“All Things Made From Trees”: 30 People Who Took Woodworking To Another Level (New Pics)
InterviewIf you’re tired of the same mass-produced furniture or interior pieces that the stores are full of and are looking for something unique to decorate your home with, look no further! While it might sound like an introduction to a commercial, there's actually a great online community where people post anything related to woodworking - r/woodworking!
Created in 2008, the subreddit is a home for almost 5 million people celebrating “all things made from trees”. From gigantic wood sculptures to beautiful cabinets, it is a hub for both woodworkers and people interested in this craft.
Our team has collected the most impressive wood projects for you to admire. Scroll down to see these magnificent works of craftsmanship. For more impressive creations, check out our previous articles here, here, here, here and here.
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The Sapphire Walnut Bowl! This One Was A Little Tricky To Pull Off, But I Think It Was Totally Worth It
I Carved This Jalapeño Plant From Curly Maple And Walnut! You Can See The Curly Wood Grain Showing Through On The Peppers. This Project Took A Ton Of Hours And A Lot Of Screw UPS. I Appreciate All The Support I've Been Given On This Subreddit. I Am Very Appreciative For All Of You!
Fox In Northern White Cedar
Bored Panda got in touch with Kenneth Packie, a wood sculptor residing in the Berkshire Mountains of Western MA, to learn more about the craft of wood carving and about his profession as a sculptor.
Kenneth was part of the three-man team that won first place at the ninth annual Husky Cup World Sculpting Championships in Mulda, Germany with their life-size figure of a medieval knight on horseback “The Knight”. Visit his Instagram and website to see his incredible creations!
Custom Handmade Record Player Out Of Maple Burl
Built This Bookshelf For My Mom As My First Ever Woodworking Project. I Think It Turned Out Alright For An Amateur
My Micro Shop And Latest Commission
Kenneth shared that before his career as a sculptor, he was a telecom tech building a network in New England. “I was burnt out with the ‘on call’. We bought a second piece of property in the Southern Berkshire Mountains and went to a log home show. There was a carver working on a very realistic bear. I had seen basic ‘square bears’ in my travels and thought the form was limited by the tools used. It looked like great stress relief! I took a short class because I’d never used a chainsaw. I called a logger, got a load of wood and I’d come home at night, take out the wildlife books, stand up a log, and carve! I realized it’s an open art form with gatherings and competitions so I put myself out there to learn.
In 2007 I went to the Ridgway Carvers Rendezvous in Western PA. It was an epiphany. Looking at the level of work people were supporting their families with, I knew I had to try, I was already close. A year later I set up at a General Store by a big recreational lake to test the waters, got swamped with commissions, quit my job and started working harder than I ever had to support my family with art! I never looked back. I’ve been a full-time wood sculptor since August 2008.”
I Was Told Y’all Would Like This Greenhouse I Built Last Spring
Octoburl #1 , Fir Burl Carved By Me 2023
Quad Bunk
Throughout his career, Kenneth has created thousands of sculptures. The artist shared that carvings can take 30 minutes or up to 5 weeks to create. “I’m probably proudest of the horse and rider I created at the World Cup in Germany. It was a team competition so I carved it with Jeff Samudosky and Tomas Vrba. The scale, detail, and working with others against the clock made it extremely challenging.”
Double Dovetail Drawers To Go Around The Drain In This Vanity I Built
Romeo & Juliet Cheese Board Inspired By One Of The First Posts I Saw In This Sub
I Carved These Grape Tomatoes From Curly Maple!
According to Kenneth, the hardest thing about the art of chainsaw carving is creating a 3D sculpture out of a log because it is physically demanding, loud and dirty. “The most difficult part is the preparation, securing the raw materials, transporting them, moving them around. After the log is stood up and in place, it all flows very quickly. The longer I’ve been doing this, the clearer it is to find that form in the log. The most difficult thing after that is when to stop. I feel like I ‘abandon’ most carvings. From a practical standpoint, it comes down to what the budget was for the carving.” The artist shared that he loves getting down to the details, the fur, feathers, face and fingers/talons/claws.
Last Year I Finished My Apprenticeship To Become A Furniture Maker. This Piece Is The Culmination Of My Skill. It Also Represents A Major Life Goal After I Made A Career Switch To Become What I Always Wanted To Become. I Also Won First Place In The Yearly Competition! What Do You Think?
