I owe much of my basic woodworking from my step grandfather. He owned Daytona Beach Millworks and had a workshop in Astor, Florida. When I was growing up, I used to visit him and he would let me work beside him. He, like me, was left handed which gave me the fundamental lessons on safety and tool operation from a lefty’s point of view.
What I lack in his blood DNA is overflowed with his spiritual DNA that keeps me building arts of wood that are one of a kind. Thanks Earl!!!
I started building projects that I needed for my own use around the house. As I continued working with wood, my love for it grew bigger and started producing pieces of furniture art soley visualzed in my mind. The blueprint of what I wanted embedded in the brain and all I have to do now is build it.
My collection of this furniture art is looking for a good home. I have an accumulation of “one of a kind” wood furniture/art that is functional and creates a unique statement.
First, I get inspired by a piece of wood and then create a way to incorporate other forms of art. I try to use non-native wood, whenever possible. This is my attempt to help Florida rid unwanted species and create a use for them. (see my current wood inventory for exact species). What I do, I create one of a kind furniture/art that is in my head.
What I don’t do, I don’t build custom pieces that you have a visual for. It is too difficult to have your idea transferred over to my visual brain blueprint and the outcome would not be the same. I build custom pieces that are blueprinted in my creative mind and go from there as I grab a chunk of wood and create the arts of work.
If you like what you see, there is a price beside the piece. Feel free to ask any questions.
Thanks for visiting the Southern Carpenter! Jerry Carr.
Many of my projects are not ordinary. Where one may know nothing about woodworking , or how it was made. The choosing of what wood you will use and mostly how you are going to design a project that I visualize and never had a plan except a doodle sketch that looks like a 3 year old drew it. Never having any woodworking lessons, it was a challenge. I loved woodworking so much that my internal thought design concept deeply embedded into my head. So how do I build a project that I have or never had a plan for? I call it a gift I’m thankful for. It takes a true woodworker to recognize the amount of time you’ve spent working on a project. Some would take weeks. Since so much furniture is fabricated all over the world in masses, those who have never been inside a woodwork shop underestimate the time spent building furniture from a slab of wood that was felled for the sake of new development , such as residential housing and stores. Pines, and many other species that end up in the mill shop where I procure the wood and stack the wood to air-dry under cover for many years. It’s always the piece on the bottom that you need and for that my tractor has come in handy. Being a woodworker takes patience and doesn’t always go the way you wanted it to. To have to reengineer a design that is rather complex and working out the mathematical equations on a project I’ve never built and designed. In the end, we get to the finish line and it’s on to the next project. Here’s to some of my projects over the years. The wooden chandelier is the newest and hanging in our kitchen with the dinette set made. I will never build a project twice. There will always be one! Never to be duplicated again.
Hey, can you build me a table just like the one you built for your neighbor? That’s a loaded question. Do you want the table for free? What do you have in mind? Any budgetary dollar figure.
Oh, I thought you could just bang out a table overnight. You are so good at it! My budget they claim is less than $300.
Unfortunately the wood alone will cost up to 600 to 800 dollars and more! And that is just the slab.
The many man hours building it visually with a doodle sketch in front of me.
The design complexities and stains and colors, epoxy, shape, style , etc. can be a hard feat. You don’t want to a screw up an $800 slab of wood. That would make me cry!
I’ve always loved woodworking and started with little projects. Now that I’m retired, it gives me great pleasure to open my workshop every morning and work on a new project or begin a project I’ve never built. I prefer to use my own creativity when working with wood. I love live edge design and creative woodworks that are unique.
I’ve only built one Sam Maloof style rocking chair that is completely handmade doesn’t have one nail in the rocking chair. And that will be the only one I will ever build. This rocking chair tested my limits and I’m grateful that my family loves it so much. It is a masterpiece that took plenty of patience and engineering. A family heirloom that my daughter has claimed.
I only build projects that will make my heart skip a beat. Usually it starts with harvesting the wood and getting the wood tried and cut into slabs. I start thinking ahead and ask what will I build this time round.
