Steve Odegaard did a very nice job building the 72″ EM White Guide from our Plans Book, using his own materials. Mounted to his wall, looks great!

Jack did another beautiful job on a 36″ canoe. He emailed me saying “Well, here it is. After finishing my 36” canoe I decided to convert it into a  Haida Indian War Canoe. After doing a little research I came up with the features you see in the photos. Long and short spears, bow and arrows, and defensive shields. These shields are not fixed in place, just in a handy position to grab when needed. At the stern I also added a red pennant (danger) and a crescent moon (night raids with little moonlight), a blue zig zag symbol midships (they traveled over rough seas), and a triangle at the bow (the Haidas often joined forces with two other tribes, the Nootkas and the Tlingits). I finished the basic canoe at the end of August then added the Indian artifacts in September. It was fun working on, I like the way it looks. Well thank you for the nice work Jack. Very inspiring and a fun addition to the line of EM Guide canoes.

I often get customers that want their canoe chandelier a custom color. A color that is hopefully available in an oil based spray can, like Rustoleum, which has proven to give an excellent, smooth and durable finish. Recently the customer wanted a blue color that I had used on one of my older postings, Global Blue, which had been in a spray can. I went to three hard ware stores only to find the shelves of spray cans cleaned out. I asked the paint guy about it and he said there was none even on order, NA. Shortage nationwide. Why? He did not know. So I had to have a sample size color of Latex semi-gloss mixed. I have used these paints before. I have sprayed them with an additive called Floetrol, by old time favorite company of Flood. It helps with leveling out. So I brushed this on the finished canoe. You can get excellent results using a good brush or foam, but the key thing is that you have to make every stroke perfect. Not to much paint so that it sags, but enough that it covers and levels out. You have a few minutes to be able to fix a spot you missed but not much more than that. If you try and go back after it has tacked over, it will be ruined. I know, because I did. So even though it was one small spot that was crappy, I still had to sand it all down and the next time put the paint on as thin as possible but still covering. It did come out good. It actually looks like the real full size painted canoes that used oil base brushed on paints. For spraying I used the Floetrol and thinned it alot with water. It is tricky though and takes some experimenting with it until you get the desired finished. The good ole days of oil based finishes is unfortunately going to the way side.

Jack, from Vancouver, Washington, has built numerous beautiful models as shown in earlier Shop Blog postings. Great work Jack! A true inspiration.

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Paul from Leraysville,PA, a first time builder, did an outstandingly meticulous job of putting together the 54″ 2 light canoe chandelier kit. The pictures say it all, excellent work Paul!

Roseanna and her husband from Puyallup, Washington, built the 96″ Kayak chandelier, but had me supply the light deck with no holes. They wanted to hang the kayak frame only, which looks like the real traditional skin on frame skeleton. Very nice job, hanging from their rafters. Thanks for the nice work!

36″ Canoe built by John in Slingerlands, NY. Thanks John for the picture. Looks good.

Tom of Chandler TX had me build a 96″ dark stained canoe with white pine toe rails, seats, thwarts and deck caps. He asked for the narrow light deck with out the lights or the holes for the lights so he could have his own pendant lights installed. Thanks for the photo Tom, looks like a beautiful spot you have there.

Archie and Sharon from Port Orchard, Washington, bought one of my 96″ pecan stained, red cedar finish Canoe Chandeliers for their lovely home on the water. Ray, We are very happy with the finished product. Thank you for a wonderful addition to our home! Archie and Sharon

For many years I used Tulip wood, which is a local name for Poplar, that is cut off my property. I made all the finish parts, which would be the toe rails, seats, thwarts and deck caps out of it. It is a rich mixture of colors, clear wood. The trees themselves grow huge for in RI and are very clear wood. I offered it as an option up until a couple years ago. So I built a 72″ American dark stain with the tulip wood parts. I am very pleased with it.