of patio comfort was made using old swingset parts and rejects from other wood projects.
Both are made using heart redwood, hand shaped and sanded   and designed to be slightly oversized to fit a larger frame. 
With the exception of getting the legs just right, this is a fairly easy project that I'll eventually convert into a DIY project plan. 

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