About Justin’s Woodcraft

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Hi, I’m Justin Dunne, I am from Rahoonbeak in Colbinstown, Co.Kildare. I have worked as a carpenter for many years doing both 1st & 2nd fix carpentry. However my passion lies with woodturning and carving and so I have just started my own business, Justin’s Woodcraft.

I love spending time in my workshop turning items such as bowls and pens and rolling pins. I make a wide variety of kitchen items, chopping boards, bread boards, cheese boards, breakfast boards, bread boxes, egg cups, kitchen utensils and spatulas.

A lot of my work is larger items such as customised built-in or stand-alone furniture like wardrobes, stairs, bookcases, doors and garden decks.

All my pieces are specially designed one off pieces, created to the customer’s requirements.

As a craftsman with a passion for working with timber I feel it is very important to source all my materials locally, I run a milling service for clients wishing to remove live trees from their property or trees that are already felled and need removal. I personally don’t go out and use live trees for my pieces unless commissioned by a customer from a tree of their own property or if I have been contacted to remove a live tree from a property that could fall and cause damage. I also purchase timbers from local mills mostly from the Carlow, Laois, Wicklow and Kildare areas.

As I work with wood I have some knowledge on the various species of tree I work with and what tree will work well for each piece, this takes a great deal of time deciding what piece of timber will most suit a customer for their piece and with a wide range of species available it can make for some unique pieces. I like to make pieces that are eye catching, beautiful and meet the customers needs and specifications. I like to work with spalted beech, oak, ash, bog oak, purple heart along with various types of more common timbers such as pine.

I am also environmentally aware that while I am using trees as my main material and it can be a renewable source this will only be renewable by replanting more trees in return for the ones that have died and been turned into usable items. I will often use offcuts from big jobs to make smaller pieces that I will later sell at fairs meaning I have very little waste along with using all the sawdust and wood shavings for other uses such as animal bedding.

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