Phone: 889-5272
Email:
whisperingridgewoodworks@yahoo.com
Web site www.whisperingridgewoodworks.com
Address:
669 Border Lane Rexford
In 1966, 10-year-old Don Daughton, of Whispering Ridge Woodworks, was implicitly told, “Don’t go near the wood shed at your grandmother’s house. The table saw is in there. You can cut off your fingers.”
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“I knew if I went into the wood shed to look around and check out that table saw,” Don remembers, “I would get caught when I turned on the lights. One day, I realized that if I unscrewed the light bulbs, the lights wouldn’t come on. I wouldn’t get caught, and the table saw would work.”
Don’s fascination with wood had begun. At age 18, he made his first piece of furniture, a cherry grandfather’s clock, still keeping time today. In 1986, Don and his wife, Carolyn, began a home improvement business after renovating an 1868 one-room stone schoolhouse they had purchased. One thing led to another, and, as they say, the rest is history.
Although Don still performs specialized home improvements, including historical restorations, working with wood is his first calling. He has reached a Master Woodworker status by incorporating inlays, wood turnings, carvings, veneer, joinery techniques and custom finishing into his work.
Domestic and exotic hardwoods and veneers are Don’s specialty. Whispering Ridge Woodworks can provide a variety of items for your home such as custom kitchen and bath cabinetry with “custom” being the key word.
“We make the cabinet fit the space, not the space fit the cabinet,” Don explains. “Every inch is utilized to make your custom kitchen your ‘dream kitchen.’”
Custom staircases, furniture, entertainment centers, libraries, moldings, lathe turnings, hand carvings, and mantles are some of the projects that we have completed. A smaller niche of Don’s work is wood furniture repair. Do you have a broken rung on a chair? A missing spindle? Your rocker doesn’t rock? He thrives on making ‘old, broken pieces’ new again.
Don also excels at ‘out-of-the-ordinary challenges.’
“Some of the projects that I have done include hand-carving a destroyed gun stock; creating matching family heirloom wood furniture; and ‘jacking up’ a 3 story 1847 era home to repair its crumbling foundation.”
From the historical restoration viewpoint, Don has completed projects for Tudor Hall, the childhood home of John Wilkes Booth; “Brick House,” a Revolutionary War era dwelling, the summer residence of one of the founders of Johns Hopkins Hospital; as well as duplicating wood arch-topped windows for a church dating from 1800.
Although antique reproduction furniture has been a favorite for years, Don is currently developing a line of furniture based upon the designs of Thomas Molesworth, a western/cowboy style, perfect for life in Montana and hopes to have some pieces in local shops soon.
Give Don or Carolyn a call today for your special project at 406-889-5272. We are located in beautiful West Kootenai at 669 Border Lane, Rexford or visit us on the web at www.whisperingridgewoodworks.com.