Fine carpentry and cabinetry since 1991

Hi, I’m Jim Blodgett, owner of A Small Woodworking Company, LLC. If you have any trouble navigating the site, or questions about our company, please e-mail me at the address on each page. If you are considering hiring a building contractor, or need some help planning a project, please contact me and we’ll see if we’re a good match. I enjoy working alone, with a small crew, or with homeowners working on their own projects.

About the company - My wife Kathy and I started A Small Woodworking Company in the fall of 1991 in Roy, Washington - about 20 miles east of Olympia. In 2007 we became a Limited Liability Company. People see the company name and ask, "What type woodworking do you do?" We build cabinets, bookcases, and built-in furniture. We build additions and remodel houses. We do a variety of exterior and interior carpentry projects. We build and replace windows and doors. We make and install oddball millwork. Every once in a while we even build a new building. If it’s made by carpenters, or in a cabinet shop, we can probably handle it.

The photos you’ll find on this site are of some of the projects we’ve done since 1991. You’ll find work as involved as a steam bent cabinet front, custom built casement windows, and inlaid floors. You’ll also see work as common as a dry walled attic. You’ll find photos of us residing an old cabin, and of cedar gates we built. Although some jobs require more head scratching than others, I find each job challenging in its own way. I always strive to do the very best work I can, within the customer’s budget.

About Jim - I’m what used to be called a "carpenter". In 1971, when it came time for my junior year of high school, I was more comfortable handling a handsaw than a slide rule, more at ease working on a job site than sitting in a class room. So instead of taking more college prep classes, I switched to the carpentry program for my last two years. Except for a few years of military service, I’ve been at it ever since. In the late 1970s I came to Washington, where I found plenty of work, good wages, and a climate gentle enough to work in year round. Through the 1980s I worked for various contractors in the greater Tacoma area, building and remodeling homes and businesses from vacation cabins to shopping malls.

A few years ago I started writing for Fine Homebuilding magazine. Along with many tool and material reviews I have written a few articles, including - Trimming Windows, issue 137, March 2001, Choosing and Using Wall Jacks, issue 138, May 2001, Retrofitting A Skylight, issue 141, Sept. 2001, Electric Meter Covers, issue 148, July 2002, and Working With MDF, issue 154, April 2003. It was through this writing that I began to think about establishing a carpentry school. The campus would be the jobsite and the students would be the homeowners. This idea hasn’t been fully realized yet, but if this sounds like something you’d be interested in let me know and we’ll discuss it. I’ll be glad to work along side you, teaching you what I can.

On the page "Dream Project" you’ll find the ongoing account of my dream project - a house we were given on the condition we move it. We did, set it on a new foundation, added a second floor, and are completely remodeling it, inside and out over a period of a few years. Some people like working on old cars; I enjoy working on old houses.