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Ron's Woodshop

Ron has always enjoyed working with wood, but he started to get serious about his woodworking in 1998 when he was stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He established his woodworking shop in Fayetteville, Tennessee in 2000 when he as reassigned to the Missile and Space Intelligence Center in Huntsville, Alabama. This page contains photographs of a few of his projects.

He created the carved wood logo on the right with his new CNC machine and a single piece of rough sawn red oak he purchased at a lumber mill in Limestone County, Alabama several years ago. The wood had been drying for several years before he planed it down and cut it into a 12-inch square blank for the CNC machine.

Cardboard Storage Box

I needed a storage case for some tabletop displays that I made for my big band. I wanted something lightweight, so I used some old cardboard boxes I found in the attic. Cardboard cuts as well as balsa wood.

CNC Machine

My latest woodworking machine is a CNC router. CNC stands for computer numerical control, so it's basically a computer controlled carving machine. Of course, I had to build a new workbench for my new machine.

My CNC machine in action with me playing Blue Angel while it runs.

My first project was this sign for my new CNC station.

Debi asked me to make an urn for Missy's ashes. Here we see the box and the freshly carved top.

New Table Saw

This saw has a large 1.75 horsepower motor hanging off the back, so I needed to add a 12-inch outfeed table that allows wood to pass over the motor and onto the work table I made a few years ago. Photos of the work table are shown below.

I added a beam to the mitre gauge to make crosscuts easier and more accurate.

Finally, I added a large drawer to hold small items I use with the table saw to keep them conveniently accessible.

Shop Improvements

With a new table saw in the shop, it was time for a few other improvements.

These removable trays mounted on French cleats make my drill and router bits more accessible.

Scrap wood is very useful around the shop, so I built trays and bins for storing small pieces of left-over wood.

My dust collection system is built around an old Shop Vac. I added a cyclone separator stage to keep the pleated filter in the Shop Vac cleaner. I also added an electronic switch that automatically turns the dust collector on when a tool motor turns on.

They sell air filtration systems that boast 450 CFM with large and expensive filters. Then I discovered that a cheap 20-inch box fan from Walmart moves 1170 CFM. I built this air filtration system using pleated filters from Walmart that are more reasonably priced than the custom filters.

It's wired into the LED shop lights, so it turns on when I turn on the lights.

More Sewing Improvements for Debi

Debi wanted a sewing arm extension for her sewing machine. I wanted to match the curvature of the existing arm, so I used a wood veneer over a plywood form.

The outfeed table was a left-over scrap of plywood. I banded the edges with a quarter-inch strip of red oak with a 1/4-inch round over to keep it from catching fabric as it passed over the table. I used adjustable legs to make it easier to align with the sewing machine.

Wood Deck Project

Our old deck surface had deteriorated significantly over the years, so I replaced it myself in 2020. This view is looking north.

This view is looking south. This would be the largest woodworking project I ever tackled.

I also rebuilt the stairs going down into the backyard and added a hand rail.

There was a lot of left-over wood that was too good to just throw away, so I made this cabinet for the deck with the left-over wood.

Custom Frames

Custom frame for my mother's pencil sketch. Her sketch was an odd size, and I didn't want to trim it.

This frame matches the wood used in my desk and the nautical theme of my office.

RV Improvements

Removable clothes drawers let us bring the drawers into the house for loading and unloading.

Like the clothes closet, the pantry needed some organizing shelves.

Of course you need a place to store wine bottles. We like to visit wineries along our routes.

Sophie likes to hide in the cabinet during our RV trips, so I built a custom cat tree to make it easier for her to get into the cabinet. It also saves me the trouble of moving the top of her cat tree from the house to the RV and back for every trip.

End Tables

Letter Tray

Sewing Center

Thread Rack

Cutting Table

This is one of my most complex projects. This cutting table for Debi's sewing room had to collapse down for storage, and I want the table height to be adjustable from 30 to 41 inches. The height adjustment is controlled by an automotive scissor jack, which limited the maximum height to 41 inches. I couldn't find a scissor jack with a 12-inch lift.

Studio and Office

I built this desk into a corner of my office to accommodate large monitors that were very deep at the time. Today's monitors are much thinner, so I have a lot of real estate behind the monitors for storage.

The desk wraps around two walls with storage space underneath. I built the filing and storage cabinet on the right. The wainscot and most of the wood trim items are mine. Only the shelfs holding the model ships were purchased.

I hate to waste space, so I turned this area between dormers into a storage cabinet.

This fireplace in Ron's studio fills the space between the other dormers.

Wooden Box

Woodshop Work Table

This is another table where the height is adjustable from 30 to 41 inches. The height adjustment is controlled by an automotive scissor jack, which limited the maximum height to 41 inches. I couldn't find a scissor jack with a 12-inch lift. This table did not have to collapse for storage, and it is designed to support very heavy projects.