Mack of all Trades

Mack of all Trades Custom Woodworking, Finish Carpentry, and Remodeling

I am admittedly not a finish guy (painter). I can finish and get a quality great finish but its never been my full time ...
03/08/2026

I am admittedly not a finish guy (painter). I can finish and get a quality great finish but its never been my full time trade to know the ins and outs of it

The existing doors were painted many times over the years, then about 5 years ago had stain put over the paint, then clearcoat over that.

So matching the finish without knowing any of the undercoat colors, processes the last finish guys took, etc. was just a huge challenge.

Such a process of trial and error and 50384859 samples and different combinations to match a single arched casing (and now a faux door i have to make thats going to be mirrored inside)

But mannnn if that isnt such a solid match. I brought it around to multiple doors in the house to see how well it blended with the overall finish of the house.

The sheen isnt there because the stain is still very tacky, so once that completely dries, I'll put a satin clear coat over it which will bring the sheen way down and it will blend even better

2 coats of primer
2 coats of a venetian plaster paint match as an undercoat
1 coat of Bombay mahogany stain - let tack then brush stroke the crap out of it
1 coat of jacobean stain - let tack then brush stroke the crap out of it to get those orangeish/reddish undertones to show through.

Now just waiting for the coat of jacobean stain to dry so I can put clear satin poly over it and install.

The final two photos are a 3d mode rendering in an augmented reality setting on the program I use. The empty space in the middle of the faux door will be mirrored. This space has been an ongoing project over the past few months that I've been using to fill dead time in between other projects. The finish line is around the corner on this one!!

02/28/2026

Radius casing to match some existing ones in the clients house im working on. Been a while since I've had the opportunity to do something like this for a client. Radius work has always been a favorite of mine

02/23/2026

Paint lines crisper than McDonald's sprite

Been working on this space periodically over the last few months for some long time clients helping them bring their designer's ideas to life.

After some hiccups they had with other poor quality subs, We've got this going in the right direction and should be wrapping up soon. (Hopefully soon in between the 1428848 other projects I have going on for them 🤣)

Grateful for them and their continued patronage and trust in me to always provide top quality excellent work!

Cant wait to finalize everything and post all the work I was able to do for them in this space!

02/17/2026

Since fb decided to mess up the order of the videos and pics from my previous post i figured I would make a separate post for these.

A before and after walk through of this project.

I truly love what I do and am grateful I get to bring these things to life for my clients. I pride myself on exceptional client service because although im only there for a short time, youre there for a lifetime and I want to be sure you get to enjoy my work for that duration.

Thank you!!!

P.S. the screen doors were built by another contractor and weren't done until after I completed my end. I will have to return here shortly to install them when the client gives me the go ahead!

Wrapped this one up at the end of January. Took forever to post because the fb app wouldnt let me post pics and videos a...
02/17/2026

Wrapped this one up at the end of January. Took forever to post because the fb app wouldnt let me post pics and videos at the same time for some reason, figured out I had to use the desktop site.

Approx 120 ln feet of handrailing, two 11' wide staircases and a 6' wide staircase and approx. 350 ft² screened in porch.

This one was interesting as the deck was already built and the columns are structural fiberglass so securing the handrails to them to actually be structurally sound required some thought and ingenuity. I decided to use the brackets you see with snap toggles and stainless steel bolts and I must say this plan worked flawlessly. While it was a significant amount of work to do so, handrails should be structurally sound to prevent yourself, family, and guests from falling through them.

Some things to note and to be aware of when hiring contractors for deck work.

Stairs should ALWAYS land on a concrete pad with stringers fully supported. This allows you to bolt the stairs to the pad which makes them ROCK solid and eliminates any bounce as well as keeps them out of the dirt to mitigate rot issues.

Handrail posts should ALWAYS pass through the full width of the deck joists and blocked around to create a structurally sound hand rail, dont settle for the guy that screws the bottom of his posts to the deck boards.

Stairs are level and square, handrails are level, screws are aligned and not all wonky, balusters are evenly spaced between all openings with no off center ones, the screen is tight and square to the opening. There's many other things to look for but these are some of the more notable ones. Personally I've always liked extending my stair handrail posts past the bottom step to the actual concrete pad with a post bracket. It makes them very solid and also allows a more comfortable use of the handrail before you even take a step up or after your final step off.

