Wood working - home made

Juniper heart wood rings for another lovely Canadian couple

When Caroline and Loch designed their Touch Wood Rings they described what they liked about the juniper heartwood;

â��We love the grain of the juniper heartwood and its varied colours. We would prefer not to have the grain only parallel (horizontal) all of the way around the ring (though we don't mind that for a bit if that is the way the wood goes) or too vertical. We like the natural flowing lines of the grain.â��

Here are the rings David made for them. They are lined with birds eye maple and inscribed.

Caroline writes: â�� The rings are absolutely gorgeous. They are exactly what we were hoping :) They are absolutely stunning and fit perfectly. Also - we love how you featured the grain of the wood. Thank you so much - we love them.â��

Rosewood friends

Often our conversations with people start months before the work actually begins and so it's always gratifying to hear back from folks after our work is done. I get pretty attached to folks while chatting with them over a period of months and David develops a special relationship with people through making their rings. Dani and Schmick have been in our lives for awhile ~ another couple of wonderful people whose kindness humbles us and whose friendship we value.

Upon receiving their rings, Dani wrote ~ "I was wondering how you would package our rings and I was very pleasantly surprised to see the beautiful card they were in. The rings are absolutely beautiful. They feel and look very elegant on our fingers. It's kinda funny but, in the pictures you don't get a sense of how delicate they actually are and I can't imagine the skill, care, and patience it must take to make them. They are perfect.

Since we both make a living with our hands, we are having a friend weave hemp necklaces for us to put the rings on while we are at work so now we are searching for some nice wood beads to put in the necklace. We would like to thank you, not only for all your time, effort and love that you put into this process, but also for being the beautiful people you are and for providing people with such a fantastic way to symbolize their commitment and love.

Words cannot express how much I have enjoyed this process starting from the moment I found your website and instantly knew I was in the right place. You will always be in our hearts."

Wooden rings with two hearts

This Michigan couple designed their Touch Wood Rings to be made of juniper heart wood, with purple heart wood liners and narrow golden koa inlaid bands.

Their rings are 5 and 7mm wide with slight tapers.

In just a few days these folks will be married.

We'll be thinking of you and sending our love!

Hawaiian Koa wood ring with an oak band

"Just got back from the UK to find the ring here waiting for me, thank you so much it looks stunning! Sheâ��ll be thrilled with it. Thank you again for all your hard work and kind emails."

This pretty ring now lives in New York City. It was lovingly designed using a dark Hawaiian koa wood and a grainy oak inlaid band. It's a size 5 1/2, 4mm wide and gently rounded.

An alternative to traditional wedding rings

When Brenda first wrote she thanked us for having this alternative to the traditional wedding ring. She said she'd known she wanted wood wedding rings for a long time. These beautiful blackwood and blue spruce rings will be winding their way to Jamaica in a few months.

She wrote "We love our rings... Everyone we've shown is very impressed as well. Not only by the beauty, but also by the idea of a wooden ring instead of metal. We'll keep in touch and send pictures of the wedding! My expectations have far been exceeded!
Thank you both so much!"

And you are both so welcome Brenda. It's been our pleasure!

Stackable wood rings just for fun

I thought I'd share a glimpse of my collection of tiny rings.

David has made about 10 of these very narrow rings for me! I wear them in stacks of three and I just love to mix and match them. Depending on which 3 I wear, they can look like a solid ring when worn.

I especially like to use two black wood rings as borders for a center ring of koa or blue spruce or juniper heartwood. Some of these tiny stacking rings are lined, some are one solid wood. These have all seen lots of wear :)

Koa wood rings with juniper heartwood and birds eye maple

This beautiful set of rings was designed by a young couple who work in the Peace Corps.

They are made of Koa wood, juniper heartwood and birds eye maple. Katie's wedding and engagement rings are a split design of Brian's wedding ring.

Italian Olive Wood Rings

David just finished these rings incorporating olive wood sent to us by a couple who live in Ithaca, New York.

Katherine's ring is blue spruce and incorporates their olive wood as an inlaid band. Nate's ring is solid olive wood.

