Highland Creek, Ontario, Canada
handcrafted-by-Ralph@outlook.com
Many items are for sale unless otherwise indicated. To see what I am currently working on, go to my Facebook page.
handcrafted-by-Ralph@outlook.com
Many items are for sale unless otherwise indicated. To see what I am currently working on, go to my Facebook page.
Winter 2021 Projects
Fall 2020 Projects
Custom made chess board
White oak & mahogany, trimmed in roasted maple. Approximately 18" x 18" with 2" squares.
Antique Pine tabletop mounted on an antique Singer sewing machine treadle.
The pine was reclaimed from a circa 1860's hotel in what is now the West Rouge community of Scarborough. The original planks were about 20” wide and 1¼” thick and were probably used for floors and walls. I milled the wood into narrower planks to form a 26” x 30” table top. The knots, square nail holes, damaged areas and other inclusions are forever preserved in epoxy resin. The antique Singer sewing machine treadle is original paint and fully functional.
Tabletop easel and palette in roasted Maple.
Custom built hall tree in Ambrosia Maple
Spring 2020 Projects
The playing surface of this backgammon board is made up of walnut and African Padauk (red) spikes and a background of maple with strip of curly maple in the middle. The case is cherry, which will darken in time with a burlwood veneer on the outside. The hinges and clasps are brass imported from Germany. This is a little larger than the other three sets I've made and I have created a concave storage for the checkers, which works really well. There is a total of 80 pieces of wood, precisely cut and glued together that make up this project. This backgammon board is available for purchase. Contact me at handcrafted-by-Ralph@outlook.com
4' Garden bench in Canadian Western Red Cedar. Lightweight, sturdy and very comfortable, I love all the natural variations in colour. This bench is 4' long but it can be built to to fit your requirements.
Backgammon boards
Playing surface is African Padauk (red) walnut and the background, white oak. One case is trimmed in walnut with a light burlwood veneer and the other is white oak with a dark burlwood veneer. The walnut case backgammon board is available for purchase.
Backgammon board. The playing surface is cherry, walnut with a curly maple background. Case is roasted curly maple and a veneer of birdseye maple. This one I am keeping for myself

Caring for your charcuterie or cheese boards.pdf |
Fall 2019 collection
Conservatory Sheet Music Stand in Hard Maple.
This is a unique handcrafted one-of-a-kind piece of furniture for your conservatory or music room. Not your touring sheet music stand!
The base is comprised of 256 segmented pieces glued together in octagon layers then shaped on a wood lathe. The shelf is made up of 7 pieces of wood with a black veneer in between to form a sheet music staff. There is a 1" lip to help hold the music on the stand. It is finished in antique wood oil.
The shelf for the sheet music is extra large 19" x 11½ “ and tilts 0°-90°. The height is adjustable from 35" to 45" in one inch increments. The base is approx. 11" in diameter and the total weigh is about 10 lbs.
Almost all of the wood for this piece was recovered from a broken rope bed, a reproduction of a shaker design that was made by a craftsman in Quebec, approximately 40 years ago.
This item is still available for sale, please email me at handcrafted-by-Ralph@outlook.com for more information on purchasing this piece.
This is a unique handcrafted one-of-a-kind piece of furniture for your conservatory or music room. Not your touring sheet music stand!
The base is comprised of 256 segmented pieces glued together in octagon layers then shaped on a wood lathe. The shelf is made up of 7 pieces of wood with a black veneer in between to form a sheet music staff. There is a 1" lip to help hold the music on the stand. It is finished in antique wood oil.
The shelf for the sheet music is extra large 19" x 11½ “ and tilts 0°-90°. The height is adjustable from 35" to 45" in one inch increments. The base is approx. 11" in diameter and the total weigh is about 10 lbs.
Almost all of the wood for this piece was recovered from a broken rope bed, a reproduction of a shaker design that was made by a craftsman in Quebec, approximately 40 years ago.
This item is still available for sale, please email me at handcrafted-by-Ralph@outlook.com for more information on purchasing this piece.
Late Summer 2019 Collection
Summertime 2019 Projects
This was a commission to finish this piece of wood into a charcuterie board.
The client didn't want handles cut in the board but I did round off the square ends and router those edges. Being spalted maple there were a few soft areas that need some resin to preserve and strengthen the piece. I started with casting resin which is much thinner and readily soaks into any softer areas of the board. Once hardened I added some river-rocks into the natural openings, used the thicker laminating resin to coat the stones and fill the knot holes and other natural inclusions. The wood has some amazing chatoyance which the oil certainly brought out. |
- Spring 2019 Collection
River Rock charcuterie board in live-edge imported Italian Olive wood, finished in food-safe wood oil. Natural opening filled with carefully selected river rocks, preserved in epoxy resin. Approximately 26” by 16" (Sold)
Red oak finished in Jacobean stain and antique wood oil. The base is 12" across and the shelf is large, 19" by 13". The height adjusts from 36" to 49" in 2" increments. This is NOT your touring music stand, but will be perfectly at home in your conservatory or studio. (Sold)
This is the third sheet music stand I have made. The first one was in reclaimed Elm and second in Bubinga hardwood (also called African Rosewood). The two previous ones had bases of solid wood, this one is segmented giving it some visual interest.
This is the third sheet music stand I have made. The first one was in reclaimed Elm and second in Bubinga hardwood (also called African Rosewood). The two previous ones had bases of solid wood, this one is segmented giving it some visual interest.
River-rock Charcuterie board in spalted maple (sold)
Cheese boards in Ash (left) and Curly Roasted Maple (right). Approx. 18" wide. This is the same size as a 3/4 student size guitar body. The bridge is walnut and grooved to support 6 cheese knives, the sound hole is made from zycote and concave to cradle a small bowl. (Sold, taking orders)
Antique yardstick table
The top is made up of antique yardsticks from all over Ontario and one from Raleigh, North Carolina. They are encased in resin and trimmed with hardwood stained Jacobean. The stand is fully functional antique Singer sewing machine treadle (the wheel spins when you working the treadle) and still has the original paint which is in excellent condition. A drawer unit can be added to raise the table to counter height.
The top is made up of antique yardsticks from all over Ontario and one from Raleigh, North Carolina. They are encased in resin and trimmed with hardwood stained Jacobean. The stand is fully functional antique Singer sewing machine treadle (the wheel spins when you working the treadle) and still has the original paint which is in excellent condition. A drawer unit can be added to raise the table to counter height.
Trout serving board in Roasted Curly Maple, the chatoyance is incredible, the wood looks three dimensional. It is about 26" long and is finished to a glass-like smoothness with food-safe butcherblock oil.
The top is made up of yardsticks collected from antique shops, flea markets and yard sales (ironically enough 😉) They are encased in resin and trimmed with pine from an 1860 Scarborough heritage building. The drawer units is all modern, maple veneer inside, with full extension soft-close drawer slides clad the same antique pine. This all sits on top of an antique cast iron sewing machine stand.
Look at the history on this table! Yardsticks from all over Ontario, hardware stores, garages, co-ops, paint stores etc... Kingan Hardware Co., Peterborough, Ontario, Est. 1825. One the phone numbers on the yardsticks has only 3 digits!!!