What's your ultimate project?

[Larry Browning]

I know I have one, I'd bet that most of us do. What's that one thing you have always wanted to build? Maybe it was at some level the very reason you got interested in woodworking in the first place. You say to yourself, "I wish I was skilled enough to build that".
I may be close to starting mine, I just have to find someone to fund it.:eek:

My ultimate project is a first class heirloom pool table. I don't have room for one at my house, I'm not sure I would even play that much if I had one. I just want to build one. But after looking at a few web sites on the subject I have come to the conclusion that I am going to need to find someone who wants one, so they can fund it and I can build it for them. There's a guy at work who is very interested, but is still a bit apprehensive.

So, what's yours? If you have already built it, was it a satisfying experience? Would you do it again?

[George wilmore]

I want to replace the kitchen cabinets I built 20 years ago. This time I will have great machines to work with not the junk that was used the first time. The style I am thinking about is mission and I want to use quarter sawn oak. This will be my first project when I retire in three years.

[Don Morris]

It's a grandfather clock with an electronic movement. Still has the pendulum and chimes which I can switch on or off as I wish. The particular clock I'm going to make in the near future is called a Mora clock. Swedish style, maybe because my Swedish wife when she saw it said that was the one she liked. Klockit has the plans, and components, I've got the cherry. According to Klockit it's one of their most ambitious/demanding builds. Will probably do a mockup in poplar first. LOML already has the spot picked out for where it goes.

[Jay Maiers]

The Chair (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?85886-The-Great-Morris-Chair-project).

[Brian Kent]

I have done a couple of them - Maloof Style Rocker and a Cocobolo and brass infill plane. I'm making the outdoor dining table now and someday hope to make an indoor table.

Another one for the future is a super duper tool cabinet.

[gary Zimmel]

For me it is a grand father clock.
I have the plans for one from a company called Colonial Times.
The St. Laurent model made of cherry will someday grace our home....
Or so the game plan goes.

[Larry Browning]

I built a grandfather clock as a gift on the occasion of my grand daughters adoption. I was my most satisfying project so far.
https://picasaweb.google.com/116538662290459313764/GrandfatherClock02?authuser=0&feat=directlink

[Paul Steiner]

Mahogany Runabout.

[Aaron Conway]

This may sound rather simple but I'd like to build a built-in cabinet base with bookcase top, one on each side of my fireplace...and have it look like a pro did it.

[Paul Symchych]

The next project..... whatever that is.

I see that clocks are popular. I've made a grandfather and a grandmother, one QS white oak and the other one walnut. Satisfying.

[Lloyd Kerry]

One of those huge tool cabinets with a gazillion small drawers, and lots of fold-out doors to hang hand tools on. Anyone know where I can find a free plan for that? I'm tired of beating up my old MasterCard!

[Phil Hughey]

Either a Grandmother, or Grandfather Clock. It's been something I've wanted to do for years. The parts are quite expensive but I'd like to start on it next spring. I like the looks of the Grandmother style better, I think they look more like the one Captain Kangaroo had when I watched him as a kid.


"Woodworking is that perfect combination between work and relaxation!!"

[Greg Hines, MD]

My ultimate project would be a shop. I would love to build my own shop, complete with a woodworking area, and in the back corner, a masonry forge for blacksmithing.

[Larry Browning]

Mahogany Runabout.
I like this one. Have you got more details in mind?

[Alan Lightstone]

Build the New Yankee Workshop.

Norm stays around to help.

[Larry Browning]

The next project..... whatever that is.

I see that clocks are popular. I've made a grandfather and a grandmother, one QS white oak and the other one walnut. Satisfying.

Doesn't count! Every project cannot be your ultimate project. This just means you don't have one:confused:
Come on! I bet you can come up with something. You don't want to wonder through life without anything to strive for.

[Stephen Cherry]

I built a grandfather clock as a gift on the occasion of my grand daughters adoption. I was my most satisfying project so far.
https://picasaweb.google.com/116538662290459313764/GrandfatherClock02?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Nice clock Larry, but who is that guy messing around with things in the pictures?

