The Long's Peak Gun Cabinet

The latest Expression in Wood by The Knotty Woodworker is The Long's Peak Gun Cabinet. It is 53" wide and 74" tall and will hold 12 long arms. It features raised panel sides and lower doors, Glass panel upper doors, handmade pulls and knobs, and a tongue and groove paneled back.
A pure pleasure to create and build, I was allowed a lot of creative control to do a "Knotty Job." As has become the norm, my client was very satisfied, not just with the overall appearance, but with the quality of craftsmanship.



I made the pulls and knobs from a limb that was killed by the Mountain Pine Beetle. The burrow tracks are the texture and beauty of each one and each is as unique as a finger print. The door pulls and knobs are doweled into place through the face of the door and a set of smaller dowels are glued into those dowels from the edge of the door. Quality. Uniqueness.








Some folks might would consider the steps I take a waste of time. However, The Knotty Woodworker guarantees all of his furniture for a full 5 years in materials and craftsmanship. Five years! A brand new house is only guaranteed for 1 year.
It is not my intent to ever have to do any warranty work. The only way to avoid this is to build it right the first go around. My pieces are tomorrow's antiques, so I build them to be an heirloom your great grand kids will enjoy. I beg you to find such a guaranty elsewhere and at no additional cost.
The Beetle kill pine has a most unique beauty. Each piece is so unique and different than the next board. The result is not only extreme beauty, but knotty uniqueness. If you are not familiar with Colorado's Beetle Kill Pine, please see my blog entry located at Environmentally Responsible Furniture Making
When this wood is crafted into furniture by The Knotty Woodworker, each aspect of the grain is significantly highlighted through grain selection and board placement.






Here is a close up of the base of the Long's Peak Gun cabinet that shows the incredibly catastrophic beauty of this wood. The moulding used here is a piece 1/4" thick. The other half of the board, the "book matched" slice, is used as the molding on the top of the cabinet. Just one of many little steps taken by The Knotty Woodworker to display the elegance of this wood and to have your furniture exclaim "Colorado" to all who takes in it's beauty.


Here are a few more pictures of the Long's Peak Gun Cabinet.




























Please consider how a piece of furniture made from Beetle Kill Pine would fit into your home and how to get the best quality for your money by having The Knotty Woodworker be your furniture maker. A decision that you will never regret. The money you spend with The Knotty Woodworker today will continually spend itself into the future. 303.246.4766

The Madison River Desk

I have been working on an executive desk. It is made from Beetle Kill Pine, one of a kind, and of heirloom quality. It was built in such a way that it will still be functional and useable and beautiful forty years from now and longer even. Here are the pictures of it in the client's home. I can build you almost anything out of this amazing wood - entertainment center coffee/end table set/ bed, dresser, etc. You can choose the rustic accents I incorporated in the desk, or I can build in contemporary or traditional styles without rustic accents - The wood itself is very rustic in appearance. View some of my earlier blogs to see the story behind the Beetle kill pine, my all natural, non-toxic finishing process and just why you should choose to order your handmade heirloom quality furniture through The Knotty Woodworker. Feel free to call me at 303 246 4766 to discuss your furniture needs. The quality will exceed your expectations, the beauty will captivate your family and friends and the cost will make your dollar go further than you imagined possible.


If you click on the images below, they will open up super size so you can see the rich detail.





The desk is 74" x 68" x 30" high





The drawer bank features hardwood dove tailed drawers. The pulls were handmade from a limb killed by the Mountain Pine Beetle.





When properly worked, end grain can be very beautiful.





There are three wire holes in the desktop for electronics. The wire chase continues underneath in the up right studs between the panels that comprise the wall. The wires then run behind the cabinet and out of the side of the cbinet in the toe kick.





Non-symetrical contours were added to replicate the natural edges of the wood as found in a log.





I had to chisel away the bark, exposing beetle burrow tracks in the "live" edge.





A beautiful knot on the live edge of the return side.





A Knot on the edge of the top. A nice contrast with the blue/black staining left by the Mountain Pine Beetles.





Mountain Pine Beetle burrow tracks in the live edge.





