Knotty Dave’s Fine Woodworking
Read time: 3 minutes
It’s been a long time since I opened the shop, and it’s not what it was or what I thought it would be. I’ve grown, times change, and opportunity sculpts the shape of the shop. But the mission stays the same. I want to create. First and foremost, woodworking. It has captivated me since I was a kid and still does. And it’s in those moments when I push past the existing envelope, beyond my comfort zone, that skill grows.
I really like building tables for dining rooms—solid wood, inlayed veneer patterns, or a combination of the two. Turned table pedestals look incredible. These tables are hand‑built, pedestals traditionally turned, one‑off designs you won’t find in a store. A table is the centre of a room, the first place the eye lands when you walk into the space. It needs to be focal. It needs a glow that fits the room. It invites; it calls to people, come sit down. If it does that, mission accomplished.
Let’s walk. Step into a room—could be your room, my room, or any room that needs a table. Through the kitchen and around the corner, you feel the smoothness of the hardwood under your socks. We turn the corner. The lights are dim. A spotlight gently floods the elm tabletop with a warm glow; its dark colour and texture meet your eye like velvet in a dream. It’s the main character in a play. The presence of the room. It lives here, and it invites you to sit.
A crystal vase stands in that light, the striking colour of the flowers meeting your eyes with bold confidence. A single fallen petal rests on the wood, its soft texture striking against the rugged grain of the elm—a contrast of nature and polished craft. A fire is in the hearth; its warm flames dance through the crystal in a way only refracted light in cut crystal can, reflecting off the sheen of the table and the finish that protects it.
Finally, we sit down. Your foot taps the solid pedestal. Its robust heft can’t be ignored. You test its weight. It’s real. It’s solid and there for you. With purpose. Every detail intentional. It feels like home. You brush your hand across the top, the sheen impossible to ignore, and you start to wonder how the table came to be. It feels perfect.
This is why I like tables. Every detail intentional. Every sheen a perfect polish. Built to last lifetimes. This is the foundation where memories of a generation—an age—will be made. It all starts with an idea and a vision made real.
That is how I see woodworking. It’s the profession as I believe it should be—building dreams and shaping worlds that need to be lived in. I’ve built far more than tables, but tables remain my favourite. No matter the piece, when it’s done right, it’s born from design, from a dream, from an idea. It’s a conversation between the owner and the maker, and then another between the maker and the material. If a piece is to have soul—if it’s ever going to take a breath—then my job is done. I can earn a paycheque anywhere; I do this because I want to. That’s why my pieces have a voice. They can welcome you home. They can say good morning. This craft is the life I choose, the passion I follow, the world I stand by.
Step inside Behind the Grain, if you’d like to sit awhile.
