About the shop
One bench. One pair of hands. Small work first.
I am Thayneus Chappell. This is my shop. I design the piece, cut the wood, put the joints together, sand it, and finish it. Nobody else signs the work because nobody else builds it.
Who
Who
TC Custom Woodworking is a one-person shop. I work in wood the way a lot of people work a trade — every day, on purpose, until the piece is right. I am not a factory and I am not a weekend hobby. If your name is on the order, I built it.
What I build
Smaller pieces a house actually uses
Same woods. Same joinery. Same finish. Different job in the room.
- Stereo cabinets — low consoles and record storage that fit the gear
- Food cabinets — freestanding pantry cabinets with room to breathe
- Coat racks — wall rails and standing hall trees
- Hat racks — pegs that hold a brim without wrecking the crown
- Gun shelves — display shelves with a cradle and a locking bar
Why the small work first
Small work is honest
A coat rack does not hide a sloppy joint. A cabinet door that binds will tell on you every time you open it. You learn a board's temperament — how it moves, how it takes a finish, how it sits on a wall — faster on a hat rack than on a dining table.
That is the point of starting here. I want the joinery, the proportion, and the finish to be something I can stand behind before I take on larger pieces. The bigger work is coming. Not as a promise on a homepage. As the next thing, after this work is right.
How a build goes
Four steps, no surprises
You write me
The spot, the measurements, and what the piece has to hold. Rough numbers are fine.
I answer straight
Whether I can build it, what wood I would use, what it costs, and how long it takes.
I cut and finish it here
Milled, joined, sanded and finished at this bench. Photos along the way if you want them.
Pickup or crate
We set a pickup, or it gets crated for the trip. Mounting hardware ships with anything that hangs.
Shop hours are by appointment. Messages get an answer within two business days.
Materials
What your piece is made from
White oak and walnut are the shop standards — hard, stable, and they take a finish beautifully. Cherry darkens with age into something worth waiting for. Maple and ash keep things light. Poplar and pine keep the cost down when a piece is getting painted anyway.
Everything gets a hardwax oil or a catalyzed satin finish. Both are repairable, both are safe once cured, and neither one looks like plastic.
The short version
Twenty years from now it should still look like itself
If you want a piece that will still look like itself in twenty years, you are in the right shop.