When Nathaniel first made contact with us he told us about his cousin's family in Italy who own a small farm with olive and fruit trees. "This farm is a special place for me. What's more, Katherine and I will be spending a portion of our honeymoon there." So with some serious effort on the part of Nate and his cousin d'Angio; a branch of an Italian olive tree has been transformed by David into Katherine and Nathaniel's Italian Olive wood wedding rings.

Dear Nicola and David,
The rings arrived and we couldn't be more pleased. They fit perfectly and are exactly what we wanted. Thank you both so much for your efforts. And thank you for providing such a beautiful alternative to traditional wedding rings. We just can't say enough good things...
Thank you.
Best wishes,
Katherine and Nathaniel

Ancient Kauri wood ring with a black wood band

Ancient Kauri wood.

One new story and one very old story.

A lovely couple from Ohio contacted us a few months ago and asked if David would make them rings of Kauri wood. The couple specially ordered the wood from ancientwood.com and had the wood shipped directly to David.

The ring you see here is David's first kauri wood ring; his test ring.

Dusty and Erin's rings will be kauri wood with bird's eye maple liners.

Now for the old story. This Touch Wood Ring is crafted from ancient kauri timber that is aged from 30,ooo to more than 50,ooo years old. Ancient Kauri wood comes from forests buried at the time of the last Ice Age, which are located on the Northern Island of New Zealand. It is called the World's Oldest workable timber. Read The Kauri Story on the Ancientwood website. These points are from their pamphlet.

The harvesting of Ancient Kauri is a very ecologically friendly practice.
No standing trees are cut
These incredible trees are excavated from underground and any disturbed land is carefully restored.
Every tree grew for more than 1200 years.
They stopped growing over 50,000 years ago.

This ancient Kauri wood is pretty spectacular stuff and it fills us with a sense of wonder to hold something so very very old.

Bespoke Wooden rings
meticulously hand crafted
in Canada
by David Finch.

Touch Wood Rings

Wooden Wedding Rings in Costa Rica

"I cannot express to you the absolute joy you brought to us with the rings you made only for us, with the woods that emulated our love. Your handcrafted rings were a vital part of our sacred ceremony in Costa Rica.
I have attached photos to convey how amazing this day was for us, and your part in it.
After we returned, we found the rings to be such a bind between us, knowing that we shared the same trees, the same meaning, and the same spirit that created our rings.
Thank you again for brightening our lives."

New friends and their beautiful wood ring design

Many thanks to our dear Irish friends; Breda and Marc for the beautiful wooden rings they designed of Grenadilla with crossed spiraled bands of blue spruce.

Breda wrote: â��The first thing that struck me was amazement at how on earth David can create such beautiful pieces of art made of such tiny pieces! I guess you don't fully appreciate that when looking at the photos as the mind is tricked by these larger images. He obviously has gifted - patient - hands. We just love the rings. They are absolutely stunning. They really are works of art, so very, very beautiful. Oh, and they fit perfectly! :-) How light they feel too - it's like a feather touch.

You know, of everything we have chosen so far for the wedding - restaurant, dresses, music etc, this feels the most special. You and David make a wonderful team.â��

Wyoming wood rings

A lovely couple from Wyoming designed these blue spruce and hawaiian koa rings with birch liners. They wrote:

" Dear Nicola and David, What a dream come true. Thanks for working with us and crafting such soulful pieces. You made this a meaningful process. Even more lovely is the superior customer service and friendship you have given. These are definitely ours, they fit comfortably and we adore the unique wood. We are both so happy to have rings we get to feel positive about. We'll be in touch, and as always are wishing you the very, very best. Count us as two more lucky and grateful wood clad people."

Thank you!! It is David and I who are grateful. We meet so many wonderful people who become real friends. This is truly joyful work. :)

Rings on their fingers

These lovely rosewood rings were made with inlaid bands of Olivela shell.

Black wood and blue spruce rings

Black wood rings with two spiraled bands of blue spruce and oak.

Wood rings of Cherry Ash and Love

A beautiful couple ~ Matthew and Janelle; and some excerpts from a lovely letter Matt sent us a few weeks ago.

