This gorgeous table is made of solid Black Walnut, weighing approximately 75 pounds. The white streaks running through the dark wood are natural to this particular piece of lumber. My dad made a 6-hour drive twice a year to buy lumber from a saw mill in a neighboring state. With a trailer load of raw lumber and a Planer, he set to work, planing them down into the sizes of boards he needed for various projects. This table is a one-of-a-kind and sits in my den. It was made especially for me.

I also have a matching round table, like the next photo you will see. However, this table is made of Oak with Walnut in-lay, and mine, of course, is all Walnut.

       My daddy made approximately 80 of these round tables over the last five or six years. They all are the same basic design, yet no two are exactly alike. Some are Walnut, some Oak. A few are like the one pictured, which is Oak with a Walnut in-lay in the legs and around the design of the table top. Each table was crafted with a particular individual in mind, and were all given as gifts. Every table has its own name plate on the bottom, with its number, the date is was made, and my daddy's name. He never charged for any of his work. This was his beloved hobby ~ what he had always wanted to spend his days doing. After cancer forced him into early retirement in 1995, he spent his days in his own little paradise, creating a wide variety of wooden furniture, toys, name plates, and crafts. In the last few years of his life, he concentrated on small projects and did less and less furniture. He especially enjoyed his Scroll Saw, and was a master at it. He taught me how to use many of his powers tools, and I too, especially like the Scroll Saw. I'm glad to carry on my daddy's hobby, though in a very small way in comparison. I know I could never be the craftsman he was.

       This next piece is also a one-of-a-kind, and was made especially for my sister, Sherry. Many times I wished I had asked for one of these! It is a solid Oak corner curio cabinet, which sits in my sister's kitchen. Seven feet tall and weighing approximately 85 pounds, it is truly beautiful.

       This is a close-up shot of a small trinket dish made of Oak with a strip of Walnut inlay through the lid.Over the years, Daddy made many different sizes and shapes of trinkets dishes and candy boxes, from various types of lumber. Square candy boxes with lids and "dove-tail" joints were his favorite to make for gifts. I have no idea how many he made and gave away over the years.

       Hardwoods of Oak, Walnut, and Mahogany were his favorites, but he also used soft woods like White Pine and cedar. He was forced to completely abandoned all use of Mahogany because of a severe respitory reaction. Walnut was used sparingly for the same reason, though he did not have near the allergic reaction to Walnut. Most of his later work was crafted from Oak, and the childrens' craft projects were made from Pine.