Hi, my name is Dick Holloway, and I am a longtime woodworker. My grandfather was a carpenter, and some of his genes may have influenced my interest in woodworking. I remember my enjoyment in making a simple wall shelf in grade school, which still hangs on my wall. I also made a portable toolbox for my dad, which he used until his passing and which I now use. In high school, I took a wood shop class and made a bedside table, which unfortunately passed away many years ago. After entering the Navy, getting married and having children and doing little woodwork up to that point, I decided to invest in my first piece of power woodworking equipment, a radial arm saw from Montgomery Wards for the unheard-of price for me (this was in 1969) of $100. Yes, I still have the saw, and it is in excellent working condition. They were made to last in those days.

When I left the service and settled into civilian life, I set about making a wood shop in whatever home I was living in at the time. Over the years, I have built five woodworking shops, having converted basements, garages, additions and, in my current location, a mother-in-law apartment to shop space. Once I had shop space, of course, I commenced buying shop equipment to put in the converted space. The real fun part was using the equipment to make things. It was a learning thing, of course, and I had to experiment with different woods and finishes over the years before I was reasonably satisfied with the end product. I finally settled on what is called hard wood as opposed to soft wood as my wood of choice. Hence my business cards read REH Hardwood Designs. The hard wood I use for most of my projects is black walnut, which I harvested off my acreage while living in Omaha, NE. I felled the trees with a chain saw, then using an attachment to the chain saw, I slabbed the logs and air dried the planks outside for a year. Over the years, I have acquired other domestic and foreign hardwoods, namely maple, cherry, oak, padauk and zebrawood and rose wood. Additionally, I have become enamored with mesquite as a wood with beautiful grain patterns.

Over the years, I have made many wood items for family and friends, most of which I just give away. Occasionally I have sold my products at local vendor fairs. Initially, I started out making items utilizing published plans from Wood Magazine, of which I am a charter member. Over time I started developing my own designs for unique products. I have included a few pictures of some of my wood designs, including a walking stick and cane I made from sotol cactus found growing locally. Pictured are assorted designs I have made over the years. I also took a class and made a three-dimensional wall hanging star from mesquite, maple and walnut. I made a rocking chair from a set of plans that replicate a design developed by a now-deceased expert woodworker. Hopefully, I still have a few more years in me to turn out some more wood designs.