"I will start by saying that life is absolutely grand right now (despite Janelle and I being apart for almost two months now). The rings produced by David and coordinated through yourself are nothing short of amazing! The shine and warmth of the wood is absolutely incredible!

"The rings have become a part of our relationship and our left pinkie fingers. I left for my specialized army training on 6 May and have been able to briefly see Janelle only once since then. It has been tough to be apart, but we use our 'magic' rings as a way to always remember that we are in each other's hearts and minds at all times.

While I sit in church without Janelle, I play with my ring to remind myself of the times that Janelle and I would go to church together and to remember that she is 1500 miles away playing with her ring in church at the very same moment. She always jokes and says that by the time I get back in October the shine will be worn off of hers! I can completely agree her!! They are very durable, however, so I think that they will be okay. We both absolutely love the rings (obviously!!) and would like to say 'Thank you' for all of your help in the process. It means a lot to both of us. There is a lot of work that goes into a couple remaining one in the light of an extended absence from each other, but the rings have helped tremendously!! "

Matthew designed their rings around the meaning of the woods. He choose cherry wood with ash bands. Their inscriptions are the email smiley faces used so often by these two in their extended absences from each other. :)

As a post script, I must say that this wooden ring blog is not so much about the wood rings that David crafts as it is about the people who come into our lives. Good and kind humans, one and all.

Cherry and Oak wood rings symbolic of ancient Irish and British trees

In June of 2007, Louise and Arran of Ireland designed these lovely cherry wood rings with oak bands. Their rings are 10 and 6mm wide with gentle hidden tapers.
Louise and Arran decided to use cherry and oak because both are ancient native trees to Ireland and Britain, and they liked their symbolic meanings of strength and love.

"We were delighted to discover that as well as being very beautiful the rings have a great warm feel to them - unlike the coldness of metal! Many, many thanks Louise & Arran, Ireland"

Arran & I had a wonderful weddding in August - I have attached some pictures from the registry office - where the ring exchange took place and from a stone circle where we performed a handfasting ceremony. The rings are still fantasic and have darkened considerably since we started wearing them, which makes them even more beautiful . All the best and thanks again. Louise and Arran

Arran having his first pint of Murphys stout as a married man. And with the ring to prove it!

Wooden Rings and Gentle Souls

Black walnut, birch and ash wood rings for a mid-October wedding.

Juniper heart wood rings with birds eye maple inlaid bands.

Our rings are absolutely beautiful! The colors of the woods look great on my very fair skin as well as my husbandâ��s very dark skin. I know that we will receive many compliments on our unique and beautiful rings!

Black wood, oak and rose wood rings.

"Now I understand all the responses I read on the blog. It really isn't possible to put words to how beautiful and special the rings are! When I touched his ring it was so impossibly light and alive. And elegant!

The joy on his face when he saw the ring was gorgeous. He kept repeating in wonder: "I've never seen anything like this", "I couldn't possibly have imagined something so beautiful" and "this is a living thing". After he'd been wearing it for a couple of hours he said that he felt like it was magic and elven. He loved the design and the lightness of the ring and the way the look of the wood changes in all the different lights throughout the day. And as a woodworker himself, he is so appreciative of David's skill and talent working with the wood in the way that he does. He also loved the card and the ring holders! I told him all about working with you and finally got to show him your website when we got home. :) Oh, and thanks for your advice about going to 11.25 -- the ring fits him just perfectly!

My rings are at once simple and breathtaking. As soon as I held them, I also realized that wearing treasured rings that are durable but need ongoing care is a wonderful metaphor for a committed relationship. Many thanks and much love"

Koa, ash, purpleheart, juniper heart wood and maple wood rings.

Our rings are ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! We LOVE them! We can't thank you enough. Everyone that we have showed them to is fascinated that we have wooden rings. They think it is the coolest thing. (so do we!) We appreciate the loving care David puts into each ring, it makes it so much more special than going to some random jewelry store and picking a run-of-the-mill ring that hundreds of other people have. We wish you continued success and happiness.

Their wooden wedding rings ~ his blackwood with a rose wood band and hers of rose wood with a ecalyptus liner. And her engagement ring ~ created with the same blackwood and koa as his wedding ring.

