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Owen Caldwell

How a commission works.

I take on a small number of pieces each year, usually six or eight. The process below is the one I use whether the piece is a small stool or a full dining set. There's no minimum, and no maximum I haven't tried.

Typical range
$2,400–$3,720
Lead time
12–20 weeks
Deposit
40%
Begin an inquiry
Side Chair No. 4: workshop plan

The process

Four steps, start to finish.

  1. We start with a phone call or studio visit. I want to understand the room, the use, and the people. I'll send a written proposal with sketches, materials, and a price range within a week.

If this sounds like your project, begin an inquiry →

Materials & method

Three woods, sourced from small mills in the Northeast.

  • White oak

    Catskills, NY

    Janka1,360 lbf

  • Walnut

    Central Pennsylvania

    Janka1,010 lbf

  • Cherry

    Central Pennsylvania

    Janka950 lbf

I trained in joinery and timber framing in Vermont before opening my own shop in 2017. The work I take on now is mostly residential: dining tables, benches, chairs, the occasional cabinet, almost always commissioned for a specific room and a specific use.

I source lumber from small mills in the Northeast: white oak from the Catskills, walnut and cherry from family-owned operations in central Pennsylvania. I finish everything with hand-rubbed oils and waxes. Never sprayed.

Each piece is signed, dated, and built to outlive the person who ordered it. If you're thinking about a commission, get in touch.

Ready to talk about a piece? Begin an inquiry →

The wait

The wait, and why

The wait begins with wood. Every piece I build starts with rough-milled hardwood I stack in the shop and let acclimate for four to six weeks. Furniture built from lumber that hasn't reached shop equilibrium moves in the seams as your house breathes. Rushing this step is how doors stop closing in year two.

Joinery and dry-fit run three to five weeks. Mortises are cut, tenons are shaped, dovetails are pared to the line by hand. Everything goes together dry twice before it ever sees glue. If a joint doesn't sit clean under its own weight, it goes back on the bench, not into the piece.

Hand-finishing takes two to three weeks. I sand through six grits, then apply hard wax oil in thin coats with a week of cure between them. Sprayed lacquer is faster and reads plastic under a hand. Oil takes time and reads like wood a decade in.

Delivery and installation add one to two weeks. Most pieces I bring myself. Pieces further out travel crated with a furniture carrier I trust. A four-week table is a shop that skipped one of these. It will look right for a year and start moving in year three.

Read more about the wait, and other shop notes in the journal →

The shop

What hangs above the bench.

  • No. 4 smoothing plane

    Lie-Nielsen, A2 iron

  • Bench chisels

    Set of six, 1/8–1 in.

  • Joiner's mallet

    Shop-made, hard maple

  • Dovetail saw

    Bad Axe, 15 ppi rip

  • Marking gauge

    Brass-faced wheel

  • Furniture carrier

    Modern Movers, NY

The studio

Interior of Owen's Hudson Valley workshop, hand tools and a work-in-progress on the bench.

Build sheet

Side Chair · Cherry · ref.

Materials
$420–$640
Joinery (32–48 hrs)
$1,600–$2,400
Hand-finishing
$280–$420
Crating & delivery
$120–$260
Typical, all in
$2,400–$3,720
Lead time
12–20 weeks
Deposit
40%
Range
Northeast US

From past clients.

0105

The walnut table is the first piece of furniture we've owned that our kids fight over sitting at. Ten years from now they'll still be arguing about it.

Begin

Next opening: Books open · Q1 2027

Begin an inquiry.

I reply to every inquiry within two business days. If you don't hear back, follow up. That means it fell through the cracks.

Or write directly: owen@caldwellwoodworks.com

112 N. Front St · Hudson, NY 12534 · By appointment

If you commission

Ownership + repair
I stand behind every piece I build. Repairs run at cost, advice is free. See the care and repair policy.
Your email
Stays with me. Not added to a list, not shared. See privacy.
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