As you might guess, we have a plethora of employees here at Rockler who are woodworkers themselves. We've asked them to come up with their favorite projects, and show them off a bit. Our first volunteer is Matt L. from our Seattle store.

Matt's specialty is eccentric woodturning. As Matt explains it: "First, each blank is carefully selected from a larger piece and matched to ensure consistency. Once the blanks are cut they are turned on three [different] axes. This is eccentric turning."

Matt's favorite piece is displayed here: an hourglass made of wenge and our hourglass timepiece. This piece can truly be called "hand-crafted": after being sanded to 2000 grit, it was then hand-rubbed. "The grit is my skin," Matt jokes. After that, Matt applied a clear French polish. Each spindle was then individually burnished, and after assembling, the piece received a final coat of wax. Gorgeous!

More of Matt's projects can be seen (and purchased) on his website at: www.eccentricwood.com.