Walnut Ridge Creations IA

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Oskaloosa, IA
Walnut Ridge Creations IA

We are a small-town woodworking shop located in Southeast Iowa. We specialize in creating handmade, high quality wood products.

Our passion for woodworking began with the need for customized pieces in our own home. Over time our hobby has continued to grow leading us to share our passion for creating handmade products with you. At Walnut Ridge Creations every project is crafted with care, by working closely with our customers to bring their vision to life. Thank you for supporting our local craftmanship, we look forward to working with you to create something special for your home.

10/19/2026

Weekend Sawdust Report – Walnut Ridge Creations

Another week, another single day in the shop. Apparently, living on a small acreage means the grass, leaves, and preparations for winter all think they deserve equal attention. And none of them seem particularly interested in negotiating.

The good news? The bag boards are finally ready to head into finishing! A few little details left to take care of, but the construction is complete. Some will be finished, while others will remain unfinished for anyone wanting a customized set. If you’re interested, or know someone who might be, send us a message!

A couple of handy things from the shop this week.

Spacers – Simple little tools that earn their keep. From setting up saws and routers for precise cuts to positioning parts consistently, they take a lot of the guesswork out of woodworking. Sometimes the simplest tools are the most useful.

Shaping – The oscillating spindle/belt sander is another handy piece of equipment. Great for rounding corners, shaping curves, and getting consistent results. A whole lot easier than trying to accomplish everything by hand.

And finally, a little blast from the past! One of our previous projects, a storage cabinet built to fit a particular space. Plenty of storage, pull-out shelves, and a rustic finish. Sometimes it’s fun to look back at projects that are long since finished and put to use.

Fall has a way of reminding us that there are only so many hours in a weekend. The outside chores are winning a few rounds right now, but winter is coming. And while most people aren't looking forward to colder weather, I'm looking forward to fewer things competing with my shop time.

Let’s be clear I’m not a fan of winter but an acreage requires a lot less attention in the winter so shop time is a lot more consistent.

10/12/2026

Weekend Sawdust Report – Walnut Ridge Creations 🪚

Well, another week in the shop, although judging by the amount of rain we’ve had, I might want to consider taking up boat building! 🚣

The river is looking more like spring flood season than October. Mother Nature apparently didn’t get the memo that we’re supposed to be enjoying fall!

Back in the shop, the co****le boards are coming along. Five sets in the works, with two already spoken for. That leaves three sets available for custom finishing. Whether it’s a favorite color, team, family name or something completely different, there’s still time to make them your own. If you’re interested, or know someone who might be, send us a message!

The toy barn has also made its way back onto the workbench for its final coats of paint. This will be the last toy barn we build for the foreseeable future, so if you’re looking for a unique Christmas gift for a little farmer, this might be your chance!

"Fall brings its own list of competing priorities, and somehow the weekends don't get any longer. Not everything got finished this week, but progress is progress. Woodworking, by its very nature, is a test of patience. Some things just can't be rushed, at least not if you want them done right."

10/05/2026

Weekend Sawdust Report

Not a ton of shop time this week, but one set of boards was finished up and delivered.

Not a ton of progress to show, I figured this might be a good week to show a little more of what goes into building a set of boards here at Walnut Ridge.

I do a few things a little differently.

The birch plywood playing surface is set down into the frame rather than sitting on top of it. I like the framed-in look it creates, but there’s a practical reason too—the solid wood frame helps protect the edges of the plywood, which are usually one of the first places a board can take some abuse.

The frames are built with mitered corners, along with dowels that add a little detail while also helping strengthen the joint. Underneath, I add a full cross brace. Its only job is strength—helping support the frame and those mitered corners over the long haul.

There’s about a 1/4” gap between that brace and the underside of the playing surface, so the brace adds structure without touching the top and changing the way the board plays.

For the tops, I use birch plywood rather than standard construction-grade plywood. It’s a more refined surface, has better-looking grain, and gives me something worth showing off once the finish goes on.

Vinyl-wrapped boards can look great, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with them. But I’m a woodworker. If I’m going to spend this much time making something out of wood, I kinda want you to know there’s wood under there. 😂 I like letting the grain, stain and natural character become part of the design.

The end result?

They’re not lightweight boards, but they will take some abuse and not fall apart.

09/28/2026

This Week’s Sawdust Report

Not much of a sawdust report this week. Sometimes you need to step away from the shop—and the daily grind—for a little while.

And this time of year, Mother Nature has a pretty good way of reminding you to do just that.

Fall colors, mountain streams, wildlife, rainbows and sunsets that look like somebody got a little carried away with the paint brush. No stain samples, no sanding, and remarkably, nothing needed another coat of polyurethane. 😂

It’s easy to get caught up in work, projects, schedules and everything else that competes for our attention. Every once in a while it’s good to slow down, look around and appreciate a few things that require absolutely nothing from us except to notice them.

The sawdust will still be there when I get back. I’m fairly certain nobody volunteered to clean it up while I was gone.

Find your reset once in a while—whatever and wherever that might be.

09/21/2026

This Week’s Sawdust Report

Not a ton of pictures to share this week. There are several irons in the fire, but a we need them to stay under wraps until they’re delivered.

