First Place, Canadian Region
Jim Wiper
St. Vallier, Québec

Jim Wiper received the best Valentine's Day gift ever from his wife in 2003. She announced they were expecting their first child. Jim did not want a store-bought crib for his new bundle, so he decided to build one himself.

Modifying a pre-existing construction plan, Jim collected some birdseye maple he had sawed on his Wood-Mizer LT40 Hydraulic sawmill back in 2000.

The main structure was constructed with mortise and tenon joints and the two center panels were constructed by sandwiching a walnut veneer between two layers of birdseye and figured maple.

Jim can't really put a dollar value on this project, but, he said, "The personal satisfaction in selecting your wood and carrying out the project is of a great value."

But his wife's reaction was the most priceless of all.

"Although I was very pleased with the end result of creating a family heirloom, the greatest satisfaction was seeing the expression on my wife's face when she saw the crib for the first time."