High Country Woodworking

High Country Woodworking High Country Woodworking specializes in quality custom shadow boxes and flag cases for military members and their loved ones.

This is a client inspired design. Solid walnut and maple. There is no plywood used. Table aprons are joined to the legs ...
01/15/2025

This is a client inspired design. Solid walnut and maple. There is no plywood used. Table aprons are joined to the legs using integral tenons (through double tenons on the side aprons). Legs are 2" square at the top and taper (starting at 9" from top) to an 1-5/8" at the bottom. Soft close drawer glides on 25" deep drawers. Shadow box is removable. 35-1/4" D x 23-1/2" W x 21" H. Client will install remaining memorabilia.

This shadow box will be on it's way to Escondido CA this evening. Client initially asked for a light colored box with d...
05/28/2024

This shadow box will be on it's way to Escondido CA this evening. Client initially asked for a light colored box with dark contrasting wood chevrons etc. I offered to upgrade to dark epoxy chevrons at no additional cost as I had yet to make a USN box with epoxy. She asked if I would consider painting the box black with gold epoxy chevrons. And I had to counter with I'll dye the box with "super black" India ink, pure gold epoxy chevrons and silver pearl epoxy "crow & star" to more closely resemble her actual rating badge (3rd picture). Box and door are solid ash dyed black with multiple coats of shellac. The caduceus is laser engraved on the plexiglass by S&S Trophies and Awards, LLC. Finished size is 34.5" x 19" x 3.25". I'm really quite happy with how this turned out.

Now that it has been delivered and the recipient has let me know it exceeds her expectations, I can post the latest shad...
05/28/2024

Now that it has been delivered and the recipient has let me know it exceeds her expectations, I can post the latest shadow box table I built. It is made with solid white oak with nogal (Peruvian walnut) accents (no plywood). The only mechanical fasteners used were to attach the shadow box to the top frame and the top frame to the base. The laser engraved headdress on the lid and the accents on the drawers were done by S&S Trophies and Awards, LLC. Finished dimensions were 27"x 27"x 22"H and it weighed close to 100 lbs.

The latest shadow box table creation. I've known Dana since she was a young Airman assigned to my unit in 2001 when I w...
04/12/2022

The latest shadow box table creation. I've known Dana since she was a young Airman assigned to my unit in 2001 when I was her Military Training Leader. We have remained friends for that entire time. As her retirement date approached she asked me to build her retirement shadow box. After some back and forth she decided she wanted a farmhouse style table. This is the end result.

I took a great deal of inspiration from a table built by Matt Outlaw from 731 Woodworks. The base is built from some gorgeous straight grain Douglas fir (all the 3"x3" parts) and southern yellow pine (bottom shelf and horizontal members) from the big orange store. All the walnut came out of a single 8/4 board purchased from Jubilee Specialty Wood Products. The top frame is 1-9/16" thick and 4-3/4" wide. Each of the shadow box and drawer members are book matched to its opposite member. And the drawer bottom has some beautiful figure that created a natural "crown" for this Princess (as we referred to her when she was a young Airman).

The base has a 4-step finishing process. First a base coat of Rustoleum satin espresso brown. Second a couple coats of Glidden satin blank canvas white. Then some light sanding to distress it in those typical wear areas. Finally, it was waxed with Minwax finishing wax. The walnut has 3 coats of Minwax Tung Oil Finish.

The table weighs in at 85 lbs and final shipped weight in the crate was 165 lbs. I'm very happy with the final result and in her words "I LOVE IT!!!! It's perfect! Thank you so much!!!!!"

This is what I feel is my finest effort in shadow box construction. A former troop contacted me with an idea to incorpor...
07/16/2021

This is what I feel is my finest effort in shadow box construction. A former troop contacted me with an idea to incorporate to make his shadow box unique from all others. This is the giant version of my chevron shadow box. It is made from African mahogany with midnight blue epoxy chevrons. After the epoxy cured, I sanded everything smooth. Then I routed a recess for the silhouette to allow it to be slightly proud of the face of the door. Then final sanding to 400 grit before finishing with 4 coats Minwax Tung Oil Finish. The door was then wet sanded to 1000 grit and the epoxy polished to a glass like consistency. The silhouette is flat black with dead flat clear to contrast the high gloss of the shadow box. Finally I used black hardware to match the silhouette. This box is 42” x 31” x 3.375” and weighs 32 lbs.

The first US Army shadow box I made. The purchaser originally bought a USAF MSgt box and then contacted me to say she w...
07/16/2021

The first US Army shadow box I made. The purchaser originally bought a USAF MSgt box and then contacted me to say she was notified he was retiring as a 1st Sgt. So I quickly adjusted and added a diamond and shipped it off. She and her husband (who had been deployed when she ordered it) finally opened it 3 months later. Much to their dismay it wasn't an Army 1SG box. Needless to say, I had to shift gears and make a completely new shadow box. This is maple with dark chevrons/diamond.

Now that it's been delivered, I can show my most recent commission. After seeing one of my Alabama shadow boxes, she as...
03/19/2021

Now that it's been delivered, I can show my most recent commission. After seeing one of my Alabama shadow boxes, she asked if I was up to the challenge of creating a Mississippi box for her father-in-law who is retiring after 30 years of service. This will hang on the wall but they wanted it to look like it had a base/stand. The box and frame are walnut and the base is soft maple from Jubilee Specialty Wood Products The laser engraving was done by Sonya Wroblewski at S&S Trophies and Awards, LLC. Finished size is 36" x 21" x 2-1/2". All the joints for the box itself are reinforced with 5x30 Dominos.

A couple of boxes I threw together on December 22nd and 23rd. Zebrawood, wenge (dark chocolate top), and padauk (reddis...
12/26/2020

A couple of boxes I threw together on December 22nd and 23rd. Zebrawood, wenge (dark chocolate top), and padauk (reddish orange top). These are seven sided and were cut using my standard SawStop miter gauge and the Rockler Woodworking and Hardware Perfect Miter Setup Blocks.

I chose seven sides because the angles were the most unusual (25.714 degrees) and I figured it would be the perfect opportunity to test the accuracy of the setup blocks. They were spot on with the cherry test piece so I jumped right to the zebrawood (so quickly I forgot to resaw it before cutting the miters). I resawed the zebrawood after cutting the miters which left me with two different size boxes, perfect for the mother and daughter they were gifted to. The wenge and padauk were left over from previous gifts I made for them. The grain in the zebrawood wraps completely around the larger box but because of the resaw it is slightly interrupted on the smaller one.

Finished with Maker Brand Simple Finish (an oil/wax blend) and final buff with brown craft paper.

Address

9245 Nancy Drive
Biloxi, MS
39532

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 3pm
Tuesday 9am - 3pm
Wednesday 9am - 3pm
Thursday 9am - 3pm
Friday 9am - 3pm

Telephone

+12283834539

Website

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