The first set of co****le boards has made it into finishing, though. While working on these, I went back through some pictures of boards I’ve built over the years. Apparently I’ve spent more time making regulation-sized holes in perfectly good lumber than I realized. 😂

Different woods, different finishes and a few experiments along the way. It’s always interesting to look back and see how the process—and hopefully the guy doing it—has improved. Also I notice the evolution on how I build them and how I’ve improved them over time.

The shop is still one of my favorite places to shut out the noise for a while and just concentrate on whatever is sitting on the bench. Everybody needs something like that. What’s yours?

And Mother Nature provided the best finish of the week. Clear skies and light rain, looked up and there it was.

Stay tuned for next weeks update for some surprises.

09/14/2026

Weekend Sawdust Update 🪚

Mother Nature decided she had her own project schedule this weekend. With rain coming, grass cutting jumped the line, followed by some fall seeding in my ongoing attempt to convince the hillside that soil is supposed to stay where we put it. 😂

Back in the shop, the co****le board process is starting to separate. The first set is ready to head toward finishing, while the rest will keep moving along as time allows.

And that stack of legs? Done. Cut, shaped, rounded and sanded.

Progress is progress… even when Mother Nature keeps adding to the project list.

Thanks for following along with our weekend projects! Have a great week!

09/08/2026

Weekend Sawdust Report… with considerably less sawdust 🎸🪚

The holiday weekend brought something unusual around here — time off.

Instead of spending three straight days in the shop, we spent them at Velocity Music at the Field of Dreams. 21 bands over three days, with Lynyrd Skynyrd & Shinedown, Carrie Underwood & Maggie Rose, and Skillet & Creed anchoring the weekend. Not a bad reason to let the sawdust settle for a few days. Nothing like seeing Sweet Home Alabama, Simple Man and Free Bird live.🤘

Of course, reality was patiently waiting at home. The driveway was covered in walnuts, the yard looked like it had been abandoned, and apparently none of it took care of itself while we were gone.

Still managed to sneak in a little shop time. The co****le boards are moving along, legs are taking shape, and the first set is getting pretty close to the finish line.

A little less woodworking this weekend, but absolutely no complaints.

Thanks for following along with our weekend projects!

08/31/2026

Weekend Sawdust Report 🪚

Started the weekend the way every good woodworking project starts… bringing home more wood when I clearly already have enough. 😂

Found some unique spalted lumber I couldn’t pass up, which meant making room in the racks and working on a better inventory system. Apparently “I know it’s in here somewhere” isn’t a real inventory system.

Meanwhile, the co****le boards are built and ready for legs. That meant more milling, measuring, cutting and — because it wouldn’t be a Weekend Sawdust Report without it — a ridiculous amount of sanding.

Judging by the bag of sawdust, something productive definitely happened.

Next up: legs, finish work, and eventually figuring out what that spalted wood wants to become.

Thanks to everyone following along with our weekend shop projects. We appreciate it!

08/23/2026

Weekend Sawdust Report 🪚

This week’s progress can pretty much be summed up as sand, sand some more…then sand again. 😂

Six sets of co****le boards means 12 frames, 12 tops and approximately 47 acres of surface area to sand. At least that’s what it feels like.

Frames are getting cleaned up, plywood tops dropped in, holes cut, and everything worked smooth before moving on to the next phase. The stack is finally starting to look less like a lumber project and more like co****le boards.

The holes brought their own little challenge. Power tools get you most of the way there, but the final cleanup is by hand. So naturally, instead of simply sanding them, I spent some time making custom sanding tools out of dowel rods, Velcro, CA glue and hook-and-loop sandpaper. Because apparently making a tool to do a job is more fun than actually doing the job. 🤷‍♂️

And, as always, the supervisors stopped by for a shop inspection. Their review was mixed. Not enough treats, insufficient frisbee breaks, but overall workmanship was allowed to continue. 🐾

Next up: finish sanding, get the legs built and fitted, then we can finally move into stain and finish. That’s when these 12 monsters should really start looking like something.

Making progress. Making sawdust. And slowly losing track of how many times I’ve sanded the same piece of wood.

08/17/2026

Weekend Sawdust Report 🪚

This weekend was pretty much brought to you by co****le boards… all 12 of them. 😂

That stack of lumber on the bench is where we started. A whole lot of cutting, milling, pocket holes and lots of glue.

But we made some serious progress.

All 12 frames are built, the 3/4” birch plywood tops are cut to fit, and everything is starting to look less like a lumber pile and more like co****le boards. There’s still plenty of sanding ahead, because apparently I enjoy sanding enough to build 12 things that need it.

Next up is milling the lumber for the legs, getting those cut and bolted on and we chat forget drilling the hole and then we finally get to the fun part — stain and finish. That’s when these should really start coming to life. I’ve got a few different stain combinations planned, so they won’t all be leaving the shop looking the same.

Had to hit pause for a small project in the house. The drill press also got its workout cutting the holes. Hole saw first, sanding drum afterward.

Mother Nature contributed to production this week with about 6 inches of rain and tropical-rainforest humidity. 🌧️ At this point, stepping outside feels less like Iowa and more like opening the dishwasher halfway through the dry cycle.

And after all that rain, here comes the mowing.

Because nothing says “great, I finished my shop work” quite like looking outside and realizing the yard has grown six inches while you weren’t paying attention. 😂

12 boards down to sanding, legs and finish. The monster is getting smaller.

Address

Oskaloosa, IA
52577

Website

http://linktr.ee/walnutridgecreationsia

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