Ken Gateley

Welcome to Ken Gateley's gallery. Ken is displaying a number of items which illustrate a range of materials and techniques:

A recent fun project completed in December 2024 - a Reindeer

This was made from an upcycled beech worktop and stands approx. 5" tall - plus the antlers - which were picked from a hedge in Ken's garden. The beech legs have 'hooves' made of oak to provide a colour contrast. The eyes and nose are also made of beech and have been painted to suit. The item is finished in cellulose sanding sealer and a coat of microcrystalline wax.

Ken actually made two of these cute reindeer - as a gift for his step-son.

One of Ken's latest projects - something on the playful side - A Gonk Holding Balloons.
This was made after his wife Jane gave him the idea. It will be given to her best friend as a birthday present!

A recent project, completed in September 2024 - an Elm Burr Bowl.
Unfortunately, the timber has more than a few cracks and splits in it - but, the grain and figuring in the piece is gorgeous - basically too good to declare it as firewood. So, I persevered and completed it. I am considering using some thick copper wire to look like staples to emphasise/ decorate a bad split in the side wall.

The bowl is finished with multiple coats of food safe oil - which, surprisingly, made the timber a lot darker than I expected.
The bowl measures 9 3/4" diameter x 3 1/4" height. It sits on 3 hand-carved feet - sanded to blend in with the base.

When Ken makes an egg table it is usually for holding a dozen eggs - see a special request example further down this page made for 9-eggs. He has recently taken on a commission to make a 'large egg table' - a custom design with spaces for 84 eggs! This represents a dozen eggs per days for seven days… The customer has a number of chickens and sells the surplus eggs - it seems the egg table is a way to keep track of the age of the eggs! Ken started with an initial design, submitted it to the customer and it was approved. He then made the item mainly in ash, with beech used for the four supporting pillars. The decorative egg and cup placed at the two front corners of the upper tier was made from walnut. All of the joints were glued using spigots or dowels - i.e. screws were not used. The 'egg holes' were drilled 35 mm diameter - and rounded over using a 3/16" radius Ovolo router cutter. All of the outside edges were softened with a 1/8" radius cutter. Ken says the accurate marking out of the holes was quite time-consuming - with the actual drilling taking about 1 ½ hours - and the routing about an hour. The completed piece was finished with cellulose sanding sealer and microcrystalline wax.

This candle stick is made from Oak. It is approximately 20.5" tall and 5.25" diameter at its widest. Finished with cellulose sanding sealer and microcrystalline wax. The candle stick is intended only for decorative purposes and not for holding a lit candle. It features several splits and holes - but we will call them 'character'.

Ken recently decided to have a go at making apples and pears in various timbers - left to right - 3 in yew, brown oak, burr oak and copper beech burr, all with ebony stalks.

Here we have an example of utilising a tool made originally as a project from the NWWA Jigs and Tools special interest group.
The Jigs and Tools project was to make a number of Klemmsia (style) cam clamps. Ken made two different sizes. This type of clamp exerts the pressure via an eccentric cam (top right in the photo) - and has cork pads on the arms. Here the clamp is used in the glueing up of the three component parts of a cake stand - made in olive ash, with a beech centre support. The stand is approx. 8 ½” diameter (top piece) by 5.75" tall.

Ken also enjoys 'flat work - here is a chopping/ serving board in walnut - sizes are approx. 18 ½”. by 6 ½” by 1" thick. Sanded on both sides and ready for a couple of coats of rapeseed oil. The heart shaped handle makes an interesting feature.


A fun project - making hedgehogs! These are made in a variety of sizes to create a 'family' - see the 50p coin for an idea of scale. All are made in oak - the largest is approx. 3" long by 1.75" at the widest point and the smallest is 1 ½” long by .75" wide. The item is turned, scorched with a blow torch, wire brushed to remove any excess charcoal - which also provides a 'hairy' effect and re-turned to clean up the 'face'. Finally, a flat is sanded on the base and a coat of Liberon finishing oil is applied. The door wedges are also in oak - with the hedgehog held on via two small dowels.


