This model was a kit that had been sitting in a cabinet at my parents place up north for many years (possibly 30 or more). I asked my father if he would mind if I took it. I put it together and gave it to him for Father's day. (June 2017)

Johanne was tired of dealing with the cookie sheets and cutting board clutter and not having enough storage for hot-pads and utensils. These are just simple plywood boxes with epoxy drawer slides. (circa September 2017)

My youngest Gina wanted to store her collection of nail polish so I build this simple shelf with dowels in front to keep the polish secure (because we have so many earth quakes in Michigan I suppose). (circa June 2016)

I started this project for a gift but ran into logistical and timing issues (i.e. had a bad plan and started too late) so I abandoned the project. I resurrected it as a wine gift box for my wife Johanne for Christmas, but found a normal bottle didn't fit. I drove all over town looking for narrow wine bottles that would fit. (December 2017)

Johanne is using the box as jewelry box. It's not ideal for that purpose, but she's making it work. I should probably build her a proper jewelry box. (December 2017)

With three daughters we've had our fair share of dolls in the house. I made this doll bed for Gina over a couple of weekends. I even made the blankets, sheets and pillow. Yes ladies, this man can sew (making a few squares is the most complicated sewing I've done). (8/20/2011)

This is one of my earlier projects. I made a clock for Johanne for our first Christmas together. I would have done some things differently if I were to build it now, but it held up over the years. The engraving on the face plate says "For Johanne, Handcrafted with Love and Affection, Chris". The plate on the door says "Christmas 1986". Johanne keeps it on her piano. (12/1986)

This lamp is another project I made as a gift for Johanne. In retrospect I'm surprised this one is still around. The compound angles were cut on a radial arm saw and I'm sure the angles weren't spot on which would impact glue strength.  (circa 1988)

Justine's dog has both separation anxiety and potty training issues (probably related). I finally got sick of the destruction and built a fence between the kitchen and the family room to keep the damaged contained. I'm hoping this is just temporary so I just used construction grade 2x4s and some pre-primed 1x2s for the slats. (10/2/2018)

I built a hand rail for Johanne's father John. He had his knees replaced so he had trouble getting up and down the stairs. The condo association required the handrail be removable with minimal physical damage to the building. They also required it be painted to match the building. I never got a response on what color they want it painted so I never painted it. No issues so far. (10/22/16)

Before Sketchup I did my planning in Visio. This was particularly helpful when there were angles in the project. I would occasionally print out full scale parts to help set up tools. This drawing here was a bit more detailed than I typically created, but I needed to submit plans to the condo association so I made a more formal drawing.

I made a small stand for a base clarinet player in Johanne's band (forgot to take a picture). This is the first project where I used Sketchup to draw out the plans. I've used it several times since then, which makes the design work go much quicker.  (2/17/18)

Johanne needed a simple draw bridge for her room she hosted for VBS in 2013 with a Palace of Ninava theme. It was a simple 2x4 frame, painted gray with bricks drawn in with a Sharpie. The red bags had sand in them. When hooked to the top the bridge went down; dropping them to the ground brought the bridge back up. The kids loved it. Johanne used it for a second time (can't remember the theme). The 2x4 uprights were eventually used to build the curved section of the stairs in our second floor addition. (6/24/2013)