[Larry Browning]

It's a grandfather clock with an electronic movement. Still has the pendulum and chimes which I can switch on or off as I wish. The particular clock I'm going to make in the near future is called a Mora clock. Swedish style, maybe because my Swedish wife when she saw it said that was the one she liked. Klockit has the plans, and components, I've got the cherry. According to Klockit it's one of their most ambitious/demanding builds. Will probably do a mockup in poplar first. LOML already has the spot picked out for where it goes.
Please reconsider the electronic movement. The mechanical movements are SO much better. There is something about winding them every Sunday that gives order to your life. You can turn the chimes on and off when ever you like. Plus you get used to them, they never keep me awake at night. In fact I find the chime nice in the middle of night to let me know its 3:00am without putting my glasses. You have to put a battery in it right? Hmmm. I know they are more expensive, but remember this is your ultimate project, no compromises.

[Larry Browning]

Nice clock Larry, but who is that guy messing around with things in the pictures?
Why.. That's me:D

[Ray Newman]

Three projects I would like to make:

--Once was in an old cabinet shop that had a very large apothecary type cabinet for hardware. The dovetailed drawers were about 5”X5”X12“, 12 rows and 12 in each row, with brass pulls and card holders. Always wanted to build something like that for the shop.

--An Andy Rae free-standing tool cabinet:
http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2080491/29561/Tool-Cabinet-Plan-AFD-277.aspx?refcode=05INFROO

Or a similar clone aqs featured in the November 20101 issue #201 of Wood Magazine (pp. 50-7):
http://www.woodstore.net/hetochwopl.html
(http://www.woodstore.net/hetochwopl.html) --A glass sided hanging weight driven Grandfather clock with moon phase also shown on the dial. Watching a operating clock movement is interesting. However, I wonder if the glass the distort sound of the chimes and movement’s ticking??

[doug faist]

No question; a Maloof Rocker.

[Jay Jolliffe]

I've already my ultimate project. It was building our house with my wife. We moved to Maine in the middle of the woods to build our house. 209878The only things we didn't do was the foundation & sheet rock. We did all the rest:)

[Larry Edgerton]

I've had a lot of nice projects for other people over the years as a woodworker/contractor but I am working on my ultimate project right now, and this one is for my wife and I.

I sold my commercial building and bought ten acres of hardwoods on the edge of the Pidgeon River Forest. I will have my shop and home on the same property, and my goal is to do mostly shop work so I can walk out the door and go to work. I am building a replica of a one room schoolhouse as our home, minus all the drafts. It is roughed in right now, ready for siding. Outside trim is of course a touch over the top for a schoolhouse, all made out of Azek so no painting in the future, but I am going with clear cedar siding as there is nothing that looks quite like it. It will be super efficient, at just a bit over 1000 sq. ft. I hope to heat it for just over $500 a year. My current house is the same size minus the high ceilings, and I heat it for $700 a year heat and hot water, so I feel it is do'able. Interior trim will be a copy of a trim I made for an old Italianate restoration I did as I already have all of the cutters and I like the style, again a bit over the top for a schoolhouse, but this is my schoolhouse. I secured a school bell from the 1800's and am in the process of designing the nicest bellfry the world has ever known. Its one bedroom, and an open plan that is geared to just my wife and I with no thought about resale, this is our home. I just installed a wood furnace to further cut costs, and give me heat if things fall apart further economically. That gave me an excuse to buy a new Husky 357XP!

My shop is smaller so I will have to learn how to be more efficient with space, but I have a seperate spray area in another building, one stall of the seperate three car garage, so that will help a lot. I can shuttle things back and forth with my new tractor!

Having a garden out the back door is something I have missed since I have lived in town, and I am very excited about that. It will be the first thing I see when I get up in the morning and look out the window. Now to figure out how to keep the elk away....

Technically this is not the hardest project that I have ever done as I have worked on some very nice projects in my business, but this is the most important one I have ever done for "Me". It is all part of a longer plan to simplify our lives and spend more time at home.

Larry

[Jeremy Milam]

I want to take down the masonary chimney that was for the furnace (not used anymore). Take it down to the basement and then remove the walls in the kitchen hiding it and put in cabinets there. My wife would like the result but doesn't want the mess. We have a bet that if the Cleveland Browns go .500 or better this year I can do it. Only 6 more wins needed, but with our Browns that's doubtful.

[Anthony Whitesell]

My goal is to build a lighthouse-shaped corner cabinet for the LOML with rail and stile glass doors, glass shelves, and mirrored back.

The plan is to make it one-quarter of an octagon complete with sloped sides. Therein lies the catch. If the front sides are sloped then the shelf pins in the front are a different spacing that those in the back when using a shelf pin drill jig. One day I'll figure out how to drill them and I'll start building. I'm thinking butternut, clear and noticeable straight grain and a lighter color (like QSWO but lighter and without the rays and flecks)

[Prashun Patel]

I have 2.