Something for the garden - a large mushroon - 4 ½” tall by 3" diameter in hazel, lurking in the strawberry patch.
This project was inspired by an article in an old copy of "The Woodturner" magazine, from the April/ May 2000 edition - "A Shaker Style Rolling Pin" - very different to the usual plain wooden cylinder we would usually expect! The project consisted of: two rollers made in pear, two end plates made in oak, and a 'stretcher' with two handles made in ash (plus four brass wood screws). The rolling pin is approx. 20" long when assembled - finished in rapeseed oil. In use - the rolling pin is held by the two handles (which remain stationary in the hands) and runs back and forth on the two rotating rollers.

'Chicken' chopping/ serving board - made in 3 pieces of oak, biscuit joined together then sanded. Bandsawn profile - size is 15" wide by 14" tall by ½” thick - pyrographed eye
A definition: In Chinese philosophy and religion - two principles, one negative, dark, and feminine (Yin), and one positive, bright, and masculine (Yang), whose interaction influences the destinies of creatures and things. Yin and Yang tee light holder is 5" diameter by 1 ½” thick with a painted finish
Table mats and holder - all in oak The mats are based on a 4" diameter circle and then 'heart' shaped - 3/8" thick - cork backed. The stand is made in 7 pieces - base, 3 posts + 3 bun feet

Just a small painted mushroom - made for fun!
An egg table - used to store and display eggs (of course). This was made on request for a friend - who specified that it should hold 9 eggs! The item has a lot of router work (for the holes) and hand sanding for the finish. The table is made from Mahogany (the genuine stuff) - approx. 5/8" thick, is completed with an ash egg in a cup decoration and three turned feet.
These 'whale' shape chopping/ serving boards have been made as a set. They are all are 11" wide and are 12", 15" and 18" long - made in oak, and are 5/8" thick biscuit jointed and sanded on both sides - with a pyrographed eye and mouth and the finish is rapeseed oil.

Another request from a friend - a house number. Made in oak with 2 natural edges. The timber is - 3/4" thick by 10 1/2" long by by 7" wide. Pyrography was used for the number. Finished with several coats of Osmo UV Protection Oak Oil.
This large Cheese Board required a lot of hand sanding and router work. The board is made from a single piece of oak and is 23 1/2" long by 12" wide by 7/8" thick. The circular recesses for the glass domes - which are 6 1/2" diameter - were cut with a router, as were the cutouts for the twin cheese knives. The board is sanded smooth on both sides - so, the reverse side could be used for serving purposes - and is finished with rapeseed oil.

Ken has also been busy on his lathe. This Dinner Tray was made for a neighbour - a replacement for a commercially purchased one that split in two! There is a central recess designed to hold dips (as in chips 'n' dips). The tray is made in olive ash - 12 1/2" diameter by 1 1/2" tall. The finish is rapeseed oil.

This walnut bowl is 8 3/4" diameter by 3 5/8" high - it has been finished with microcrystalline wax. The hole 'appeared' during hollowing and can comfortably hold a £2 coin. Ken decided to leave this unfilled - as a natural feature of the wood.

Ken has been using up 'scraps' in his workshop to create 'woodland scenes'. Starting with an offcut from a burr - he smooths a face to be the base and cut other flats as required - a coat of acrylic spray lacquer imparts a shine to the surface. He then turns a variety of mushrooms and toadstools - in whatever timbers he can find, to decorate the base - positioned in carefully drilled holes. The 'scene' is completed with the addition of some large and small hedgehogs.


One of Ken's latest projects was to make a '5-hole' Tea Light Holder. The 'lights' (battery or traditional wax) are mounted in glass cups. The oak top is made from a waney edge plank - with some routered edges and some left natural - approx. 15" long by 5.5" wide by 7/8" thick. The top is mounted on 3 turned feet made in apple wood. The feet are 2" tall and are around 1.25" diameter at the base and 0.5" diameter at the top where they are spigoted and glued into the top. All parts are finished in cellulose sanding sealer and microcrystalline wax.