Inside the Workshop

Where Wood, Craft, and Care Come Together

Welcome to the JBense Woodworks workshop — a small, focused space in Pensacola, Florida, where every board begins with rough-cut hardwood and becomes a functional piece of art.

This workshop is about simple tools, steady hands, and years of experience. No lasers. No automated machinery. Every board is shaped, sanded, and finished entirely by hand.

The Process: From Raw Lumber to Finished Boards

1. Selecting the Wood

Every board begins with locally sourced walnut, maple, cherry, or specialty hardwoods. Wood is chosen based on grain, weight, structure, and natural beauty.

2. Milling the Wood

 The rough-cut lumber has to be milled into pieces that are flat and straight, ready to be made into panels or single pieces. Traditional tools — table saw, planer, jointer, band saw — prepare the wood for layout and glue-up. Precision matters. Each cut is deliberate.

3. Assembling and Shaping

The next step is to assemble the milled woods into individual pieces that are complementary, glued and clamped together. For large pieces such as discs for Lazy Susans or speciality shapes such as fish-shaped trivets, I make a "template" out of plywood or paper to use as a pattern to follow when cutting the assembled wood into the desired shape. This stage of production often involves several steps to make an item to the final shape.

4. Sanding and Smoothing

Dozens of sanding passes remove imperfections and bring out the natural grain. Edges are softened by hand for a comfortable, finished feel.

5. Oiling and Finishing

After a piece is completed, the surface has to be protected. The final use of an item determines how it is finished. If pieces are to be used with food, then a food-safe blend of mineral oil and beeswax is rubbed into the surface that penetrates the wood and dries hard.. For items on which food will be placed. For items that are not used for food, other finishes are used that complement the wood and protect the surface, such as polyurethane. We use several coats of finish, and the finish needs several days to cure.

The Tools of the Workshop

A glimpse at the tools that bring each piece to life:
- Table saw
- Planer
- Belt sander
- Drum sander
- Joiner
- Router
- Clamps (lots of clamps!)
- Hand tools for fine finishing

No CNC, no lasers — just traditional woodworking.

Why Handcrafted Matters

Handcrafted work is slower — but better.

Each piece is:
- Checked for quality
- Balanced for feel
- Smoothed by hand
- Designed to last
- Made with pride, not pressure

You aren’t buying a factory-made board. You’re buying a piece of a craftsperson’s time, skill, and dedication.