Woodworker: John Sparrow; Orange, California
Industry Award Winner

The OC Fair Fine Woodworking Competition is held every summer in Costa Mesa, Calif. The 13th annual show last July and August, 2012, had more than 275 woodworking entries. This is one that caught our eye.

The curved legs on this dining table (48 in. dia. by 30 in. tall) and chair (22 in. deep by 20 in. wide by 42 in. tall) are made with bent-laminated hard maple. For the chair seat and back, Sparrow made his own plywood and molded it to form the curves. He likes to use laminations and plywood because it allows him to fabricate forms not possible with solid-wood construction. The tabletop includes fiddleback maple and padauk veneers, arranged in a sunburst pattern. Sparrow finished the pieces with lacquer.