Walnut Drawer Box I Completed Recently With Knot Burl Drawer Pulls. Hand Tools Only
My Favorite Project From 2022: Mechanical Iris Liquor Cabinet
with a liquor cabinet like this one I would end alcoholic in a week ...spices..let's put spices in it so everyday I could play with it
Wood carving has been a cherished art form for centuries. Kenneth thinks that the public’s fascination with wood sculptures comes from seeing a log turned into something before their eyes. “We take something that was alive and bring it back to life in a different form.”
My Olive Pitcarving
Cedar Boardwalk I Built Last Fall
A Maloof Rocker Was A Bucket List Project For Me, Hal Taylor - Story Time Rocker
Kenneth has a no-cut-to-carve policy. “All my wood is recycled and came down for other reasons. Storm trees, trees from power companies clearing lines, etc. These big international competitions are pushing the art form. It has attracted a lot of classically trained sculptors who realize how big, how fast, and how detailed you can get with the saw. Add power tools and chisels to your endgame and you’ll see a whole group of ‘modern masters’ creating legitimate works of art on a large scale. It’s only going to keep getting bigger and better!”
So The Idea Was To Have A Little Woodworking Business To Supplement My Retirement Income, And Keep Me Out Of Mischief. 4 Months Later? 1200 Sf Shop Already Maxed Out, Orders To 2024! What Have I Done?
We're Expecting Our Firstborn In The End Of February. Hopefully I've Made Our Family To Be A Nice Heirloom
I Made A Set Of Pulp Fiction Pieces Out Of Plywood. I Hope You Like These
My First Attempt At Doing Some Wood Burning Art
Finally Finished My First Big Project. My Sons First “Big Boy” Bed
I Need To Stop Making Pens To Sell That I Can't Bring Myself To Sell
My First Actual Piece Of Furniture! (In Woodworking School But I Still Feel Proud)
Niece Asked Me For Shelving/Basketing That Could Be Stowed Away Easily Off Season. I Would Up Making 22 Of These These Things For Her And Her Friends
Unnecessarily Complicated Mahjong Box. Mostly Walnut
Infinity Mirror Table I Made With Only Hand Tools
The Dog Doesn't Know It's Only Pine
Always Worried To Post This Anywhere, In Case Someone Doesn’t Get The Reference And Thinks I’m Just Into Really Weird Stuff. Anyways, Enjoy This Scroll Saw Art I Made
Why Buy It In IKEA For $175 When I Can Make For $250, Two New Power Tools And 5-6 Weekends Of My Life?
Help, I Spilled Chocolate Syrup On This Counter
Custom Barn Doors I Made For A Homeowner
20 Month Progress
Stelagtable - Ash And Walnut
Ladies And Gentlemen, I Present To You…
Asked For Advice A Couple Of Months Ago On These Bookshelves. Here They Are!
White Oak Dresser Finished Just In Time For The Birth Of My Daughter
First Time Kerf Bending. I Made A Table
I Whittled An Unintelligible Chess Set For Fun. Stained Basswood Carved With Xacto Blades
I Couldnt Edit Last Post To Add The Bookcase, Fully Loaded!
My First Staircase. How'd I Do?
Interesting House I Worked On Recently
Maple, Cherry, And Walnut
Finished My First Piece Of Furniture
Tried Some Carving On This Walnut Chaise Rocker
I Spent The Second Half Of 2022 Building My Kitchen Cabinets!
I Made My First Piece Of Furniture, A Coffee Table Of Morado And Black Walnut
Pew Pew
My Plastic Silverware Tray Was Breaking Apart So I Built A New One From Leftover Pine I Had Laying Around
Wish I had kitchen drawers deep enough to go this! Brilliant!
Everything Made In Ash By Me And My Dad
My Daughter Needed A Small Sized Desk. So I Made Her A Desk With Letterpress Inspired Desktop With Hidden Compartments And Features
how do you hide compartments? do you, like, press a specific letter, to get a sharpener or a postit note.
Walnut Mid Century Modern Dog Bed - I Want To Get In To Making Custom Furniture. This Seemed Like A Fun And Cheap Way To Get My Feet Wet. Dog Pictures Are At The End
Foyer Of 3m Home I Did The Interior Of
Drumroll: I Built This Kinetic Sculpture For A Local Music Studio. It Is Approximately 8' Long And Uses 72 Drumsticks To Create A Moving Sine Wave
This Took Us A Bippy To Make
Walnut Bison Head With A Splash Of Stained Glass!