No you can’t go to a retail store and purchase solid wood furniture.
I’m not a a furniture store. I build wood projects that are one of a kind pieces and have a story behind it all. Where the wood was harvested and the many places I would end up with a large slab and build dining room tables.
I never build the same project twice unless it’s a cocktail table and you need an end table to match. Or cookie tables that I create that are very unique and useable as end tables and small cocktail tables for small spaces.
My Grandfather, who owned Daytona Beach Millworks in the 1950’s was a woodworker and he had a lot to talk about. As a young man, I fell in love with my grandfathers woodwork.
I was always interested in what my grandfather was building next. He taught me many things including history of getting logs from the Astor (St Johns River ) so many years ago. My grandfather was an expert and built anything and everything. I would watch him work on the many projects.
Today, I have my grandfathers workbench sitting in my shop and she is beauty at over 120 years old.
Woodworking is far different than purchasing a piece of furniture at local retailer.
Woodworkers realize what it takes to do custom woodworks.
Each woodworker knows that woodworking is a complex and requires lots of patience.
I do not do kitchen cabinetry work or cabinet bases for bathrooms. I prefer to purchase at a retail store that can help me design a new bathroom , choose my colors. Get cabinets built and then rip out the bathrooms and do a renovation. Except , the only renovations I do is for my own house. I am always thinking about my next project!
Custom woodworking is expensive. The wood isn’t free. The supplies are expensive and the machinery is a huge investment that also requires maintenance and repairs.
When you decide on a custom piece of solid wood art – the costs are much higher.
A custom piece of woodwork is truly a family heirloom.
Being a master craftsman and building unique items is what I enjoy.
I built this dining room table for my wife. We’ve sold the previous dining room tables I’ve made over the years. Getting a new slab of wood costing $800, I knew then that I was going to build her a dining room table with all her favorite colors. By the time I finished this beauty , my wife was extremely happy. It is clearly aone of a kind piece!
Many people love designer pieces that can’t be duplicated. And are happy to pay the price to have a dining room that no one else owns.
I understand budgets and don’t mind big box stores selling me a living room set or recliner and bedroom furniture.
I also create my own cocktail and end tables.
Woodworking is art-form and the amount of time it takes to finish a project is underestimated. Patience is required and some good luck along the way.
Designing a new table from scratch and creating your own visuals such as shape , type of wood, legs, base of table, color of epoxy and stain you will use.
The first furniture I’ve built was many Adirondack chairs. Then I built several outdoor rocking chairs. In wanted to get into doing more complex pieces of furniture. And started building dining room tables. End tables , cocktail tables including designer lamps. If you are interested in a custom made piece of furniture and are interested in getting a one of a kind piece of furniture , please reach out.
In the workshop Making a jig for the base table legs Glueing the table legs Table Base This is where the table went in. Epoxy poured. Table Base Finished
$195 Authentic Chest Wood Wine Beautifully made and one of a kind. There is no duplicate. The wood is authentic Chestnut 32” wide, 20” high and 12” thickAuthentic Chest Wood Wine Beautifully made and one of a kind. There is no duplicate. The wood is authentic Chestnut 32” wide, 20” high and 12” thick.
I have always liked woodworking. For me it’s a creative outlet to be able to design something I visualize in my mind. There is no blueprint or design. It is based strictly on the type of wood I will be working with and the need for a piece of furniture or artwork that I want to build based on vision. There is so many types of woods. I do not build production made furniture. Each piece is unique in its own way and mastered with different kind of woods. I would like to thank Brady Sellars from Agri Timber who continually procures new inventory of trees that need to be harvested. The logs end up in the Wood mill and will sit for several months drying. In the end, the logs are cut into different size/dimensions. I can’t tell you what I will build after I finish a project. I do know that I’ve created very large scale woodworks. Dining Room Tables, Lamps, Dog Crate Furniture, Home Furnishings, Benches, Doors, and unique ArtWork .
Southern Carpenter
www.southerncarpenter.com 
