My interests vary from simple furniture
to toys, kitchen utensils and whatever else strikes my fancy. The
Guild is a great place to advance my woodworking knowledge as our
members are generous with the sharing of their knowledge.

Repurposed my life from being a pediatrician to woodworking in 2020. I craft furniture and donate it to Furniture Friends who then distributes them to those in need. Explored traditional, Arts and Crafts, New Danish, Scandinavian, and now primarily Shaker Furniture in styles emanating from the New York, Ohio, and Kentucky communities. Enjoy learning skills from 17th to 20th Century craftsman–Moxon, Roubo, Nicholson, Stickley, Hayward, Wearing, Becksvoort, Krenov, Schwartz, and Klein.

This handcrafted sycamore river table is a one-of-a-kind statement piece, created slowly and deliberately over many months of careful design, shaping, inlay work, and finishing. Made from dramatically figured sycamore, the surface is alive with wild natural movement—rolling grain, dark voids, spalting, rich amber tones, deep earthy browns, and flowing black resin that cuts through the slab like a winding river through an ancient landscape. Sycamore brings its own unmistakable personality to the piece, with bold, shifting grain and a striking natural contrast that gives the tabletop exceptional depth and motion. Every inch of the table has character. Nothing about it is flat, sterile, or factory-made. It has the kind of presence that only comes from real wood with a real history, worked by hand instead of churned out by some soulless assembly line.

What makes this piece especially striking are the two large Tree of Life carvings inlaid into the tabletop. These aren’t just decorative extras tossed in for show—they anchor the entire design. The carvings feel symbolic and timeless, woven into the surface as if they’ve always belonged there. Their flowing branches and roots echo the organic movement of the sycamore grain and the resin river, tying the whole table together with a strong sense of life, balance, and permanence. They give the piece a spiritual, almost mythic quality, turning it from a beautiful table into something far more meaningful.

The river itself was inspired by The Starry Night by Van Gogh, not in a literal paint-by-numbers way, but in its sense of movement, depth, and living energy. The dark resin channels twist and sweep through the sycamore like a current full of motion, carrying the same kind of dramatic flow and swirling intensity that makes that painting feel alive. Instead of sky and stars, that energy has been drawn into wood and resin—turned into something tactile, grounded, and permanent. The result is a river that feels less like a simple design element and more like a force moving through the heart of the table.

The finish brings out incredible depth in both the sycamore and the resin. Light moves across the glossy surface and reveals layers of detail—swirls in the grain, shifting contrast, subtle color transitions, and the dark river-like channels that run through the slab. Depending on the angle, the tabletop feels different every time you look at it: warm and earthy in one moment, bold and dramatic in the next. It has that rare mix of raw natural beauty and refined craftsmanship that makes people stop, stare, and immediately want to touch it.

This table was not rushed. It was built over many months with patience, vision, and respect for the material. Every contour, every fill, every carved detail, and every stage of finishing was part of a long process to create something lasting and unforgettable. The result is a functional piece of furniture, yes—but also a work of art. It is meant for someone who appreciates craftsmanship, symbolism, and the kind of natural beauty that cannot be duplicated twice. No two slabs of sycamore could ever tell this exact story again.

My business and passion is building heirloom quality, custom design furniture with special attention to unique style and versatile function.

The Woodworker’s Guild is a great place to meet skilled woodworking craftsmen and learn techniques which are shared freely.

Next, a friend asked me to make a serving tray to give as a wedding gift, so I came up with this one made of  mahogany and curly maple. After that is a place to keep my tools. This is a Mike Pekovich plan that has made the rounds and I built it with almost no modifications and it’s worked well for me. My wife and I have an oak dining table that we bought when we first got married, along with four oak dining chairs. The table is going strong but the chairs finally gave up, and so I made a set of four of these from plans by Tom McLaughlin at Epic Woodworking. This is a cherry bookcase with a back designed to be visible in a room, like a room divider of sorts. The side panels are book-matched. I enjoy making “smalls”, or smaller projects too, which are pictured here.

    

I started doing more general woodworking in the 1980’s. I like making just about everything –
from rough carpentry to nicer pieces. Although I lack patience in finishing. I enjoy scroll
sawing, boxes, furniture, hand carving and CNC work

 

Now, I am involved in crafting 18th century pre-industrial period furniture, which includes Jacobean, William & Mary, Queen Anne, and Chippendale. Designing furniture not only to reproduce authentic forms but also crafting with the use of hand tools is the satisfaction achieved through this work.

William & Mary period mahogany dressing table, AKA lowboy.