Walnut Ridge Creations IA

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Oskaloosa, IA
Walnut Ridge Creations IA

We are a small-town woodworking shop located in Southeast Iowa. We specialize in creating handmade, high quality wood products.

Our passion for woodworking began with the need for customized pieces in our own home. Over time our hobby has continued to grow leading us to share our passion for creating handmade products with you. At Walnut Ridge Creations every project is crafted with care, by working closely with our customers to bring their vision to life. Thank you for supporting our local craftmanship, we look forward to working with you to create something special for your home.

08/31/2026

Weekend Sawdust Report 🪚

Started the weekend the way every good woodworking project starts… bringing home more wood when I clearly already have enough. 😂

Found some unique spalted lumber I couldn’t pass up, which meant making room in the racks and working on a better inventory system. Apparently “I know it’s in here somewhere” isn’t a real inventory system.

Meanwhile, the co****le boards are built and ready for legs. That meant more milling, measuring, cutting and — because it wouldn’t be a Weekend Sawdust Report without it — a ridiculous amount of sanding.

Judging by the bag of sawdust, something productive definitely happened.

Next up: legs, finish work, and eventually figuring out what that spalted wood wants to become.

Thanks to everyone following along with our weekend shop projects. We appreciate it!

08/23/2026

Weekend Sawdust Report 🪚

This week’s progress can pretty much be summed up as sand, sand some more…then sand again. 😂

Six sets of co****le boards means 12 frames, 12 tops and approximately 47 acres of surface area to sand. At least that’s what it feels like.

Frames are getting cleaned up, plywood tops dropped in, holes cut, and everything worked smooth before moving on to the next phase. The stack is finally starting to look less like a lumber project and more like co****le boards.

The holes brought their own little challenge. Power tools get you most of the way there, but the final cleanup is by hand. So naturally, instead of simply sanding them, I spent some time making custom sanding tools out of dowel rods, Velcro, CA glue and hook-and-loop sandpaper. Because apparently making a tool to do a job is more fun than actually doing the job. 🤷‍♂️

And, as always, the supervisors stopped by for a shop inspection. Their review was mixed. Not enough treats, insufficient frisbee breaks, but overall workmanship was allowed to continue. 🐾

Next up: finish sanding, get the legs built and fitted, then we can finally move into stain and finish. That’s when these 12 monsters should really start looking like something.

Making progress. Making sawdust. And slowly losing track of how many times I’ve sanded the same piece of wood.

08/17/2026

Weekend Sawdust Report 🪚

This weekend was pretty much brought to you by co****le boards… all 12 of them. 😂

That stack of lumber on the bench is where we started. A whole lot of cutting, milling, pocket holes and lots of glue.

But we made some serious progress.

All 12 frames are built, the 3/4” birch plywood tops are cut to fit, and everything is starting to look less like a lumber pile and more like co****le boards. There’s still plenty of sanding ahead, because apparently I enjoy sanding enough to build 12 things that need it.

Next up is milling the lumber for the legs, getting those cut and bolted on and we chat forget drilling the hole and then we finally get to the fun part — stain and finish. That’s when these should really start coming to life. I’ve got a few different stain combinations planned, so they won’t all be leaving the shop looking the same.

Had to hit pause for a small project in the house. The drill press also got its workout cutting the holes. Hole saw first, sanding drum afterward.

Mother Nature contributed to production this week with about 6 inches of rain and tropical-rainforest humidity. 🌧️ At this point, stepping outside feels less like Iowa and more like opening the dishwasher halfway through the dry cycle.

And after all that rain, here comes the mowing.

Because nothing says “great, I finished my shop work” quite like looking outside and realizing the yard has grown six inches while you weren’t paying attention. 😂

12 boards down to sanding, legs and finish. The monster is getting smaller.

08/10/2026

Weekend Sawdust Report 🪚

One project finally leaves the shop… and a few more come rolling in right behind it. Apparently empty floor space is not something we believe in around here.

The spalted maple live-edge sign was delivered and hung this week. Spalted wood is always interesting, but maple especially can bring out so many different shades and patterns. Add in those dark spalting lines and no two pieces will ever look the same.

We appreciate everyone who trusts us with custom work. We approach every project like it’s going into our own home — which probably explains why “good enough” tends to add another couple hours to the project. 😂

It’s been a minute since I’ve built co****le boards, but apparently we’re making up for lost time. There’s a bunch of them coming.

Woodworking and cleaning go hand in hand: make sawdust, clean sawdust, immediately make more sawdust.

A few pocket holes, a pile of freshly milled lumber, all the 45s cut, and now we’re ready for glue-up. That’s usually the point where a pile of boards finally starts looking like the thing you told everyone you were building.

There are plenty of co****le boards out there, but these are going to be a little different — heavy, sturdy, and with a few small details to set them apart. More on those as they come together.

And finally, that table saw setup in the pictures. I built the bench specifically so one person can wrangle a full 3/4” 4×8 sheet of plywood through the table saw without needing three extra hands.

Most versions I saw were about 4×8.

Naturally, in my usual “if it’s worth building, it’s probably worth overbuilding” fashion… mine ended up 6×8. 😂

It sits right in the center of the shop with the table saw and miter saw built into it, and probably 70% of everything I do happens right there.

Another weekend down.

Projects out. Projects in. Sawdust everywhere. Just the way it should be. 🪚

08/03/2026

Weekend in the shop

A fair amount got done this week, even if I forgot to stop long enough for many pictures.

A custom ash end table and a walnut side table found their new home. Thank you to everyone who trusts Walnut Ridge Creations with your custom projects—it means a lot.

The spalted maple sign is finally ready for installation. Getting the mounting bracket centered on a live-edge slab with no straight or square reference lines… let’s just say it turned into a geometry lesson I didn’t ask for.