To build a house with my son.

To make an original piece of furniture that someone someday wants to copy.

[dave toney]

I have wanted to make a reproduction of Ben Franklin's desk, I used to work at a company that made them and have a copy of the plans. Here is a picture:
http://www.americanainteriors.com/testimonials.html
Dave

[Jeff Monson]

A block front chest of drawers, or a greene and greene inspired table are both on my list.

Neither fit my wife's taste on furniture, so it may be awhile.

[Chris Hester]

I have a few ultimate projects I would like to do in my lifetime.

A highboy, a block front chest of drawers, Maloof style rocker. There are plenty of other things I would like to build, but I think these are the ultimate for me.

[Jerome Hanby]

Roll-top desk. Don't really have a spot for it and so many things that are ahead of it on the list that I may not live long enough to build one, but that's the one that's always on my wish list.

[Larry Browning]

Roll-top desk. Don't really have a spot for it and so many things that are ahead of it on the list that I may not live long enough to build one, but that's the one that's always on my wish list.
This was my fathers ultimate project as well. He did manage to get it done about 3 years before he died and it is still in the family (my son has it). It's made from solid black walnut from trees he cut down himself. He talked about building it for years, but he waited until he thought his skill level was at a point where he could do it justice.
I am doing the same thing with the pool table. I have wanted to make one for many years, and I believe my skill level is now up to the task (or close to it).
Don't wait too long, you may never get it done.

[Kent A Bathurst]

A variety of items from Charles Rennie Mackintosh

> The tiled Washstand that is in the Met in NYC
> The Cashiers Chair that is in the Willow Tea Room in Glasgow
> The classics: Argyle chair and Hill House chair

Seen em' all in the wild. CRM is my favorite furniture designer of all time.

My problem - I have only one vote, and I lose all tie votes, and the only other vote on The Management Committee believes that CRM is not in keeping with the house's architecture and all the Stickley stuff I've built. I may go off the reservation and just build one or two of the damn things, and see what the fallout is.....can't take 'em apart and return them to raw wood..........

What's she gonna do, fire me? Sell my shop when I go on a fishing road trip? :p :p

[Ryan Hellmer]

Wow, I thought I would have a better answer. I guess I'm too young to really decide (28). My first inclination was Kayak, but then my dad has been talking pool tables for years. I built my own kitchen last year and have built most of the furniture in our house. I used to build houses, so I guess that's not quite as exciting to me (although I do want to "build" someday but my idea would be subbing most of the simple stuff and doing all the finish work myself).

Right now I'd say I would get most excited about building an executive office suite. I'm not an exec, but I do work an office job and I want a giant desk/credenza for no other reason than because I can. I'm looking for ideas if anyone has them. Something big and bold, Frank Lloyd Wright is an inspiration and I'm contemplating the use of alternative materials for the desktop including cast concrete, leather or granite/limestone.

Ryan

[Larry Browning]

My problem - I have only one vote, and I lose all tie votes, and the only other vote on The Management Committee......


I live under the same system.:eek:

Maybe you can get some outside funding for these projects. That's my plan. I hoping to talk my son into funding if so I can occasionally enjoy the results of my work.

[Larry Browning]

Ryan,
This is probably useless information. Last week Andy Rooney retired from 60 minutes and they did a nice farewell piece on him. Anyway he is/was a woodworker (at least I think I read that somewhere) and he made the desk that appears in his segments. I think the top is made fro a single slab of wood that still contains the bark and is odd shaped. I thought of that when I read your post.

[Don Morris]

Larry,

My father in law was a Swedish cabinet maker and the one who turned me on to wood working. Loved the things he did and I have some of his hand tools. I cherish them. I've stayed over many a night at their home before I married his daughter listening to their grandfather clock tick, tick, tick, chime, chime, chime, bong, bong, etc. NO WAY! I never slept!!! Obviously if you've been brought up listening to it, OK, but I've tried and for me, it's a no go. Why do you think they came up with electronic substitutes? And they are getting more popular. My neighbor has a mechanical. Every time I go over there it's not working. He forgets to wind it every week. So he just lets it sit there. And most of the turn off/turn on mechanicals you can only turn on/off at predetermined hours, you can't reset them, not just whenever you want. A new battery every few years is fine with me. That's not because I'm not a traditionalist too, just a realistic traditionalist. Remember, you can cut your nose off to spite your face.

