Bookmatched mammoth 4-inch slab of elm. Finished in hard wax oil and grounded on a solid steel white powder coated base. Bright. Modern. Natural. Custom Fabrication Custom Slab Dining...
“What do you want? You, you want the moon?! Just say the word and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. I’ll give you the moon, Mary. Well then, you could swallow it, and it’d all dissolve, see? And the moon beams’d shoot out of...
Show off the love of your life or your favorite pet in this handmade picture frame. This frame stands on its own using a unique, integrated kickstand. Made in Minneapolis, the frame is already filled with Minnesota love. Perfect for:DeskMantleBedside table This...
We all know Han shot first but this was my second shot at carving him. This time he’s been encased in a slab of book matched walnut and stands 18″ tall. “Perfect Hibernation” was an award winner at the 2015 Northern Woods woodworking...
We make switch plate covers, mostly in the shape of Wisconsin and Minnesota, but we can do other shapes as well. Contact us to make your switch plate dreams a reality! Minnesota Switchplate
SPACE10 (Ikea’s innovation lab) has designed an intriguing garden structure called The Growroom. The plans are available now and have a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License. In short that means that anyone can build one as long as they...
This dining table and bench set is built from a huge 6 inch slab of beautiful local walnut. The tabletop is book matched leaving 2 gorgeous live edges along the length of the 6 foot table. Maple inlays provide structure as well as looking nifty. The welded bench base...
The table is beautiful!! We really love how it turned out. It’s the perfect size and shape for our space, too. I can’t wait to get our chairs to complete the set and actually start using it. I’ll make sure to send you a photo once we have the...
This fun project was a collaboration with my friends at Crew Scenic for a Google Tech Hub install at Coco in downtown Minneapolis. The slats are scraps salvaged from a local cabinet shop. The stretchers are held in place with wedged tenons....
I started carving lines in my CNC router’s spoilboard to identify vacuum holddown zones. Soon I realized this grid was handy for other things. I could use them to a place a piece of material at a known point on the table. As soon as I had my own machine (without...
I was asked to create a large 2-sided sign for a new local restaurant. I used cedar, a heavy duty steel bracket, the ShopBot CNC router, and half of the other tools in my shop to finish this one.
When I started using CNC routers I had a tendency to stay slow with all of my feed rates. What I’ve learned over the last three years is that in general I was going too slow for the material I was cutting. The main downsides of going too slow are excessive wear...
This white oak table features a square spiral centerpiece carved into the surface. We used a great set of vintage paperclip chrome legs to support the whole thing. Cards slide for days on the hand rubbed wax...
I was recently asked to engrave into some aluminum sheet. I I have the most experience with wood but I’m never one to turn down the opportunity to learn something new. After three broken bits I think I have a few pieces of wisdom that I can pass on that might...
About 2 years ago I set out to you to figure out a way to make money using my CNC router. 2 Years later not only have I found my ShopBot CNC a very useful tool for my home-based business, but because of repeat business and good word of mouth growth I am happy to say...
Exploring Creative Commons design and the open source furniture community is a great way to develop new ideas. This remix is a collaboration with AtFAB and ShopBot. I used the AtFAB 5-30 Minute Chair design available for free on their site to create this design. It is...
Murphy beds are a great way to save space. Use them to add a spare bed in any room in the house or gain room anywhere by folding your mattress against the wall. Our murphy beds are built to order. We can match your decor or create a statement. Gas struts and heavy...
Our play table is perfect for trains, legos, puzzles, or whatever creative minds come up with. A generous 40 inch by 52 inch play surface is larger than your average train table. Hand built, this table is meant to last. Knock-down hardware makes this table easy to...
I’ve been branching out a bit from my CNC router use in woodworking and into some heavy metal. Besides Floor and Pallbearer, I’m also talking about aluminum and brass. I’ve made a few brass branding irons. I used standard woodworking v-bits with good...
I was recently asked to create a pair of commemorative plaques. Essentially something like a diploma or other certificate, except these were to be carved into wood. No problem, right? I had carved plenty of signs before. Well, the difference here was the scale of the...
After you’ve been using a CNC router for a while, you begin to look for ways to make your life even easier (as if having a robot do work for you wasn’t making it easy enough). For me, sanding is a necessary evil. Plywood is especially prone to fuzzy edges...
CNC routers need bits. They determine the kind of carving you can do, the resolution of your finished designs, and how fast you can move through the material. They come with cutting edges that pull up or push down (sometimes both), they have square or shaped ends,...
I was recently asked to build a tiki head statue for a local restaurant. The lure of rum soaked drinks made the job hard to turn down. I figured my recently acquired CNC router made the task possible for me since I have no formal sculpture training. As with most...
Being a tinkerer, my wife often tries to surprise me with tools for gifts. Last Christmas she bought what has become my #1 favorite tool to use when working at the 4×8 CNC router. This nifty Rockwell Sonicrafter multitool is great for lots of oddball jobs where...
