The items shown below are a partial collection of my past creations.
Click on the image for an expanded view. I hope to create something for you!
Click on the image for an expanded view. I hope to create something for you!
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Banjo Absolutely, my prize creation! I built this 5 string banjo from scratch.
It won first place in the State Fair of Texas several years ago for craftsmanship and inlay work. It is unlike most other 5 string banjo's who have their 5th string tuner mounted on the side of the neck at the 5th fret. Instead, I decided to mount my 5th string tuner at the very top of the peg head. On this banjo, the 5th string disappears inside the neck at the 5th fret and reemerges in the middle of the peg head. I get lots of compliments on it. I built the case for it too but it unfortunately perished when our house burned to the ground 7 years ago. My home built banjo was the only thing I managed to save. Click on the image to get a better view of this beautiful piece. |
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Banjo or Guitar stand So if you build your own banjo, then you've got to build your own stand so you can show it off! This stand was whittled from a large cedar tree that a storm blew down in our neighborhood. Unusual??? You bet it is! |
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Smoker
I spent WAY too much time building this smoker. If I got a dollar an hour for all the labor, I'd be rich! No, the pipes are NOT bent. They are made from 90,45 and 22 degree pieces of cast iron hand rails that are all welded together and ground smooth. Many, many, MANY hours of labor there. It features adjustable heat between the firebox and the smoking chamber. All 4 smokestacks have adjustable tops in order to meter the amount of escaping heat. The fire box is 3/8" steel plate and the smoking chamber is an old air compressor tank. I fabricated the wheels and the rest of the accessories from scratch. Click on the image to see the details! |
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Plow blades This lamp is PLENTY unusual. The lamp shade is 4 cast iron plow blades welded together. They are being supported with two steel straps that were once pole climbing spikes used to climb telephone poles. They are attached to a frying pan used as a wall plate and an old hand grinder. There isn't another one anything like this anywhere on this planet! |
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Granite table
Our home and everything we own burned to the ground August of 2009.
I rebuilt the house as soon as could after hassling with the insurance company and the city. We bought these patio chairs from Lowe's for our new house but the table they offered was a piece of junk. I decided to make my own matching table out of a left over piece of granite from our new house. I got on my CAD program of my computer and drew matching side rails for the new table so they would match our existing chairs. Just for kicks, I added the Texas LONE STAR in the middle of each side. It turned out pretty good! What do YOU think?? Maybe I can do this for you? |
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Chicken coop
A neighbor walked into my shop about a year ago and asked me if I could build a PORTABLE chicken coop! Of course I said yes, so I did! Thus the reason for the wheels on one end of it. You can pick it up and move it around so your chickens can have a fresh area to forage. At the same time, you are getting your yard fertilized for free. I have been lucky enough to get many free eggs from this customer. |
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Longwood The heavy cast iron door off of an old Longwood cast iron stove makes a great mount for this creation. Then there is the old frying pan with a pair of old hoof trimmers welded to it which is perfect to mount the weighing bin off of an old balance scale to act as a lampshade. Who knew that these items were NOT banished to the scrap heap? |
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Birdville
There's nothing like apartment living. You have to deal with all kinds of tenants. So far, there have been no race wars here. Just easy living in a quiet neighborhood. I build custom birdhouses from all types of material. Tell me what you are thinking? |
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Tractor seat Everybody needs a tractor seat lamp! Don't they?? This lamp is about as unusual as you can get. I first mounted an old hand grinder to a rough sawn oak log. Then I fabricated mounts for the log by adding a couple of old open end wrenches to each end of the log with mounting tabs welded to them. For the upright that holds the tractor seat lamp shade, I bound together about 10 strands of old rusted barbed wire and managed to shape it like I wanted then welded the ends all together. Unique to say the least! |
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Rosewood I found this piece of rosewood at an exotic wood supplier and just had to have it. It is just over 2" thick. It is finished with tru-oil like is used on gun stocks.
The base is an upside down oak stump I found washed out of the shoreline and I left it totally unfinished. |
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Fireplace tools Here we have some industrial strength fireplace tools. You won't find any like these at Wal Mart. Of course this particular set has the LONE STAR Texas theme. They are made from 1/2" solid iron twisted bar with decorative cast iron handles capped with a lathe turned brass cap. The ash shovel is hammered 14 gauge steel. The log handler is a horse shoe and the set includes the typical "poker". They are premium quality that will literally last a lifetime. |
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Nail keg I knew I could find a good use for an old nail keg. That twisted metal supporting the lamp shade is a piece of lightning rod off of a 100 year old house that was torn down near my home. I couldn't bear watching the useable stuff being hauled to the scrap heap! |
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Rotating herb My wife likes to raise herbs for our salads and for cooking. I decided to build her this rotating herb planter with the removeable pots. I didn't want this one to rust so I had it powder coated. My salads have never been so good! |
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Horse tack Old is good. This is a part of some old horse tack used by a two horse team to pull a wagon. It sports the antique bronze colored cage type light covers on the ends and is entangled with old rusty barbed wire that follows a dark bronze colored decorative chain to it's hanging point. Two old style low output Edison light bulbs with the visible filament really add a nice touch. |
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WALL CLOCK A customer brought me this old clock from a factory. It was gray, dirty and way too plain looking. It originally hung from the ceiling and didn't work. He told me to "DOLL IT UP" so I did. I added the horse hames and wrought iron plus I made it two sided and added new works. It will soon be on the wall of his new restaurant! |
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Axe & saw This is a 150 year old broadhead axe impaled in a Texas mesquite log that is mounted on a 11 gauge diamond plate base. The handle (of sorts) on the axe is a gnarled piece of Black Jack oak. The lampshade is a section of a two man crosscut saw rolled and welded. The saw's edges have been dulled for obvious reasons. This lamp measures 26" tall. You won't find another one like this one anywhere! |
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Telephone Tubes Just an old wooden oak telephone box with a few mods that has been modified to accept a copper pipe which holds the slightly abused lamp shade. Apparently some kid with a BB gun dinged this old shade a few times. The old vacuum tubes are really works of art so I just couldn't throw them away. They don't do anything. They just sit there and make you wonder how TV and radio voices and pictures flowed through them back in the 40's and 50's! Really different and WAY cool. |
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Plumbers Stove
When I first saw this contraption in a junk shop, I thought it was an old lantern. It is NOT! It was used by plumbers in the early 1900's to melt lead used to seal plumbing pipes. It was in terrible condition so I cleaned it up and turned it into a great conversation piece and functioning lamp. It features a 3 position rotary switch for "NIGHT LIGHT, MAIN LIGHT, BOTH LIGHTS" then back to OFF. I also permanently sealed the brass fittings and added feet to the base so it won't scratch your furniture. It wouldn't be complete without the hammered chrome plated salad bowl for a lamp shade. This piece measures approximately 22 inches tall. |
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Frames Here are some samples of some rustic custom picture frames from the past. Yes, Mr. Polser asked me to frame a feed bag from his old feed mill. He provided me with the branded wood and said, "make it happen". I can make frames out of most anything and they don't have to be "rustic".
Tell me what YOU want and I'll make it happen! |
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