Wednesday, March 31, 2010

straight from the congo




when rough cut chunks of wood are shipped from the congo they get stamped for tracking purposes. seeing a piece that still bore markings in a scrap pile made me think right away that i wanted to do something that would accentuate the 485 marking.

coincidentally.... at the time i was remodeling my kitchen and in need of a small counter top for a single base cabinet. i dug through the scraps again and came out with enough pieces of african mahogany to make it happen.

i added one piece of maple. i liked the contrast and it satisfied my love of indigenous species of wood.

the only finish on the wood is a natural, non toxic mineral oil that is totally food safe. this not only brings out the natural luster of the wood, it makes the piece a totally functional cutting board.... a good balance of form and function.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

cutting boards



wasting materials has never sat right with me. one of my favorite challenges is trying to figure out what i can do with the leftovers from any project that i am working on.

i decided this year for the holidays that i was going to make cutting boards for everyone. they are highly functional and people really seem to enjoy them. the one in the picture is a peice of Sapele, two small chunks of White Oak, and Purple Heart. All these scraps got rescued from the camp fire. i think this worked out much better.

Friday, March 26, 2010

getting started.



hi. this is me. my name is sean. if you want to know what is going on in the picture above... i am making something. this blog will act as a document to keep track of things i have done, as well as things that i am doing. wrafterbuilt will be a living breathing record of what i have done, where i am at, and where i am going. if everything goes as planned.... it will just keep getting better. stay tuned!