Craft
At Yates Woodwork, I make elegant, functional woodwork and furniture to suit your individual needs. My design process begins with visiting your space and discussing your project. I follow up with detailed concept sketches and shop drawings, which I refine according to your input. With the initial design process complete, I build pieces using quality materials and time-tested joinery. My maker’s mark on the finished piece is my promise to you: my best work, every time.
In my shop, I use traditional hand tools and vintage American-made machinery. In all my implements, I look for function, reliability, value, and long lifespan. By and large, this has led me to older tools and machines, many of which I restore and maintain myself. Just as the tools I use still work hard after a century and more, I design my pieces to do the same.
I prefer to work with local Oregon woods due to their abundance, sustainability, and beauty. My network of local sawyers gives me access to sizes and shapes of material that either aren’t available from large commercial suppliers or would be prohibitively expensive when imported from farther away—think railing components with naturally curved grain, wide quartersawn oak, or extra-colorful Pacific madrone. I delight in the unique materials available right here in Oregon and am proud to source them from other local small businesses.
I keep a limited stock of Oregon woods at hand at my shop. Please contact me if you would like to see samples.
Bio
My woodworking career began in Los Angeles, CA with exhibit-construction and sculpture projects at the Museum of Jurassic Technology*, the internationally-known showcase for real and imagined "cabinets of wonder."
I went on to work as a shipwright at Haven Boatworks** in Port Townsend, WA, the premier wooden boatbuilding port on the West Coast. As with furniture, boatbuilding requires balancing structural and aesthetic needs. “You do right by the boat” – with honest work everywhere, visible or not. Projects there included replacing the teak deck on the 80-foot historic yacht MV Linmar, which required patterning complex shapes, steam bending curved pieces, and hundreds of hours of selecting and milling stock.
I have worked on interior projects ranging from a secret-door bookcase to an aeolian harp (an ancient stringed instrument, to be set on a windowsill and played by the breeze). I enjoy building pieces that reveal wood’s inherent strength and beauty; participating in every step of the process between selecting lumber fresh from the tree at a sawmill and delivering a finished project; and connecting with my local community of clients and craftspeople.
Whether I’m drafting curves with a batten or considering the subtle effects of light and shadow along a hand-shaped edge, I take part in a craft that’s both ancient and modern, exploring and celebrating an endlessly varied organic material and how we use it. May my work serve you well.
—William Yates, Proprietor, Yates Woodwork, LLC.
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_Jurassic_Technology