Doubled up "biscuits" used for alignment of the slabs and strength in the joint. Quality.





The drawer bank prior to installation.





Beetle burrow tracks in the handmade knobs.





You can see how the tracks are obvious on the sides of the handmade pulls, also.




The limb from which I made all the pulls.





I had some of the wood milled while I waited after choosing the logs personally. A sign of good working is grain selection and board placement. A step I NEVER overlook.





There is an Executive Desk and a gun cabinet in the back of the truck. I am not sure what else, but there is a lot of this wood available. What does your house need to Express Yourself?

Going Blue

The "green" movement is upon us. Whether you buy into the theory of Global Warming or not, I would recommend to any constituent of the Earth to behave in a responsible manner in regards to the bounties that are supplied to us by the Earth. Responsible stewardship is commendable whether or not we are destroying the Earth. I find no fault in anyone attempting to preserve our natural resources, regardless of their motivation or beliefs.
The Knotty Woodworker, being responsible for his use of natural resources, is going "Blue." I am glad you are asking what that means. I will explain it. A trip across Colorado will reveal thousands upon thousands of acres of brown evergreen trees. How can an evergreen be brown, you ask. The Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB) is the culprit. It is not a new creature, although it is seeing its heyday right now. The lodge-pole pine trees have been victimized by this critter for ages. Right now, however, its infestation is at pandemic levels. Thousands of acres of our forests are giving up trees to the effects of this insect's activities. The MPB burrows through the bark of a tree and ingests the bark and wood. As it excretes it's food, a fungus starts and thrives in the tree until the tree dies. The result of the fungus is a discoloration, a stain, of blue color embedded in the wood. This kills the tree and then the MPB moves on to another tree until that tree is dead. And then another, then another.




There is much debate as to why the infestation level is so high. Some say a few successive years of warmer than usual winters. Other theories include lower than usual number of wildfires. Regardless of the reason, the result is that acres upon acres of standing evergreens that are now "ever-browns." The impact of the MPB is leaving it's mark in mountainsides with a dead brown canopy of trees. The standing dead trees need to be harvested and used for whatever purpose possible.
To be responsible, we need to take advantage of this influx of lumber rather than let it stand until so weak it falls, and allow it to lay there until it fully decomposes.
The Knotty Woodworker is using this abundant lumber to create heirloom quality furniture. This is the only responsible way I can see to get through this pandemic. The impact on the environment has taken place. All I can do is minimize the impact by utilizing the wood.





So, this is how The Knotty Woodworker is going "green." I am actually going "blue." And rather than spraying the furniture with a solvent based finish such as lacquer or polyurethane, I am going a green step further by applying an all natural, 100% vegetable oil finish. What? Am I using Wesson oil? No, no, and NO!
The finish I am referring to is an oriental practice that goes back over three millenia. Tung Oil. The Chinese have applied tung oil to their woodworking projects for centuries. Tung oil is rendered from the nut of the tung tree. It penetrates the wood as opposed to varnishes and shellacs that sit in top of the wood surface as a sealer and beautifier. Tung oil offers a finish that is impervious to moisture, beautifies the wood and protects it from deterioration, which is the reason lacquer and other solvent based finishes are used.
It takes an incredible amount of time for the tung oil to dry. This is sped up by other tung oil products by mixing it with mineral driers that contain solvent based driers.
The tung oil employed by The Knotty Woodworker is unique in that it contains no mineral driers. It has a drier to speed up the drying process that is all natural itself; 100% Orange Oil (d-Limonene). This provides an all natural, low toxicity finish. As a woodworker, I can't get any "greener" than this. The finished protect is protected and beautified in the most natural way. Here is a raw wood sample and the same piece after application of the 100% organic finish.


Here is a piece of fiddle-back maple in it's natural state.





After the application of all natural tung oil. Another positive of this finish is that it emits an incredible citrus smell that lingers in the wood. A far cry better than the chemical odor of traditional solvent based finishes. Very pleasant.


The Knotty Woodworker can provide you beautiful, heirloom quality furniture with no adverse effect on our environment. Contact me and let's "Go Blue."