Incredibly grateful to the client for their trust in me to complete this for them!!!

02/08/2026

I have recently changed my number to 205 415 0447. Pretty much all of my work is in the Birmingham area so it was about time to get a local number.

334 801 4298 is still active and will be for most of this year until I've gotten all returning clients updated with the new number!

Thank you!!

01/01/2026

Happy New Year!!! I look forward to providing you all with high quality work this year, and even higher quality service!

This one took a little longer than expected but I'm proud of the final product. This used to be a hutch that was repurpo...
11/26/2025

This one took a little longer than expected but I'm proud of the final product. This used to be a hutch that was repurposed as a desk with an upper cabinet portion that I then had to rework again for its new use as a knitting station and work desk for the clients daughter

Remove the arched transom top ✅️
Build a new bullnose top ✅️
Create a half-lap wine rack style yarn cubby system for the inside of the upper✅️
Turn the two filing drawers on the side of each upper cabinet into doors with an adjustable shelf ✅️
Scuff (for paint adherence), paint, reinstall ✅️

Talk about a transformation!!!

Also I have GOT to remember to take more before and during pictures. I always forget.

This is another job I did while helping my buddy in shop before returning back for myself full time. This one was super ...
11/10/2025

This is another job I did while helping my buddy in shop before returning back for myself full time. This one was super interesting. Had to make two vanities for a client that wanted inset reeded doors. Reeded doors being something ive never done so of course I wanted to knock it out of the park.

Had to mill all the lumber, then resaw it, then mill it again, then laminate both sides of rips of 1/4" mdf (for stability), then joint and plane to final width, then machine them, then align each "panel" then biscuit them together, then glue, then size, then apply outside bead. It was a process for sure but definitely was the best way I found to help mitigate movement in the doors and create long lasting stable product.

On top of all that each door and drawer front HAD to be perfectly square along with the faceframe. These doors could not be scribed to fit each opening because it would have thrown off the pattern of the reeding.

Nothing I love more than designs and things ive never done that demand perfection.

Before I started back for myself post injury, I was helping out a good friend of mine in his shop. He had this unusual j...
11/08/2025

Before I started back for myself post injury, I was helping out a good friend of mine in his shop. He had this unusual job come up and knew it was perfect for me to work my magic on. "Ray, I want you to do this up nice, and make it look like Ray done it" were his exact words. 🤣🤣

Had so much fun building these columns and shelves. Everything had to be perfect and square since it was basically a giant puzzle with no room for error. (very easy to do if you calibrate your machines properly and measure accurately) one dimension off on one side would have created gaps and thrown off everything else.

The columns, shelves, and the caps were all installed first and then the cabinets had to be slid in between all the spaces - hence why perfection was a must.

Super proud of this one and cant wait for the next exciting job like this

10/17/2025

Currently scheduling any and all interior finish carpentry, custom cabinetry/millwork, remodeling, or handyman work. Also some exterior work as well such as decks, fascia and soffit rot repair (limited to second floor height), fence repair, etc.

Local to Clanton, Alabama and servicing between Birmingham, Alabama and Prattville, Alabama!

Please contact Ray Mack at 334 801 4298 and ill be happy to come give a quote! Thank you!

P.S. Please review my page for pictures of past projects!

03/22/2025

Good afternoon!

Unfortunately I suffered a major knee injury in a jiu jitsu competition on February 15th. ACL, PCL, and LCL ruptures, a fibular head avulsion fracture, and peroneal nerve damage. I'm currently awaiting a surgery date.

I have already had to turn down quite a few jobs this year due to it 😭😭

As of right now I can walk well enough to do minor handyman type things as well as custom woodwork/cabinets I can build in the shop. However, once I have surgery I will be down for roughly 6 months before I can return to light duty things and then another 6 months before I can return to full duty work.

I would like to express my gratitude to all my clients for the work, reviews, opportunities, and trust you've given me to bring your visions to life over the past few years.

I look forward to returning as soon as possible to continue giving you all the quality work you deserve!

Thank you,
Ray Mack

P.S. if you have any smaller, "light duty" jobs you need completed over the next month, please contact me and I would be happy to help complete them! 334-801-4298

Address

Clanton, AL
35045

Telephone

+13348014298

Website

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