[Jim Rimmer]

I would like to build a Prairie style home in the FL Wright architecture style with the wide eaves, great natural ventilation, and beautiful woodwork. Positioned on a nice country property to maximize natural heating and cooling plus great views. That's the ultimate but I don't see that happening. I'll continue to build for our house and for our kids and grandkids.

Not really a project but I would also love to have my son close enough to spend time in the shop together and pass on part of what I have learned and help him build his skills. Now, that may happen and that would be THE ultimate project. :D

[Larry Browning]

Larry,

My father in law was a Swedish cabinet maker and the one who turned me on to wood working. Loved the things he did and I have some of his hand tools. I cherish them. I've stayed over many a night at their home before I married his daughter listening to their grandfather clock tick, tick, tick, chime, chime, chime, bong, bong, etc. NO WAY! I never slept!!! Obviously if you've been brought up listening to it, OK, but I've tried and for me, it's a no go. Why do you think they came up with electronic substitutes? And they are getting more popular. My neighbor has a mechanical. Every time I go over there it's not working. He forgets to wind it every week. So he just lets it sit there. And most of the turn off/turn on mechanicals you can only turn on/off at predetermined hours, you can't reset them, not just whenever you want. A new battery every few years is fine with me. That's not because I'm not a traditionalist too, just a realistic traditionalist. Remember, you can cut your nose off to spite your face.
To each his own I guess. The tick, tock, tick, tock, and chimes have the opposite affect on me. Its a soothing, calming, relaxing, feeling that helps me go to sleep. You are not going to convince me, and I'm not going to convince you. That's ok. It would be a boring world if we all agreed on everything.

For me, It's sorta like putting a ball return in a high end heirloom pool table, it's more convenient, saves you from walking around the table retrieving the balls from each pocket, but it somehow lessens the perceived quality of the table.

[Larry Browning]

Not really a project but I would also love to have my son close enough to spend time in the shop together and pass on part of what I have learned and help him build his skills. Now, that may happen and that would be THE ultimate project. :D

That would be great for me as well. However, it wouldn't matter even if he lived in my shop. My son has absolutely no interest in woodworking or doing anything with his hands. I think his motto is "Why do it myself if I can pay somebody else to do it for me." He does NOT understand the phrase; "It's the journey, not the destination." Which is pretty much the way I live my life.
He does give me lots of things for me to be proud of though. He is a lawyer with integrity, who is highly regarded in his profession. He works with Major League Baseball and has written a book about a case he had against the hated New York Yankees. So I really can't complain about his lack of interest in woodworking.

[Jerome Hanby]

Maybe I'm some kind of heretic, but I wouldn't think twice about putting in a ball return on a pool table that otherwise was a perfect replica of some "classic" antique.

[alex grams]

Probably my ultimate project would have been a desk for my dad I did a few years ago. There are some things I would like to make (maloof rocker, acoustic guitar), but I probably won't know my ultimate project until I make it, because to me there has to be some sentimental association with the project to really put it over the top, such as a gift for someone important to you, which is what made my dad's desk such a rewarding project for me.

I think another good comment was to make someone unique and good enough that someone will want to copy it, that is a truly rewarding feeling when you have a unique idea/design that gets praise and people like.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=172950&d=1285212599

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=172953&d=1285212654

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=172947&d=1285212490

[Larry Browning]

Alex,
That is a beautiful piece. I really like your comments about making something with sentimental value. That's what made the clock I made so satisfying for me. Also, I think having someone want to copy something I designed and built would also be very rewarding. Even though, about all I've ever done was slightly modify an existing design. Designing from scratch seems beyond me.

[Brian Kent]

I've already my ultimate project. It was building our house with my wife. We moved to Maine in the middle of the woods to build our house. 209878The only things we didn't do was the foundation & sheet rock. We did all the rest:)


That's a real treasure, Jay!

[David Hostetler]

For me, my ultimate project, is actually a series of projects that honestly, needs to be funded. I want to build a Mexican Rustic dining room set, complete with 8' china cabinet and hutch, and matching blanket chests sized to use for end tables a coffee table, and lastly, a matching TV / Media console. The living room and dining room kind of flow together, and I am a huge fan of the Mexican Rustic / Southwestern style. I am planning on working my way starting with the TV / Media console, then moving on to the blanket chests, then the table, china cabinet / hutch, and finally, the chairs (never done chairs before...). I actually have a box of hand made, wrought iron hinges, and ring pulls for the projects. They are a mess of antiques that I found at a garage sale years ago. Some sort of salvage...

[Jerome Hanby]

I had never run across the term Mexican Rustic before so I Goggled it. Turns out my dining room table (from Pier 1) is Mexican Rustic!


