Aaron Smith Woodworking
Aaron's workshop bench with hand tools

About

I'm a fine woodworker building custom furniture and objects by hand, using traditional joinery and solid hardwoods.

I got into woodworking during a pivot away from a career in software engineering. It was a shift from something abstract and endlessly editable to something physical and final. It reconnected me with natural materials and organic patterns: grain that never repeats itself, the way light sits differently on every hand-planed surface, the small irregularities that give each board its own character.

It's a different kind of satisfaction than software gave me: building something unique and permanent. I love handing off a piece knowing that it will be a part of someone's life for years.

Materials

Solid domestic hardwoods from regional sawyers, finished with hand-rubbed oils and waxes.

Joinery

Traditional joinery — dovetails, mortise and tenon, rabbets, and dados — built to last without relying on hardware.

Process

Every commission begins with a conversation, followed by sketches and material selection before work begins in the shop.