Highland Woodworks

Highland Woodworks Hand-made, small scale furniture design and construction using locally sourced, sustainable material There are slabs as thick as 3 inches.

I have the space now to begin building projects on commission, so if you've been thinking about a piece of furniture or cabinetry that you just can't find anywhere else, let's talk. I have access to black cherry and maple that I harvested and milled myself in Sullivan County on the property of Frost Valley YMCA where our kids went to summer camp. It's been air-drying in the woods for almost 3 year

s and much of it is ready to work. I can guarantee that you won't find more environmentally friendly wood than this without cutting it in your own backyard.

What a difference fresh moldings make! When renovating a classic pre-war apartment (in our case a 1924 Greek Revival) a ...
08/21/2025

What a difference fresh moldings make!

When renovating a classic pre-war apartment (in our case a 1924 Greek Revival) a key choice is always whether to restore or recreate. The old doors are so solid and well made that I always take the time and trouble to strip the 10-15 layers of paint and restore. Most of the floors are still good too, and drywall is no replacement for 1” thick plaster.

But when it comes to these lead paint-encrusted base caps it wasn’t a hard choice. Carefully remove them (the bases are much easier to clean up and keep), have a custom router bit fabricated and make new ones. With a sharp bit and a slow & steady feed there’s practically no sanding required. Prime, paint, and they’re good for another hundred years.

(Video in the comments.)

New Yorkers: I’ve been spending a little time doing repairs and maintenance on some treasured pieces of furniture. In th...
07/18/2025

New Yorkers: I’ve been spending a little time doing repairs and maintenance on some treasured pieces of furniture. In the foreground is the oak high chair where I ate my first solid food (and where our sons did as well!) We had it re-caned on Amsterdam Avenue just before our oldest was born 29 years ago and that’s holding up fine (all it needed was to be fed with some oil) but the tray was coming apart. It’s at least a hundred years old, so that’s no surprise.

Behind that is a Wallace Nutting side table/stool from 1927, and while I wouldn’t call it “mint” (we’ve used it for decades) it’s in great shape and cleans up well.

Buy good stuff and take care of it. Neither of these pieces will ever be out on the sidewalk. The 19th century trees these were made from are still serving their purpose. If you need help or just advice about how to care for your good furniture reach out!

Frost Valley black cherry bar-height dining table in its new home. My first time doing breadboard ends.
10/11/2023

Frost Valley black cherry bar-height dining table in its new home. My first time doing breadboard ends.

As Music Director for the national tour of “Ain’t Too Proud” I’m not anywhere near my shop for a while. But that doesn’t...
03/25/2022

As Music Director for the national tour of “Ain’t Too Proud” I’m not anywhere near my shop for a while. But that doesn’t keep me from being a woodworker. Every city in our country has some kind of museum, and many of them have amazing collections of furniture to learn from. Yesterday was the Cincinnati Art Museum. Getting some ideas for an eventual media unit in our living room. “Solving the problem of cramped apartment living”!

New York percussionist/drummer Bill Hayes is free to call this by another name, but I’ll start with “Lyptus percussion h...
08/09/2021

New York percussionist/drummer Bill Hayes is free to call this by another name, but I’ll start with “Lyptus percussion hutch”. He’ll be able to slide dividers in and out for organization, display, & storage of cymbals and a host of other things that can be shaken, banged on, or otherwise coaxed into a musical existence. Can’t wait to rub the oil in, bringing the wood colors to life.

(Lyptus is a hybrid of two different eucalyptus species that grows very quickly -- 15 years to harvest -- and has many of the same properties as mahogany, along with the durability and hardness of oak. It's a terrifically sustainable alternative to other species that we shouldn't be chopping down, especially in South America.)

Frost Valley Sugar Maple writing desk.
06/25/2021

Frost Valley Sugar Maple writing desk.

Lyptus monitor stands all done! I'm getting a request to have a tilting top, so that will be incorporated into the final...
02/05/2021

Lyptus monitor stands all done! I'm getting a request to have a tilting top, so that will be incorporated into the final design. Since everyone has their own taste, I'm leaving the vibration absorption method up to you. I'm using sorbothane feet under my Kali monitors, but you can use a simple foam pad or even nothing if your monitors have their own feet.

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Fort Washington Avenue
New York, NY
10033

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