Free shipping special!

Receive free shipping within the U.S.A. at our etsy shop until Labor Day by using the coupon code "laborday2011". Hurry to get first picks on out new inventory of unique boards!

Selected work of the week: Dovetail joinery of epic proportions.

Recently we had the opportunity to work on a one of a kind custom bench. The bench was made from wormy chestnut that dates back 200+ years. The wormy chestnut was salvaged from a stock/tobacco barn in Madison county N.C. built just before the civil war. The building was constructed using these beams and old fashioned dovetail joinery. We thought that using this same joinery technique to construct this bench would not only be the strongest and cleanest looking design, but it would respect the craftsman who originally hand hewn the logs and hand cut the dovetail joints for the building. Dovetailed corners on an building never needed to be fastened in any way due to the the angle of the dovetail and gravity constantly pulling down on the beams which naturally pulls the corner tight. We maintained that same level of craftsmanship on our bench.

May these 200+ year old wormy chestnut beams live another 200+ years in the form of a bench!

Enjoy the pictures!

The Facebook fan cutting board giveaway!

Ok, here is how to play. Seach our Appalachian Joinery Etsy shop for a cutting board with the word "facebook" listed as one of the "tags". Once you have found that board, post the listing # of that board on our Chester Shuey Handcrafted Facebook page and you win. The board will be mailed to you with free shipping in 3-4 days. Good luck everyone!

Here's or etsy shop url: http://www.etsy.com/shop/AppalachianJoinery?ref=pr_shop_more

New salvaged Appalachian serving and cutting boards!

The new inventory includes three beautiful Appalachian hardwood species. First, a few gorgeous honey locust boards made from a storm felled tree from a mountain top property north of Asheville, NC. Honey locust is a very hard, very stable wood and was traditionally used for outdoor structures because it is highly rot resistant and naturally stands up to water. Second, beautiful box elder boards we made from a tree that was felled by a tree service on a residential property in Barnardsville, NC. Box elder is used primarily for accent furniture due to its mesmerizing figure and unique red-streaked grain. Last but not least, our classic Appalachian black walnut boards are back! The black walnut tree was felled by a local tree service here in Asheville, NC and stored in a cabinet shop for 10 years. Black walnut is prized for furniture making due to its beautiful chocolate and nut brown color. All of the wood we use for our boards is air dried for at least one year and then kiln dried for two weeks to eliminate warping and unwanted moisture. I hope these trees will have a great second life!

Enjoy the pictures and to see more of these boards look for them very soon this week on our Etsy shop.