Welcome to Benchmark Woodworks!

Well here it goes; I am going to enter the new and ambiguous world of blogging. As a novice blogger I suffer from a self-deprecating spirit that tells me, why would anyone care about what I am doing? All reservations aside, I am going to try to enjoy sharing many of my past and current woodworking projects with you.


Dad, I must credit you with starting all of this. As long as I can remember, and according to many of the pictures around the house, even longer, carpentry, woodworking, and construction has been a way of life for me. I guess you can say it is in my blood. Starting with that very first “tree house”, built by dad, building anything and everything has become an ever growing passion of mine. On a resent trip home to the glorious green mountains of Vermont, returning to the site of many “tree house” adventures nearly twenty years later brought back all of those great memories.

As our ever growing family outgrew the small house originally built by my father’s own hands we embarked on my very first true construction project, doubling the size of our house. My own bedroom at last! I can vividly remember the excitement of that prospect. Not that I didn’t love my two younger brothers dearly, but I was a teenage boy! Now back to my real topic (sorry about the rabbit trails). This was my introduction to the world of residential carpentry, and I fell head over heals in love with all of it. As I graduated from high school and contemplated the next phase of my life, I couldn’t shake the desire to create things. This desire guided me in my decision to move all the way south to Auburn University to pursue a degree in Engineering. Long story cut short, I ended up with a degree in Mathematics and married to the love of my life, Amelia.

At the ripe old age of 21, while I was still in college and married, Amelia and I found ourselves working for Lee County Habitat for Humanity as office manager, volunteer coordinator and construction manager. Officially kicking off my career in construction, thirteen houses later and a new college graduate, I worked for a couple of companies managing residential, commercial, retail and light industrial projects until I decided to follow the family calling. I am now starting my fourth year as a high school teacher.

I get to combine my passion for true craftsmanship and a love for educating today’s youth as a building construction teacher at the Chambers Country Career Technical Center in Lafayette, AL. Here I am given the privilege of passing on all of the skills and information given to me over the years of working with Dad and later developing my own skills through all of the many projects I seem to inherit.

Now that you have suffered through all of my ramblings I am honored to share my projects with you. I hope you enjoy them, and I look forward to all of your comments and critiques.