Todd the Carpenter

When I first met Todd nearly 30 years ago he lived in a postage stamp sized studio apartment. Inside the apartment was a sofa bed, a large trunk, a dresser (in the closet which was in the “kitchen”) and an entertainment unit. He had made the dresser and the entertainment unit when he was in high school and we still have them. I would never go so far as to say I dated him because of his woodworking skills, however, there was a small part in the back of my head that thought, “this could come in handy someday.”

Turns out making furniture requires a lot of tools and equipment. Turns out those tools and equipment are really expensive. Turns out when you get married relatively young and are happy when there’s a little bit of cash left after the bills are paid you can’t afford all those tools and equipment. Ergo, there was no carpentry going on for the first twenty or so years of marriage.

A few years ago a very good friend of ours started getting into cabinet making. Stan upgraded his router/router table and gave me his old one to give to Todd for Father’s Day. He had recognized the fire in Todd’s eyes whenever they would talk shop.

Todd and Stan started taking Saturday morning trips out to a local sawmill and I kid you not when I tell you he would come home with the same excitement as a kid who had just been to Disneyland. The one router turned into another piece of equipment and another tool and pretty soon he started building work benches and jigs and the next thing you know, he had a legitimate workshop of his own on one side of the garage.

Finally! The whole reason I married Todd has come to fruition. It took nearly 25 years, but it was worth the wait. I am truly in awe of the product he turns out. His shop alone is a work of art and a testament to his skill. Adjustable work benches, portable work benches, storage… his portable organizer makes most everyone I know drool with envy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He started out making beautiful wood boxes as Christmas gifts and then gorgeous wood cornices for my family room.  He’s also made rain sticks, frames, and shadow boxes.

But the creme de la creme is the incredible farm table he made for me. This table is so beautiful and so perfect and so everything-I-wanted-in-a-table that it deserves its own post. You’ll have to come back for that, but here’s a little teaser…

Currently he is working on a project for a friend and then he’s going to build something else for the workshop (a box joint jig, if you must know). After that is another project for a friend and then a custom end table (that we’re still kind of designing) and then another project for a friend and then… well, the list is rather lengthy. I have a whole catalogue of things for him to build and there are a few “fun” projects he wants to do as well.

I’ve been meaning to brag on him tell you about his rekindled love but, as you know, my blogging has become terribly sporadic. He has provided a ton of material – and I mean that in the good way, not in the he’s-always-doing-something-stupid-that-I-need-to-tell-you-about way. Not only is he doing the woodworking, but he’s also started carving and has an actual paracord business. (I like that he has all these hobbies because it will make his eventual retirement so much more pleasant for me.)

I could go on, but instead I’ll just summarize. I am one lucky gal!