Next up is a return to making co****le boards. It’s been a while, and I’m trying a new design to give them a cleaner, more polished look. Looking forward to seeing how they turn out.

To finish the weekend, I rolled the homemade smoker back out. It’s hard to beat a low-and-slow cook… especially after a day in the shop. Woodworking and barbecue—both reward patience, and both make the neighbors curious.

Have a great week, everyone!

07/27/2026

Weekend in the Shop

Another productive weekend in the shop.

The spalted maple is getting close to the finish line. A few more details left, including installing the mounting bracket and lettering. It’s always fun watching a rough slab slowly turn into something that’ll hang on someone’s wall for years.

Sunday’s plans hit a brief timeout when the shop A/C decided it wanted some attention. Thankfully it was just a plugged drain, so after a quick fix it was back to keeping the shop comfortable. Considering the heat outside, the downtime was a wise use of time!

The small ash and walnut “temporary end tables” are finished up as well. They’re perfect beside a chair when you need a spot for your coffee, a book, or the TV remote… and when you change your mind, they move with you. Temporary… until they become everyone’s favorite table. We have one that has become a permanent fixture.

The big project right now is six sets of co****le boards. The milling is finally behind me, which means it’s time for what every woodworker dreams about… sanding. Lots and lots of sanding. One set has been cut to final dimensions and dry-fit, and the rest are right behind it. Batch-building definitely takes more prep up front, but it sure makes the assembly go smoother.

Once in a while Mother Nature decides to show off with an incredible sky. Sometimes it’s worth putting the tools down for a few minutes and appreciating a finish that only nature can create.

Thanks for following along. More sawdust to come soon!

07/20/2026

Shop Update

This week’s theme was definitely prep work.

There’s nothing glamorous about milling lumber, but taking the time to get everything flat, straight, and consistent now makes the build go a whole lot smoother later.

The goal was to batch everything out. Set the saws once… then let them eat. By the time it was all said and done there were 96 cuts, along with plenty of jointing, more trips through the planer, and a healthy amount of time behind the drum sander.

The downside? Saw dust and wood shaving don’t clean themselves. I think I swept up enough shavings to qualify as insulation for a small cabin.

The live-edge spalted maple also got another couple coats of polyurethane and is now in the hardest phase of woodworking… waiting.

Then, in the middle of all the planer noise, dust collection, and machines running, something actually managed to be louder. Three military helicopters flew overhead in formation. Needless to say, everything in the shop paused for a minute while I stepped outside to watch. Pretty neat sight.

Now it’s time to turn a stack of milled lumber into finished projects.

Thanks for following along!

07/13/2026

Shop Update

After a few weekends dedicated to landscaping, it was finally time to get back in the shop.

Saturday’s project was refurbishing an old mobile clamp rack. Amazing how much time you save when you’re not playing “Where did I leave that clamp?” every five minutes. This while the other two projects are getting final coats of poly.

Sunday kicked off the next round of builds with several bag boards. I’ve got quite a few to make, so instead of building one at a time, I’m batching them out. Picked up enough lumber to make a few extras while I was at it.

These definitely won’t be the lightweight versions you find at the big box stores. They’re built to last.

The first step? Turning a stack of construction lumber into flat, straight boards. That meant a whole lot of time at the planer… and emptying the dust collector three times. (I think the planer made more sawdust than actual progress.) Next up is the jointer, then cutting everything to final size.

Outside the shop, we haven’t had much rain here, but the water coming down from up north had other plans. The river spilled over its banks, briefly crossed the road Friday, and turned what was a soybean field into one pretty incredible sunset photo opportunity. Sometimes Mother Nature gives you a project break whether you planned one or not.

Hope everyone has a great week, and thanks for following along!

07/06/2026

Shop Update

It’s been a busy week around Walnut Ridge Creations!

The spalted maple slab is finally in the finishing stage with a couple of light coats of polyurethane. Watching the grain come alive never gets old. The ash project is right there too—it absolutely glows under the LED lights. A few more coats and some patience (probably the hardest part of woodworking), and it’ll be ready for assembly.

Outside the shop, the “small landscaping project” officially turned into one of those projects that takes way longer than planned. After moving what feels like a small mountain of river rock, it’s finally finished! My appreciation for tractors has increased dramatically… and so has my appreciation for Advil.

There was also a quick trip to the lumber yard to pick up material for the next round of builds. Nothing quite like coming home with a fresh stack of lumber and a head full of project ideas.

To wrap up the week, I gave the workbench a little upgrade by reorganizing and mounting the battery chargers. Not nearly as exciting as buying new tools, but a lot more satisfying than hunting for a charger that’s somehow grown legs.

Now it’s time to let the finish cure, clean up the shop, and start making sawdust again.

Have a great week everyone!

06/29/2026

Shop Update

The shop has been a little quieter this week… at least quieter than the tractor.

The live edge and ash projects are in the glamorous stage of woodworking—watching polyurethane dry. It’s mostly a cycle of apply a coat, wait, sand, repeat… and try not to leave fingerprints.

While the finish cures, the focus has shifted outdoors. We’ve been tackling a landscaping project that’s been on the to-do list for a long time. Since grass has officially resigned from this part of the yard, we’re replacing it with river rock instead of continuing to argue with Mother Nature.

The tractor has been earning its keep, the rock pile is finally getting smaller, and I’m pretty sure I’ve personally moved about half the county… one bucket at a time.

The good news is the finished woodworking projects are getting close, and there are a few new builds waiting in the wings. I’ll be sharing photos of the completed pieces soon, and then it’ll be back to making sawdust instead of moving rocks.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Address

Oskaloosa, IA
52577

Website

http://linktr.ee/walnutridgecreationsia

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