I had the opportunity to visit ShopBot headquarters a few months back. While chatting with their training master TJ, he bragged about his great big 2.5 inch fly cutter bit. I have to admit I was envious. My bit was half the size. I finally had the opportunity to pick...
Marble, stainless, porcelain, and even pottery, we’ve all seen sinks made with basic materials but few of us have seen wooden sinks. Mike from America’s Woodshop in Bloomington created a turned wooden sink for the DIY Network’s “I Hate My...
Some recycled and gifted walnut is reluctantly cooperating with me as I attempt to conjure up some chunky medicine cabinets. Some of it was in the cutoff bin at a local workshop. The wild grain and knots may have been better suited for an art piece than straight lines...
Ingredients: messy tool drawer camera CNC router wood or foam to fit the drawer Software to taste Process: Organize your tool drawer Take picture of it trace your tools in illustrator or any other vector based software import your drawing into cam software carve...
I had the opportunity to tag along on a road trip with some members of the ShopBot team. They were headed to a shop in Wisconsin to help a customer with two ShopBot machines, a monster 16×5 3-axis machine and a brand new 5-axis machine. I have to admit I was...
The list of potential uses for cnc machinery in the home and small business shop is limited only by creativity. Furniture and carved signs are obvious choices. How about custom stamps? Why not? My friend Ben has designed a few business cards for me. We got the idea...
Always be knolling! Tom Sachs has worked with Frank Gehry in his LA furniture shop. In 1990 he found studio space in the evaporating machinery district in downtown New York and named it Allied Cultural Prosthetics. Among many other things, he has a knack for creating...
This video features an alphabetical list of the most important architects with their best known building. The ABC of Architects from fedelpeye on Vimeo.
Inspired by Christopher Schwarz and my friend Jeff, I have started a dovetail-a-day project. Each day I will hand cut a dovetail joint. I’ll post the pictures here, warts, splits, gaps, and all. This project offers me the chance to improve some of my handwork...
MINKA is a short documentary film about a remarkable Japanese farmhouse and the memories it contains. In 1967, an American journalist and his adopted Japanese son rescued the ancient house from the snow country of Japan, and their lives were forever changed. MINKA is...
Japanese carpenters generally fall into one of 4 categories. Miyadaiku – Intricate joinery focused on the building of shrines and temples. Sukiya-daiku – Teahouse and residential carpentry sashimono-shi – Furniture makers Tateguya – interior...
If you are ever near Chapel Hill, NC, do yourself a favor and visit the Woodwright’s School. They are dedicated to the art of working wood with hand tools, wedge and edge. No screaming routers allowed here. The school is run by the PBS icon of over 30 years, Roy...
Wooden rolling ball sculpture, a photo by gergistheword on Flickr. Rolling ball sculptures have always enamored me. It goes back to my first marble toy built by my father. It served as the literal and figurative launch for many of the Goldbergesque marble runs I built...
2nd Annual Pinewood Derby 2009 , a set on Flickr. This was the first pinewood derby at the new house. Brad of the hill people was the winner. It is so much fun to let people loose in the shop for some free form creativity.
It’s alive. Just finished up the new router table extension to my table saw. This baby’s got it all. Custom level adjustment Dual aluminum t-track and miter track Doubles as a oscillating spindle sander table Made from 90% recycled parts I mounted...
We make these switch plates from birch plywood or solid walnut. We can make just about any shape you like. We can also make custom covers for multiple switch and outlet combinations. Sure, we can do a “Wyoming” for you but it won’t be so exciting....
This wall art was created using NASA topographic data. Yeah, pretty geeky. The alternating shades of the baltic birch plywood accentuate the craters and peaks. The whole thing is backlit with programmable LEDs. Contact us to order your own moon or work with us on a...
We love the lakes and cabin life almost as much as we like sharp tools and crisp lines. We make all kinds of custom signs for cabins, hunting lodges, ice houses, tree houses, campers, trailers, dog houses… This one was made from a downed tree on the...
We love making signs for great businesses. These signs are just a few examples of the custom carving we’ve done for local businesses around the Twin Cities.
Another fun stairway project. This one was for a client’s basement. We love the simple geometry and the way the light works to set it off. We’d love to help with your next project.
Custom walnut frame for “Sisyphus III”, a Bruce Shapiro installation at an Australian museum. See more of Bruce Shapiro’s amazing motion control art at TAOMC.com and Sisyphus Industries. ...
Having trouble carrying all those bombers home from the brewery? Need a couple of extra bottles of wine for that picnic? This carrier is made from high quality baltic birch plywood and features a hand-cut walnut pin to hold everything together. We can even engrave...
Large projects like this tiki head provide unique challenges. We love that. Tikis and other large statues are done on commission. Contact us to talk about your big...