It was so much smaller than anything I could have imagined. And absolutely beautiful. I loved it immediately and I can't believe how much more I have grown to love it in the space of just two days. The grain in the koa is so incredible, and the colour so rich. I love the beautiful finish, the lightness and feel of it on my finger. It's perfect in every way. Thank you for creating a piece that so aptly represents our love - very unique and incredibly beautiful.

Juniper heart wood rings with birds eye maple liners.

Howdy Nicola and David, We love our rings! Thank you so much for including us in the whole process. The rings are pieces of art we will be proud to wear. We truely appreciate you actively providing a service which helps our environment. Thank you for so beautifully providing the reminders of our love for our partners, family, and everything. We all wish you both the best in your peaceful world.

Dark Koa Wood Ring. Tapered with wide birds eye maple inset band.

"On Friday night we went back to the pier that we got married on and said our vows to each other again and gave each other the rings. It was wonderful and we feel so great about our natural, handmade rings; more meaningful than we could have ever imagined! "

Eucalyptus wood ring with crossed spiraled birds eye maple bands.

She said yes! Just wanted to send you a few pictures of our engagement. Patty loves the ring - it was a perfect choice! Thank you again for all your help and advice, it really paid off!

Koa wood ring with maple liner and crossed spiraled blue spruce bands.
"Wow!" is the closest I can come to descibing the intricate detail and beauty that this ring possesses. The ring looks so nice against his skin tone. I just love it! Working with you guys has been such an amazing experience. I really admire y'alls lifestyles and your positive happy attitudes! It has been such a pleasure."

Oak wood rings ~ hers with a willow band and his with a cedar band.

"Our rings are BEAUTIFUL!!!! Thank you so much, we love them. We are both very happy we decided to stick with the willow and cedar on oak. The willow is like a band of gold on the oak, the different grains and texture provide a wonderful contrast and I feel very happy that it worked out so well. The cedar on the oak is beautiful and not only does its deep reddish brown look lovely against the oak, but the contrasting grains complement each other nicely. We really appreciate the work you put into our rings and the time you spent with us discussing the wood choices. These three woods have a good deal of symbology and personal meaning to us and it means a lot to us that they are incorporated into our wedding bands. Once again, thank you so much."

Juniper heart wood rings with clear maple inset bands.

"We got our rings and they're stunning. Thanks so much to the both of you. Now if only we could duplicate your simple and enriching lifestyle. "

A happy ending

A heartwarming email from Mary Lou with a very happy ending! This is the link to the wood ring her story is about. http://warmthofwood.blogspot.com/2007/03/wood-ring-from-orchard.html

The absent minded Professor and the great finish

Hello from Goderich:

I just have to share this story with you, especially now that we have a happy ending. As you might know, my husband John, the wearer of the most loved and admired wood ring, teaches at the University of Western Ontario two days a week. This is an hour and a half drive from our home, making his departure time 6:15 AM.

He is in the habit of having everything ready the night before to ensure a smooth exit in the morning. Clothes are layed out, briefcase is packed and waiting by the door, and said wedding ring is attached to his watch ready to put on after the shower.

This Friday past, John came to me, in tears and said, "Love, I've really screwed up, I've lost my ring." He was absolutely devastated. His recollection of the previous Monday was that, he grabbed his lunch, his coffee, his briefcase and put his watch/ring in his jacket pocket. When he arrived at his office and reached for the ring/watch, it was not there. Thinking that it had fallen out of his pocket on the way, he retraced his steps through the campus, back to his car, made a thorough search of the vehicle and surrounding area and carefully searched the ground all the way back to his office.

No ring.

Speculation sets in...Did I leave it at home? ... Did someone pick it up? ... Will I find it in the lost and found?

This happened on a Monday morning and every morning following, John would awake at 4:52 AM not and not being able to sleep would set about searching every inch of the house, every inch of his car and retracing his steps over and over. Several calls and visits to the lost and found on campus resulted in nothing. I felt that the ring was still in the house, and conducted my own searches, but turned up nothing.

