Hello, I finally got around to posting some pictures of recent projects online, so I thought I'd shamelessly show them off here - maybe you'll be inspired, or maybe you'll just feel better about your own woodworking. Whatever. I often enjoy looking at other woodworkers' projects, so here are some of mine, followed by some descriptions:
Spice rack: another early project, designed by me just after I got my first router - so the edges are well-rounded-over, the shelves fit into dados, and the front slats are dovetailed into the sides. Red oak from the borg, with oak ply back I found on the street on trash day.
X-bookshelf: This comes apart easily and collapses almost completely flat - it's all held upright by the cleats on the top and bottom. 2 laminated layers of 1/4" red oak ply.
Alex's toy: First birthday present for the son of some close friends. I intended it to be just a stacking toy with different shapes and different colors, but it turned out looking like a boat, so that's what they call it. Maple base, with white oak, cherry, walnut, red oak, and maple stacking shapes on walnut pegs. Finished with shellac and all-natural paste wax to be completely non-toxic and fine to eat, if the kid so chooses.
Bed: Biggest project to date. Took about 9 months. Based on the classic mission bed plan found on several plans websites. White oak, finished with mixture of danish oil and a little mission oak stain. LOML helped a great deal with finishing.
Landscapes/horizons: walnut and butternut, reversible, with maple "moon" on one side and cherry "sun" on the other. Finished with tung oil. Fairly quick and easy Christmas presents. I didn't bother with true complimentary curves and router templates, I just overlapped the boards and bandsawed the curves. The offset of the kerf wasn't a problem for these relatively shallow curves.
Rocking chair: wedding present for my sister. This was loosely based on a basic mission rocker plan, but I modified it quite a bit according to pictures I liked of real antiques, and had a lot of fun choosing and working all the different wood species. Also my first attempt at upholstery. Legs and rockers are red oak, curved back stretchers are cherry, slats are curly maple, arms are walnut, and lower stretchers include sassafras, white oak, cherry, walnut, and butternut. The compound angles were a challenge, and some of the tenons don't fit as tightly as I'd like, but it was a very fun and rewarding project. The double-wedged through tenon on the arm was a fun little touch that I didn't plan on when I started, but I'm happy with how it came out.
There - hope this was interesting, informative, and maybe even inspirational. Andy