Here's My Woodworking!
by Zack Schaffer
Jetmore, KS
Click on any picture to see a larger version.
At 24, I've been building furniture professionally for just over a year; but my interest in woodworking started at a much younger age. My grandpa and I used to go to his little shop and build arts and crafts projects together. When I got to high school, I enrolled in shop classes to pursue this newfound interest. Later, in college, I majored in Building Construction, hoping to gain more insight into the world of building cabinets. After graduating from Fort Hays State University in Kansas, I moved back to my family farm in Jetmore, KS, where I live with my wife and our dog. We raise wheat and cattle for a living, but my real passion lies in the craft of building furniture. Since those early days in my grandpa's wood shop, I have gained a great respect for quality craftsmanship and design, and I've discovered the potential for beauty in a piece of wood. Though furniture is a part-time obsession for me now, I have goals of expanding my business in the future.
The first chair that I ever built, with a little help from Charles Brock, took the shape of a
Maloof rocker
. This chair is made from walnut with maple accents and took roughly one week to complete. The chair is finished with Maloof oil.
This television cabinet is a Mark Laub inspired piece. The boxes are all hand-cut dovetails, as well as the small drawers. The frame is maple with a shellac finish and hardware is from Horton Brass.
The first large piece of furniture I built is this cherry secretary desk. This desk was my first experiment with carving, as well. The desk is crafted of cherry and poplar with a polyurethane finish.
Next is my first bombé piece, a bombe chest of walnut. The front isn't curved because I was taking baby steps into curved work. All the drawers are hand-cut dovetails with a polyurethane finish.
This next bombé chest is a work in progress. The chest portion is complete, and I just recently attached the bookcase on top of it. The chest and bookcase are mahogany with hand-cut dovetails and hand-carved accents.
I built this linen cabinet for my mom out of red oak and poplar. This cabinet has mullion doors and Italian Hardware.
A Mahogany bookshelf mid-build. The bottom is a bombé chest and the top has a bonnet with a few carvings atop it.
The cherry writing desk is Chaffin-inspired and made from one piece of cherry. Dovetails are hand-cut and hardware is Horton Brass. The desk was finished with polyurethane.
My wife's favorite piece of furniture is our kitchen table and benches. This project is a Chaffin-inspired trestle table. The table is made from figured cherry and finished with polyurethane.
Another desk:
Another chair:
You can email Zack at
schafferfinefurniture@gmail.com
.
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