For me, my ultimate project, is actually a series of projects that honestly, needs to be funded. I want to build a Mexican Rustic dining room set, complete with 8' china cabinet and hutch, and matching blanket chests sized to use for end tables a coffee table, and lastly, a matching TV / Media console. The living room and dining room kind of flow together, and I am a huge fan of the Mexican Rustic / Southwestern style. I am planning on working my way starting with the TV / Media console, then moving on to the blanket chests, then the table, china cabinet / hutch, and finally, the chairs (never done chairs before...). I actually have a box of hand made, wrought iron hinges, and ring pulls for the projects. They are a mess of antiques that I found at a garage sale years ago. Some sort of salvage...

[Jeff Duncan]

I've built a fair amount of projects over my short career and have done some interesting things. I'm lucky enough to be in a position where my clients are open to some of my creative ideas. None though have really pushed my skills and knowledge like my 'ultimate project' would. Someday when I have a lot more time on my hands, I'd like to start working on a small sail boat. No particulars yet, don't really know anything about sailing! It's just one of those things that I'd like to get into....someday. And the idea of building a boat, where there's not a straight cut or square edge to be found, seems like the ultimate challenge....for me anyway.

good luck,
JeffD

[Thom Porterfield]

... CRM is my favorite furniture designer of all time.... One of mine, as well. :)


... The Management Committee believes that CRM is not in keeping with the house's architecture and all the Stickley stuff I've built. ... There is no problem mixing these styles. Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Gustav Stickley were contemporaries--Mackintosh was just 10 years older than Stickley--and both were important factors in the end of the Art Nouveau period and beginning of the Arts and Crafts movement. I say: blend away, Kent. And don't forget the rose. :)

[Kent A Bathurst]

Thom. Very logical.

Where did I imply that logic was part of the equation?;)

[Brian Kent]

These are great dreams - one day to be accomplished. I have seen a couple that could be on my list, if…

If my wife would let me build a boat, the mahogany runabout sounds wonderful. I still could build a boat and sell it. My wife just thinks I don't know what I'm doing (just because I don't know what I'm doing).

If I played the guitar and knew what sound I was going for, I would love to build a guitar.

[Tom Scott]

Like Jeff above, my ULTIMATE project would be a wooden sailboat - preferably about a 26-28' sloop. That type project would be all-consuming for years (at least for me). I don't know that I will ever get to do it, but it's been on my list since before I even started woodworking.

[Dan Schocke]

I'm on board with the Mahogany runabout... I've drooled over these plans for a while:

https://www.boatdesigns.com/Barrelback-19/products/721/
209959

I've started on this little one, though my wife isn't convinced that I'll finish it:

https://www.boatdesigns.com/10-Squirt-runabout/products/360/
209960

[Kurt Cady]

I want to build some dining room pieces (table, 8 chairs, sideboard, bench, etc) very similar to some of the stuff Thomas Stangeland produces.

I fell in love with G&G when I saw his profile in a magazine, Wood maybe?

http://www.artistcraftsman.net/dining.html

Now if only the Management Committee would approve of mohogany. The committee seems to have been swayed to the espresso dark furniture without any character or grain or shabby chic pine with distressed milk paint.

[Larry Browning]

I'm on board with the Mahogany runabout... I've drooled over these plans for a while:

https://www.boatdesigns.com/Barrelback-19/products/721/
209959

I've started on this little one, though my wife isn't convinced that I'll finish it:

https://www.boatdesigns.com/10-Squirt-runabout/products/360/
209960

Geez! what would something like that cost to build? That is beautiful!!!!!

[Dan Schocke]

I wish I could tell you how much it would cost to build the full-sized boat, but I haven't looked at prices on the marine engine/trans/hardware for over a decade :-(. When I first purchased the plans for the small boat, I figured a cost of around $800 without the outboard motor, but that was also a long time ago -- I had to put the project on hold while we moved, and haven't been able to start it back up. There isn't a ton of lumber in the smaller boat -- about 20 bf of mahogany for the frames and a few sheets of 1/4" marine plywood for the planking, but fiberglass, epoxy, and silicon-bronze hardware add a lot to the cost. Either way, it's been worth the $30 (I think) investment in plans just for the hours I've spent dreaming about building it. I'll get it done some day :)

[Victor Robinson]

A house. Not sure I will ever get to.

