Kevin Kauffunger
Pittsburgh, PA

kevinkauffunger@hotmail.com

 

My New Home/My New Shop Space
Camille and I have a lot of work to do, but this place is going to be sweet when we're done. The future shop space is currently a dilapidated garage. It has 400 sq feet of floor space, 10' ceilings, awesome sunlight, and little else.

 

Sidetable Revisited

This Elm table is a take off on a previous one that I had made of White Oak.

 

A Simple Box
I've been on the road with alot lately. With little time to spend on woodworking, I find myself making a lot of simple dovetailed boxes. This one is made of Shedua and White Oak. I had never worked with Shedua before. It looks gorgeous when finished, but it's a little tricky to work - it has a tendancy to chip out. The panel is composed of random width White Oak slats. Inside this box there is a tray for organization. The box was finished with thinned Spar varnish, which was applied and then rubbed off.

 

Cabinet on a Stand

When I was at the College of the Redwoods a classmate gave me a small chunk of Kingwood, a Brazilian Rosewood. I ended up slicing it into the veneers that adorn this cabinet. Particular care was taken to create a waterfall effect with the veneers, so that the grain is continuous from the top to the front.The stand on which it sits is constructed of solid Gaboon Ebony. Both of these woods work beautifully, the Gaboon especially. I used a light shellac polish as a finish.
 

 

Edward Barnsley Inspired Hall Table

The form of this piece was inspired by the work of Edward Barnsley, the English Arts and Crafts furniture maker. The dominant wood is Kwila (Merbau), the inlay is Satinwood, and the drawer sides and bottoms are of Nutmeg. The brass pulls were my first attempt at making hardware, something that I won't be doing again soon. The finish is shellac.

 

Sofia Coffee Table

I built this coffee table during my first semester at the College of the Redwoods Fine Woodworking Program. It is currently featured on the back cover of Fine Woodworking, issue 193, and also on their website. The drawers open from both sides. There are catches that register in the bottom of the drawer fronts, so as that there is a constant reveal.
 

 

Cherry Table

Many years ago I bought a pile of Walnut and Cherry from a farmer in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. I was pretty ignorant about wood at the time - most of it was pretty junky. However, there were a few boards with interesting grain and color. Some of them wound up in this simple coffee table.

 

Blackened Oak Side Table
This table was constructed of salvaged White Oak that was reclaimed from a demolished building in Pittsburgh. The Oak was treated with an oxidation mixture (vinegar and steel) that resulted in the blackening. The form of the piece was derived from a range of influences: classical Shaker design, George Nelson's Platform Bench, and torii.

 

Blackened Oak Coffee Table
Like the side table above, this coffee table was built of reclaimed White Oak. The surface features three square shaped recesses in which I have seated OSB. Originally, this was just a temporary situation, but the OSB has been there for years at this point and I've come to like it - it reminds me of piles of leaves in the fall.

 

Miscellaneous

  • When I'm not building furniture, I work for Freud, an Italian manufacturer of cutting and power tools. Check out all of their cool products at Freud's website.
  • Several years ago I quit my job working at a millwork shop in Pittsburgh; I was burnt out. In search of inspiration/rejuvenation I went to Argentina and Bolivia and travelled around for 3 months. You can find my trip blog here: The Deep South.