Work comes to me in various ways. I was visiting a friend and his neighbor came across the street after seeing my truck. This antique Chinese prayer altar had been damaged in a move. It took several weeks of letters and emails between the owner, myself and the moving company, before I could commence.			Home HANDY LINKS All Projects On One Page About Me Business Card For You Email Me PROJECT INDEX...A-to-Z Albatross Altar Amboyna Turning Angels Ash Sphere Beds For My Boys Big Woody Bookcase Brass Balls Church Windows Dovetail Box Gold Dolphins Grandfather Clock Hope Chest Hope Chest Testimonial Jewelry Store Jewelry Store Testimonial Lacewood Bowl Lacewood Desk Mendocino Vessel Pipe Smoker's Table Plant Stand Pocket Watch Case Predator Rickshaw Rocking Chair Rocking Chair Frame Rolltop Desk Spalted Vase Stagecoach Chest Stopper & Vessel Telephone Stand Telephone Table Violin Case Walnut Vase X-ray Devices Ron Renner Geppetto's Woodworks Vancouver, Washington 360-606-2949 Website by ~ Neal Lubow
			ABOVE---What I had to start with can be seen above. The other side (seen below, clamped up) had been mostly broken off, nowhere to be found. Rather than a repair or restoration, I considered it a re-creation.
			ABOVE---After I removed broken shards of the carving on the bad side, a new uncarved block was fit into place. Underneath the clamps is a bare block of Jelutong (Dyera costulata), a tropical evergreen hardwood from Malaysia, Borneo, and Sumatra. It’s used in the pattern-making and model-making trade and is known for its easy workability. Finding the right piece locally was another trick. Took a lot of looking. After several weeks of researching---including fruitless efforts on the internet---I finally came across the prize at a bay in a Portland lumber source. After a brief hand of self-congratulation, the fun began!
			ABOVE---I’m not a sculptor, but I do know carving. This project involved a lot of it. The section above was created from scratch and needed to match what existed, with a human hand and artistic interpretation, which was done by me. Then it needed to have a color match done dead on, which I do not do, but rely on a very close, longtime source, who is a master touch-up artist. He made it happen...below.
			Everything involved, this was a 40-hour project for me, excluding outside sources. The process included sourcing, cutting, fitting, prepping, sanding, scraping, carving, and finishing. With money and time (almost) anything is possible. Phone 360-606-2949...Home...Email...All Projects on One Page...TOP OF THIS PAGE