A more realistic ultimate project is a king bed for my wife and I with upholstered headboard and under-bed storage, one that looks like it belongs in one of these boutique furniture galleries littered all over San Francisco. I have it all planned out, just don't have the guts to invest the space and money to build it just yet.

[Ben Hatcher]

I could tell you what my ultimate project used to be. My new ultimate project is a BOAT!

[Larry Browning]

I could tell you what my ultimate project used to be. My new ultimate project is a BOAT!
That's kinda what I'm thinking! If I ever get that pool table built, the boat is going to be my new ultimate project. And I have never wanted a boat...... until NOW! Thanks a lot Dan.

[Larry Browning]

One thing about having an ultimate project, is that once you build it, then what? It can no longer be your ultimate dream project. You need a new one! One that is more challenging than the last one.

[Jim Laumann]

How about 2 for now....

A cedar strip canoe - am torn between a 1 person model (13-14') vs a two person unit - likely 15-16'.
A grandfather clock as already discussed....

Jim

[Brian Kent]

One problem with a boat is that once it is complete, you have just begun to spend money. It never ends. I had a free catamaran for a year that was far more expensive to maintain than if I had just rented one on an hourly basis. Parking was free, too.

[David Hostetler]

I had never run across the term Mexican Rustic before so I Goggled it. Turns out my dining room table (from Pier 1) is Mexican Rustic!

Ya learn something new every day don'tcha! Seriously though. I have lived in border states so long, that I have gotten an appreciation for the style... It started in college in Tucson... Love the style... Very warm and forgiving. Just feels homey to me...

[Larry Browning]

One problem with a boat is that once it is complete, you have just begun to spend money. It never ends. I had a free catamaran for a year that was far more expensive to maintain than if I had just rented one on an hourly basis. Parking was free, too.
Who said anything about keeping our ultimate project:confused: I think most projects worthy of being labeled ultimate would probably cost WAY too much to fund on our own. That's the great thing about dreaming. It doesn't cost anything.

[Brian Kent]

Good call, Larry.

[Tom Scott]

One problem with a boat is that once it is complete, you have just begun to spend money. It never ends. I had a free catamaran for a year that was far more expensive to maintain than if I had just rented one on an hourly basis. Parking was free, too.
Oh, trust me I know. But the joy of stepping on board each time would be worth it.

[Doug Carpenter]

wow. A pool table would be a great project. What type do you have in mind? Many years ago I played pool quite a bit. I had a job in a store that sold tables. Mostly I worked on cues but occasionally sold or delivered and set up the tables as well. I haven't played in years. I took up shotgun sports and haven't had much interest in pool since. I would love to have a table at home but I don't have the space. I did keep my cue in hopes that someday I would have a table.

I had always wanted to build gunstocks. It is really a whole new realm. For 22 years I have been a remodeling contractor and everything I ever did was plumb level and square. I have had to stop doing the construction work due to neck and shoulder injuries. I have since started a business doing custom gunstocks.

Another fun project I would like to do is to build a stave drum. Perhaps a whole matching set if the first one went well. I had never given it any thought untill I saw a post here on the creek by Seth Dolecourt. He builds some amazing projects and even started another forum just for drum building. I don't play drums and really have no desire to but it looks like a fun build.

[Larry Browning]

I was thinking something like this guy. I can only hope mine would turn out this good.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?97238-Build-Your-Own-Pool-Table

(http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?97238-Build-Your-Own-Pool-Table)
I also found this site that I probably will buy the plans from (when I get the funding)
http://www.pooltableplans.com/

[Keith Hankins]

My ultimate is either one of two projects. If I can complete either, I'll say I've done something. I want to do a Maloof rocker and a Townsen/Goddard secretary.

Here is my last two projects pretty tough I like doing them and learned a lot.

http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/16906/cherry-hutch-from-tauntons-plans


http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/39063/cherrybubinga-wine-cabinets

[Roger Benton]

I have three:
-a timber framed home using lumber i felled, milled and dried
-a woodstrip canoe
-a VERY nice tool cabinet

[Dan Schocke]

Larry,

I've built a pool table based off of the plans in this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Furniture-Projects-Best-Woodworking/dp/0942391918/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1318874056&sr=8-5#_

I'll have to find my pictures (or move all the junk off of the table to take some new ones), but it was not that difficult of a project. Dimensining the rails was probably the most difficult part of the whole thing. I was amazed at how few pieces were really involved...

Sorry about spreading the boat-building disease... I have two small boat projects started at the moment... the mini runabout and an 18' cedar strip canoe. Maybe I'll have time to finish one once my kids are out of Little League, scouts, hockey, etc. :cool:

--Dan

[Dave Lehnert]

Funny about all the grandfather clocks. One of my first woodworking projects. I will admit I did not know better. But turned out GREAT!

