Plesums Woodworking Site

Charlie Plesums builds custom furniture, using first rate materials and techniques, to meet your unique size, function, or style requirements. See the section about us for more about his background and almost 60 years experience. Or just enjoy the examples of our work below.

With his engineering training, he has a special interest in design challenges - for example, jewelry storage built into a lingerie chest, or a bedroom entertainment center at the top of a chest of drawers. However, his wife has finally convinced him to avoid projects where individual parts weigh more than 75-100 pounds... no more Murphy beds or oversize tabletops - but a chest of drawers is okay since the drawers come out! This web site shows the prices to reproduce previous projects to give you an idea of what your piece may cost. We hope you will enjoy looking.

Our other site

We learned many lessons as a solo woodworker that we started another web site to share those ideas.

Site Contents

Just look at our work

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About Us

Frequently Asked Questions about custom furniture

Cost Factors

Value options

Getting Started

Choosing your wood
...Use veneer?
...Choose Veneer

Remote Customers

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Bedroom Furniture
...Beds
...Children's furniture
...Dr. White's chest
...Dressers
...Nightstands
...Lingerie Chest
...Blanket Chest
...Vanity Dresser
...Murphy Bed/Desk
...Media Center
...Special Needs Bed

Living Room
...Dining Table
...Table Tops
...Library
...Bookcases
...Desks
...Stand-up desks
...Entertainment Center
...More Media Centers
...Bar - storage
...Coffee Tables
...End Tables
...Entry Tables
...Bible Stand
...Toy Chest
...Sofa Base
...Window Seat
...Pecan Table/Desk

Other items
...Accessories
...Humidor
...Adirondack chairs
...Planter
...Sauna mods
...Kitchen cart
...Storage Cabinets
...Cabinets
...Saddle Stand
...Flag Case
...Sword Case
...Memory box
...Bathroom

Items by others
...Wine Cellar

Immediately available items

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Furniture Repair

Cleaning and Maintenance

Services and Training

Woodworking Tips
...Finishing
...Lumber Sources
...Milling trees
...wood cuts, etc.
...our shop
...other tips

Links

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Our consulting life

Privacy Policy

SoloWoodworker web site

Odd "stuff" - Charlie's ramblings

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We use IX WebHosting and have been very pleased with the quality and low cost of their web hosting service over the last many years - and that fee covers both of our web sites. Please click here for more information, and to give us credit for referring you if you choose to go with them.

Examples of our work

This large round dining room table is 6 feet in diameter and easily seats 10 people. There is a lazy susan, 3 feet in diameter, in the center, about 1/8 inch above the level of the outer table. Of course, it is also available in smaller sizes.

This stand-up desk was built for someone who was planning a regular stand-up desk then finally showed us a picture of his dream desk - with lots of drawers. Of course, we can do that for him. The back is similar to the sides, so it could function as a lectern. He wanted some interesting wood for the writing surface, so we applied bubinga veneer to the top (and another veneer on the bottom so it wouldn't warp). The drawer fronts were copied from an antique desk - veneer on the handles and small decorative grooves above and below the handle (made with a custom cutter).

Yes we also do entertainment centers, from the very straightforward to the complex (although with new electronics technology, fewer need to be complex.

Personal service

We love the opportunity and challenge of building things to meet your special requirements, especially those that include unusual features (Charlie's engineering degree still shows) - we would be glad to chat about your needs. You may call (512-349-0740) or e-mail (Charlie@Plesums.com) days, nights, or weekends - we work from our home, so you will have our personal attention. Despite the large amount of woodworking equipment, including an imported European combination machine the size (and cost) of a car, our shop is still in our garage. We do not have a showroom... most of our furniture is custom made for a particular customer and has been delivered... but we do have a few items in our home that we would be glad to show you. We are not a licensed contractor, so generally do not build kitchen cabinets or other items that must be installed or built into your home.

Area served

We are located at 5702 Puccoon Cove in the Great Hills area near the Arboretum in Northwest Austin Texas, 78759. We travel to the Dallas area periodically to visit our son, and will consider taking something there for you. Most of our customers are local, so if it is impractical for you to pick up, and it fits in our minivan, we will work with you on delivery. We welcome customers from anywhere. Shipping small items is easy, but if you are interested in larger item and are remote, please check these issues.

Are we expensive?

No, but if you are looking for bargain furniture, it is not us! The large scale overseas factories using man-made or composite materials and automated machinery can do a better job, cheaper, than we, whether sold by WalMart, Ikea, Crate and Barrel, or Rooms to Go. If you want inexpensive furniture, enjoy our ideas and suggestions, but please don't ask us to try to compete with these low-cost vendors.

If you want good quality furniture, we are competitive with quality "store-bought" furniture (but see our notes on what we have found in some presumably "good" furniture stores). If you need a custom size or special feature in your furniture, we excel, because every piece we build is custom made to your specifications. We are amused when we are often asked "what size does it comes in..." The answer is "whatever size you want."

One of our customers said they were "looking for a Toyota, not a Lexus." I know woodworkers who are clearly "Lexus" (and are more expensive than we are). I can't say how our furniture is less than theirs, but our focus is on value for the customer rather than absolute perfection... I like the "Toyota" analogy. (That discussion occurred back when being compared to "Toyota" was a complement.) And our work should not be compared to a "Yugo."

If you are considering having us build something for you, see our page on getting started

Competitive Bids

We do not want to do competitive "bids" to build furniture (or "bids" for comparison with commercially available options). We want to build furniture, not write multiple proposals for each sale, and have ample work from people who understand our costs, based on the examples on this web site, referrals, and personal discussions. Most of our customers have come back for two to five (or more) items, so we must be doing something right.

Designs and Dimensions

For each group of furniture, in addition to the construction details for individual pieces, we have also included sizes, facts, and figures we have collected from countless sources. These can be your starting point, as they are ours, if we are going to build something for you.

If you are a woodworker who is planning to build your own furniture, we hope you find the data we have collected to be useful. If you use our data, we only ask that you share your experiences and any lessons learned with us.