Monday evening, a week since the loss, we went up north to spend the night, and shut down the cottage for the season. We arrived back home about 5:00PM Tuesday afternoon. I opened my car door, prepared to step out, and what was lying on the ground beside the driveway on the neighbours lawn... "Oh my God!" "What is it love?" "Come here."

After the ensuing jubilation of recovering the ring and watch, which had sat on the ground for nine days in the rain and wind, John remarked, "That must be one hell of a good finish on that ring."

Thank you for your fine craftsmanship, and feel free to use this story to promote your wonderful wood rings.

Yours in Goderich and thankfully so.

Ringing in a new year

We wish all our old friends and our future clients a healthy and happy new year.

Here are some photographs of the final Touch Wood Rings of 2007.
It is with much gratitude and great joy that David and I ring out the old and begin the work of a new year.
Many thanks to all the folks we've had the pleasure of getting to know over the past year and we look forward to getting to know many more of you through the next year. We look forward to working with you to create wood rings you will love.

Take good care of each other and we'll do the same.

Grenadilla and Hawaiian Koa Wood Engagement Ring

Alex designed this Hawaiian Koa wood and Grenadilla ring for the love of his life; Vivianne.

David and Nicola,
Thank you again for the beautiful ring you created for Vivianne. I proposed to her on December 21st and she said yes!! She was totally amazed by all the details and precision of the ring. It was her dreamed engagement ring and she is so thankful. After I proposed, we organized a gathering with our families to celebrate our love. I want to thank you both for your hard work throughout this process and for being what you are and living what you believe in.

Alex and Vivianne

Ahhh the people we meet

A lovely letter from a lovely couple ~ JoAnn and Ray ~

"Clearly, you and David appreciate what these rings mean to us. Ray and I were both so struck by how beautiful they are!

We are thrilled! The presentation of the rings was a thoughtful "extra".
While we picked the woods used to create them--the artistry and craftsmanship make them the works of art they are.

They are a perfect representation of what we both believe about our relationship....it will stay strong and beautiful if we pay attention and treat it as the very valuable "work" it is. It will get worn as we move through life. But, if we take good care and fix the problems before they get too far gone-- we can enjoy the beauty, strength and "lightness" for the rest of our lives. Many thanks-- it was truely a pleasure. "

Wooden rings for an awesome Belgium couple

Last July David made a set of wooden rings for Nicolas and MÃ©lanie of Belgium. Nicolas sent us malachite for Melanie's ring and they chose blackwood and blue spruce for their woods.

Nicolas writes ...

"At last, I send you some pictures of our August 07 wedding and of the rings. We wear our rings with love. They are amazing."

"Our wedding day was amazing. I don't know if you made your Sun dance but it worked. The weather was rainy the day before and the day after, but we had beautiful sunshine on our wedding day. We love our rings. We are proud to have wooden rings, and we are proud that you made them. When I look at my ring, I obviously think of my wife but also of you and your way of life which makes a lot of sense to me. Your home looks like a piece of paradise and we would be happy to visit you if we come to Canada. "

David and I look forward to your visit! Thank you both so much for being so full of love and for sharing that with us.

Hawaiian Koa Wood Rings

Hawaiian Koa wood is so beautiful. It's different in every kind of light, sometimes golden, sometimes dark but always luminous with a depth of figure and grain that is almost unparalled. The golden toned wood in the purple heartwood set is Hawaiian Koa.

Here is a recent set of Hawaiian Koa Wood rings that David created for a lovely couple in Austin, Texas.

And, a little ring-related story from Alina: "I babysit a 2-year old boy Ethan (who I am training as a botanist). I see him weekly and we have awesome adventures! One day, his mom Julie was helping me pack up the stroller for our walk to the park. I snapped Ethan in to his seat and Julie gasped loudly! I thought for sure I must have caught his fingers in the buckle or something. By the time I realized he was fine and in one piece, Julie had grabbed my hand and was admiring the koa ring in the sunlight. It was an amazing reaction -- one of real awe to make her gasp. Pretty great. Anyway, my compliments to David once again. "

Summer skies and wooden rings

An August sunset over the meadow where Touch Wood Rings are created.
And, some summer rings ...

