RICK HELMS WOODWORKING

I started woodworking shortly after I stopped driving racing cars, in mid-1999. I had some experience doing things like cutting miters in molding, and building frames for some of my racing trailers, but my skill set was extremely poor compared to my aspirations. If I was to build the projects that I yearned to produce, I faced a steep learning curve.

To make matters worse, I wanted to build stringed musical instruments like guitars, dulcimers, and Celtic lap harps--some of the most intricate and difficult projects in any wood shop.For the first couple of years, I made a lot of sawdust and used up a couple of boxes of bandaids, as I got used to working with very sharp tools.

This set of pages will cover how I've built several sets of projects. It's divided into three sections: Lutherie (building stringed musical instruments), Furniture (including Arts and Crafts, and Shaker chairs, tables, and bookcases), and Small Projects, such as clocks, decorative boxes, and wood turning.

In each section, I've provided some build diaries outlining each step in the building process.

I hope you'll enjoy each of these projects I've built, and may even find here the inspiration to build some beautiful wood projects of your own!