My project has always been a segmented bowel I saw on the cover of WOOD magazine years ago.

[Gordon Eyre]

Not sure why but I have always wanted to build a good chair. I still have the chair that my dad sat on every morning as he put on his shoes. I don't have a lathe or a bandsaw but do have a fully equipped workshop otherwise. Some day I will come across some plans for a nice chair that I want to build. I want it to be a keepsake for one of my kids when I pass on.

Here is a picture I call "Remembering Dad"

http://www.pbase.com/greyflash/image/57241170/original.jpg

I resurrected this chair from the side of the barn. It was all in pieces, two spindles missing, and the seat was split. I carried the pieces around through two moves and finally got around to fixing this chair and I still have it in my bedroom today.

For those interested in photography, the image was taken in a completely darkened room and lit by a LED flashlight during a 20 second exposure.

[Mark Surig]

A mission style dining room set. Table, six chairs and a side board. Chairs intimidate me.

[Jerome Hanby]

Me too and me too. Maybe this would be my penultimate project.


A mission style dining room set. Table, six chairs and a side board. Chairs intimidate me.

[George Gyulatyan]

At the moment, my ultimate project is learning to mill lumber flat and square :D

[Zach Dillinger]

My ultimate project is the one that got me interested in woodworking in the first place. Despite the fact that I've built dozens of pieces, large and small, I still haven't had the courage to start it, as I want to make it perfect. My ultimate project is the Thomas Jefferson folding lap desk, the one he used every day of his adult life, including working on the Declaration of Independence. I've got a plan, the FWW article, and theoretically the skillset, but something in those tiny dovetails is very intimidating. I know this isn't the "real" one, but I want it to be as close as possible when I finally build it.

[Bobby O'Neal]

I have 2. To build a house with my son. To make an original piece of furniture that someone someday wants to copy. I wish there were a "like" button for this. Couldn't agree more. Particularly the part about my son.

[Eric DeSilva]

CRM's Hill House chair is on my short list as well. Have you ever seen plans for one? I've never actually seen it in the wild, so I'd really have to speculate about how the construction would go...

[johnny means]

Here's my ultimate project so far. Funded by Saudi royalty. Its a bunkbed.

[Tom Zillig]

I built a very nice Tansu-ish Craftsman Dining table that seats twelve. Curly quartersawn white oak and walnut trestle base. 400 hours of labor for my Mother who sacrificed everything for me. Thirty-some coats of hand sanded gloss varnish. Plus an emergency gall bladder removal during this obsession. I'm building hope chests for neices and kitchen cabinets for my wife. These loving expressions define me somehow. I am driven to leave a legacy of fine furniture to my family. That is my dream.

[Mark Patoka]

I guess my current "dream" projects are a Maloof-style rocker and a segmented turned art piece like Malcolm Tibbetts creates. Someday.....

[Rob Fisher]

CRM's Hill House chair is on my short list as well. Have you ever seen plans for one? I've never actually seen it in the wild, so I'd really have to speculate about how the construction would go...In Billcliffe's large book the dimensions are given as 140x40.5x33.5cm (this is for the tall ladderback style chair with the 5x5 square grid at the top). That's not a ton of info but it is a definite start. Also there are reproductions out there so someone has plans. I think there is a scale model of this chair too.I would love to see a Bob Lang shop drawings style book of CRM furniture. That would be quite an undertaking though. Bob, what do you think?? ;)

[Eric DeSilva]

I'd buy a copy!

[Patrick Melchior]

man larry,
your workshop is bigger than my house!!!

great job!!!

[Charlie Ross]

A Grandfather clock... Using Fancy Black Walnut, quality German movement and some carvings around the face. Right now my ultimate project is getting my shop setup.

[Patrick McCarthy]

My ultimate project? ANY of the pieces that Dave Diaman has posted.

[Ole Anderson]

Mine was the first big project I took on after getting my TS and making a router table. It was a computer hutch made from the plans from American Furniture Design: http://www.americanfurnituredsgn.com/Computer Furniture.html , all raised panel design.

All I can find quickly is a thumbnail: 211949

Not sure I will take on as complex and large a project again. I have since done a mission bed and am now working on a pair of upper/lower storage units, one for my shop, one for my wife's knitting supplies.

[Larry Browning]

Patrick,
BUT, if you had to pick just one, the one that you would consider your ultimate woodworking project, what would it be?