Just Wanted To Share My Excitement! Glued The Back Of My First Violin
‘Blood Moon’, A Milestone Cutting Board For Me
I Made A Thing
Peace and love to all of those out there who appreciate a decent boxed wine. What an invention! Like a keg constantly on tap! Cheers!!!
Wooden Door Latch
Wave Functions Cut Into Plywood
Made Some Hidden Sliding Locking Dovetails (Not Sure If They Have A Proper Name!) To Attach The Legs To The Top Of A Desk Riser. Nice And Tight With No Need For Glue So The Top Is Free To Expand/Contract
Too Cheap To Buy A Coffee Table So I Built One Out Of Old Pallets. First Project Ever Completed
Last Year I Got To Take Classes With Philip Morley And Matt Kenney. Finished The Chair Just In Time To Hunker Down For Winter Weather Here In Texas
Philip and his wife were my neighbors when he first started. So cool to see his evolution over the years. Great guy, great teacher!
Peruvian Pepper Wood Slab
People Think Bowling Alley Wood Is Too Specialized To Reuse, Ha!
Murphy Double Bunk Bed
Built This Record Shelf For A Customer
Spalted Ash Harvested From My Back Pasture. Air Dried 11 Years, Finally Made A Bathroom Countertop And Mirror With It
Process For The Shelf I Made To Hold My Mangas
What Do We Think Of Slat Walls?
Last Thursday, I Asked This Subreddit For Help Solving A Mistake I Made Making Some Ring Boxes (Holes Drilled In The Wrong Spot). Thanks To Your Suggestions, I Fixed It (More Holes & Walnut Plugs) And Now Have A Finished Product That I’m Very Proud Of! Thanks Y’all!!!
Ever Built Something Cool And Set It On Fire?
This Is The Finest Work I've Ever Done. I Learned So Much Making This Chair. Almost No Angle Is Straight On It, The Crest Rail Being A Compounded Miter Angle, The Bent Laminations For The Chair Back, The Carving Of The Seat, The Final Shaping And To End Up With No Gaps In The Joinery. I Feel Proud
Measure Twice, Cut Once. But How Many Measurements Before Drilling? Apparently 0
Walnut And Jatoba Rocking Chair
My First Chopping Board And I'm Awfully Proud!
White Oak Kitchen
I'm not big on oak, personally, but those drawers and pantry are a work of art.
Just Made Birch Ply Bookcase For My Wife
Wife Like To Dry Her Hair At The Stove So I Made Her A Stool
I’ve Been Making Fishing Lures! What Do You Think??
First Proper Project In The New Workshop, Pine Chair
Whiskey Stave Coffee Table
One Piece Of Wood (Kind Of)
I Made A Solid Oak Kitchen For A Client, Turned Out Pretty Good
Folding Plywood Staircase, Designed In Solidworks, Made From 2 Layers Of 15mm Birch Ply
Puck Rack
Which Built In Shelving Design Do You Like Better?
The Latest In Bathroom Technology
Using Mammoth Ivory For The Accent On This Briar Wood Proxy Pipe
I’m Officially A Woodworker. I Made A Cutting Board Out Of Scraps
I Turned A Little Thing But I Dont Know What To Do With It. I Dropped It And Now It Has An Improvised Lip
My First "Non-Rustic" Project. Pretty Happy With How It Turned Out
I Built My Dog A House Over The Last 11 Days!!
Just Sharing... Actually My First Furniture Project
Scofra-01: A Chair Made From Reclaimed Oak, An Old Scooter Frame And Steel Tubes
Forty Seven And A Half Hours. Totes Worth It
I have been dabbeling in wood for many years but this stuff is unearthly beautiful. My wife loves everything she needs me to make from cabinets to remodeling. I am my own worst critic but as long as she loves it thats what matters.
All I can say is that the people who made these excellent works in wood should be prepared for offers to make more as one here already found out!
I'd love to be able to woodwork but there don't seem to be any classes or workshops within traveling distance. Has anyone learned how to use tools and turn wood online? Can you hire machinery? Might be a lost cause this one.
I have been dabbeling in wood for many years but this stuff is unearthly beautiful. My wife loves everything she needs me to make from cabinets to remodeling. I am my own worst critic but as long as she loves it thats what matters.
All I can say is that the people who made these excellent works in wood should be prepared for offers to make more as one here already found out!
I'd love to be able to woodwork but there don't seem to be any classes or workshops within traveling distance. Has anyone learned how to use tools and turn wood online? Can you hire machinery? Might be a lost cause this one.