Tom Checketts Lumber

08/30/2026

***DAY 3 OF THE JOHN ENGLER CLASS***
Day 3…..the final day. This has been a fantastic class. John taught in a way that Kaylene, a beginner carver felt as comfortable and enjoyed the class as much as those with years of experience. For me, learning John’s technique to relief carve pine trees was worth the trip. Neither of us finished our carvings, but we are far enough along that it won’t take too long to complete them. H

08/30/2026

***DAY 2 - JOHN ENGLER RELIEF CARVING CLASS***
This class is so much fun and taking the class with Kaylene makes it more enjoyable!

08/29/2026

***TAKING A JOHN ENGLER RELIEF CARVING CLASS***
Kaylene and I just finished day one of our 3 day relief carving class with John Engler at the Knot Hole in Pleasant Hill, MO.

08/26/2026

***CARVED MUSHROOM BY JEREMY SMITH***

Jeremy has been buying basswood, butternut, catalpa and cedar from me for a while now. He carves mushrooms. It is a labor of love. They are quite small. Most are 2 to 3 inches tall. He sells them when he has enough, but most of the time his family lays claim to them.

Everyone that sees these thinks they are cute, but to really appreciate them you have to hold them. Jeremy does a great job carving them, sanding them, and finishing them.

If you want to contact Jeremy, he is on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=jeremy%20smith

08/21/2026

08/15/2026

***CABINET BY CHRIS JONES***
Chris Jones is the owner of Katalox Woodshop. Recently he made this cabinet out of walnut and used and a live edges slab of spalted maple purchased from me for the top. I love the combination of these two woods

You can check out Chris’ work at web site: https://kataloxwoodshop.com or on Instagram and Facebook at Katalox Woodshop.

08/11/2026

***MAPLE STAVES***
Recently I was able to acquire a pallet of Hard Maple Staves that were specifically cut to be used for cutting board glue ups. My wife was a big help in putting them away.
These pieces are 7/8” x 1-3/16” x 18-1/2” and are only $1.10 each

08/01/2026

***4/4 CURLY MAPLE***
What do you call it? Curly Maple is also known as Fiddleback Maple, Flamed Maple, Rippled Maple and Tiger Striped Maple. The first time I saw Curly Maple, I was in my mid 20s and was shopping for muzzleloader supplies at the Track of the Wolf store in Bloomington MN. They had one of the most beautiful custom made muzzleloaders hanging on the wall. The stock was Curly Maple. I fell in love with the wood. This was back at the beginning of my hobby woodworking career and it was before I learned about the joys of working with hardwoods.
Since that day, when ever I come upon a nice piece of figured maple, I usually buy it and put it on a shelf in my shop.
I just brought back over a thousand board feet of Curly Maple. As I was stacking in my lumber rack it was difficult to not take some of these boards home….. I took two!

Lots of Curly Maple to choose from. Come and take a look!

07/28/2026

***MILLING UP ELM***

Last month Jim milled up some Elm. The planks that came from these logs are pretty ones. I seldom get Elm. Few people ever use it, but those who do, love it. It has an interlocking grain which makes it more difficult to work with hand tools, but it does well with power tools and it sands to a perfect finish.

These boards are currently air drying and will go into the kiln soon. I hope to have them in my inventory, ready for sale early this fall.