[Larry Browning]

Ole,
This thread is about dreaming, not so much about what you have already done. I think if you have already built what once was your ultimate project, you should find another. For me anyway, striving and looking forward is what keeps me interested in woodworking, in fact it its what make life worth living.

[Brian Vaughn]

As much as I love the old Chris-Craft style boats, I know I would just not have the patience and wherewithal to finish one once I start, so I am currently sticking to my plan of a strip kayak.

[Jake Elkins]

My ultimate project is about 4 or 5 of these:

211974

After 13+ years of college, I think I have spent more money on books than either tools or cars. I would like a bank of these Stickley-inspired bookcases to line a 30' wall in the basement. I've started building one several times, but I have never got around to finishing one yet. Hopefully someday.

[Steven Lee, NC]

Mine would be a Mahogany runabout

[Brian Backner]

Hmmm, there are several things I would like to build:

1. An 11' version of a Willard tall case clock (I have really high ceilings in my living room)

2. A copy of the 9-shell front high boy in the John Brown House in Providence, RI

3. A Philadelphia tall desk.

I'm sure there are more .....

Brian

[Larry Browning]

There seems to be a theme here.

Hmmm, there are several things I would like to build:

1. An 11' version of a Willard tall case clock (I have really high ceilings in my living room)

2. A copy of the 9-shell front high boy in the John Brown House in Providence, RI

3. A Philadelphia tall desk.

I'm sure there are more .....

Brian

[David Keast]

+1 for a long case clock I'm afraid. In walnut probably, but certainly with a top class mechanical movement - Kieninger or Hermle seem to be the favourites if horribly expensive.

[Gene Crain]

Selling and installing this entry door unit.....60" x 96" x 2.25"

[Dale Cruea]

A grandfather clock and a grandmother clock with mechanical works.
All by hand, not purchased moldings. All hand planed and hand routed. All hand work.
Sigh..... made from cherry.
I love the sound of the tick tock....
I don't have a place to put it but my lovely wife would find a place if she had to move the bed out.

[Tom Fischer]

Flat top Queen Ann Highboy.
At least in walnut or cherry.
Maple is the best.
Doesn't get any cooler than that.
From Eric Johnson's (a master) catalog

http://www.ericjohnsonsfurniture.com/assets/photos/Item%20Panels/highboy.jpg

[Brian Backner]

There seems to be a theme here.

Absolutely - I like the look of "old" stuff. :)

Brian

[Kent A Bathurst]

I'd buy a copy!

I did!! The original was published, like, 20 years ago. New edition came out late last year. Be prepared for a big GULP! at the price. It is well worth the price, IMO. "Comprehensive" doesn't do it justice. Excellent photos of the pieces. Coffee-table format.......I can just sit there and page through the book, awestruck...........

It doesn't give you detailed designs. They are more like sketches with a few key dimensions, at best. And only for a small % of the hundreds of pieces. CRM and his manufacturer had their routine figured out to where there wasn't a lot of details required to communicate, and I've always wondered at how that process worked - my guess is that CRM did these "big picture" designs, and then turned them over to the manufacturer to figure out the details of how to make it work.

I've seen a lot of his stuff "in the wild". As in - Glasgow. For the most part, you can't even take photos in places like The Hill House, Willow Tea Room, etc. From what I have discerned [reading between the lines a lot], the owners maintain a very strict control over the pieces, and have never granted access to allow anyone to produce designs a la, say, Bob Lang's excellent Stickely books. It seems that there is at least one "authorized" repro house in Scotland. Their prices are right at the level of the stratosphere that you would expect.

I would intend to pick a piece, get what info I can from the book, research the heck out of photos, take a deep breath, and tee it up.

[John Lytle]

Gene Landon's Spicebox on Frame plan. I bought the plan, just need to make time, and clear the 'honey do' list.

John

[Shaun Mahood]

The only reason I got into woodworking was to build myself a classical guitar, and everything I do in the shop is aimed towards that goal eventually.

[Larry Browning]

The only reason I got into woodworking was to build myself a classical guitar, and everything I do in the shop is aimed towards that goal eventually.
Cool! Good luck to you. Have you set a personal goal as to when you will start the guitar?

[Shaun Mahood]

Hoping to start it sometime next spring or summer - I keep spending my money on tools to build it, so can't afford the wood yet.

[Larry Browning]

I hear ya man! I think most of us have that problem too!
You should be able to find lots of help and advice here at the Creek.