When I was 5 years old, I would stand on a tomato hamper in order to reach the band saw. That’s how the joy of woodworking began for me. After that came 10 years of 4-H woodworking projects. Early on, my education played a significant role in my learning how to envision and plan projects. Drafting classes taught me how to visualize, design, and portray objects and put them on paper. Algebra, geometry, trigonometry actually became a useful tool in my day-to-day experiences when coming up with more complex projects. My father and his father were both carpenters, so working with wood came pretty naturally and I had some great teachers along the way.

With that foundation laid and a couple more college level courses in woodworking, I began pursuing and refining a hobby that has lasted a life time and has been a tremendous source of joy. One of my favorite joys in woodworking has been being able to pass that skill on to the next generation. I love seeing their faces light up when they stand back and say, “Wow, I just made that”.

On this web site, you will see many of the projects I have made over the years and some which have been made under my tutelage. Most of my projects start with rough sawn lumber; lumber from trees which I have logged out from my surrounding area. Fortunately, I have a spacious building where I can store lumber and let it dry until I’m ready to transform it into something wonderful.

-- Doug Hawkins