Harvest Woodworks is the name of my woodworking
business, but I'm Carl
Muhlhausen in real life,
and a part time professional woodworker. On this page I'll show off some
of the pieces I make and explain a little about my approach to woodworking.
Many of the pieces seen here have been sold, but I usually have a supply of recent projects available. I also do custom orders.
I invite inquiries about prices and availability of individual pieces. Comments and questions about the work I do are welcome; please email me carl@harvestwoodworks.com and I'll get back to you soon.
New! Find out what my customers think of me - Testimonials
Here are links to some of my works:
Then I gradually discovered that I got more enjoyment
out of working with handtools. I use power tools largely the way an old
time woodworker would use an apprentice - to surface and cut the wood into
smooth, flat boards. I prefer to cut the joints and final finish the wood
by hand. I'm not a purist though and for certain operations I'll use a
power tool if it does a better and perhaps quicker job. I do think that
a piece done by hand often has a certain warmth and character that a machine
made object won't. Mike Dunbar, a well known chairmaker and handtool advocate,
has called this characteristic the "humanity" of a piece. Now I actually
thought using of this same word to describe what I'm talking about, but
I thought it a bit too pretentious and it stuck in my craw. So I'm glad
Mike used it - I'll use it too and attribute it to him. Anyway, go to a
good museum with some antique furniture and I think you'll see what I mean.
A side benefit of working with handtools is that
I get to amass a collection of fine old tools and a few modern tools made
to the high standards of the old tools.
My first love about woodworking, though, is the
wood itself. I have a weak spot for highly figured woods. These are often
difficult to work with and are expensive. For this reason, most of the
pieces I make are fairly small. I love jewelry boxes and small cabinets.
So much for philosophy.
Like many woodworkers, I have a thing for tools,
especially fine handtools. Here are a few of my Favorite
Tools
I'm not a handtool purist and my shop has a number
of often used and appreciated power tools. For a shop tour, click here.
Click here
for information about the Central Jersey Woodworkers Association if you're
interested in woodworking and are located close to central New Jersey.
New! - Thomas
Lie-Nielsen at the CJWA
Interested in locating other woodworkers in your
area?
CustomMade.com is an online
resource listing woodworkers in different states and the type of work they
do.
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About my Approach to Woodworking
I've been a serious woodworker for about 10
years and began selling my work about 6 years ago. I began woodworking
with the common assumption that in order to work with wood one needed a
huge shop filled with expensive power tools, but was surprised to find
that I could produce furniture that I'm still proud of with a modest set
of power tools and some handtools.