A matched set of wooden rings with wide bands of birch bark featuring natural birch bark markings.

Koa wood ring with a mahogany inlaid band. Lined with blue spruce.

Tapered Juniper heartwood rings with spiraled bands of golden koa and birdseye maple.

A Koa wood ring lined with Grenadilla. The crushed stone inlay is lapis lazuli. Lapis (Latin for 'stone') is known as the stone of friendship and truth, and is believed to promote honesty and ease of communication.

Another mid-summer sky over the meadow.

Eucalyptus rings with blue spruce and maple.

A Birdseye maple wood ring with a centered band of Bethlehem Olive wood bordered by two narrow bands of purpleheart wood. On the right; a purpleheart wood ring with a center band of Bethlehem Olive wood and lined with birdseye maple.

"Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend or a meaningful day." Dalai Lama

Bamboo wedding rings

Earlier this year, a couple from Florida asked David to make them a set of Bamboo Wedding Rings.

Jessica and Jake said they'd be happy to send David some bamboo to work with.

The bamboo was salvaged by Jake from their local recycling depot (the landscape 'waste' area where people bring all kinds of wood, brush, leaves, etc to be made into mulch.)

As Jessica pointed out "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! " Jake and Jessica's bamboo rings are banded with Hawaiian Koa wood. Jake's ring is about 10 mm wide and is gently tapered to 6mm. Jessica's ring is 4mm wide.

Thanks to Jake and Jessica, David now has a nice supply of this beautiful bamboo!

Wooden rings and Warm hearts

Our thanks to Nancy and Ruth (two lovely women who were such a pleasure to work with) and they wrote:

"Nicola and David, We followed your directions and wore our rings lightly for several months. Now that we are wearing them regularly we are even more delighted with them. They feel so natural and comfortable on our hands, even though neither of us has worn rings regularly in the past. Our comfort with the rings is also emotional and even spiritual. The ring symbolizes and reminds us of so many connections: to each other, to our vows, to the hands that made the rings and the place they were made, and to the trees that grow the wood. It is amazing and inspiring to be able to have these rings on our fingers everyday. Thank you so much! "

How Much is Enough

My wife asked me this question tonight: "Don't you have enough"?

Of course she was referring to my announcement that I was headed out to see if I could get some more of that Baltic Birch scrap wood from the local furniture shop.
My answer was simple, it was: "No"

so I ask you... how much is enough when it comes to free scraps of Baltic Birch plywood? The first picture in this group is what I picked up in this trip.

I still think the answer is no...

New Project - Teaser

One of the reasons I like this hobby is the amazing changes that my materials go through to get to the finish line.

I have a new project in the works. Here's a picture of some of the material before I get started on it.

stay tuned to what happens next. I'm pushing to get this project done for this weekend.

the Continued Transformation

My last post showed how a piece of pine being used in my current project looks before I start working on it.

After running the board through the planer and jointer, it then looks like this:

The planer gets rid of the nasty looking rough surface and leaves what resembles a typical looking board.

This typical looking board is then glued to another typical looking board to create a wider typical looking board. When that wider typical looking board is sanded, it looks more like this:

stay tuned as progress continues...

The Final Step

The final step of the transformation from rough piece of wood to finished piece is a healthy coat of BLO (Boiled Linseed Oil). After the assembly of part 2 of the current project, here is what our original board looks like now.

Happy Birthday Nanny

My mother-in-law had commented how much she liked the cabinet unit I made for my wife's cookie sheets, so for my mother-in-law's birthday, we decided something should be done about the cupboard in her pantry. There were a couple of"shelves" in there already, and by "shelves" I mean a couple boards that technically were holding a few things up.

So my wife and I pulled everything out of the cupboard, discussed possible solutions and took some measurements. Then I got to work.

Here's a look at what it looks like now:

I made this in three separate units (left side, center and right side) to make it a little easier to build and install. Other than building square components to go in an area that isn't square, everything went along quite smoothly. And best of all, my mother-in-law is very happy!

All three units are built with pine harvested locally by my brother-in-law. I sanded with 100 grit and then applied a BLO (Boiled Linseed Oil) finish. And here's one final picture to give a little perspective: