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Dave Lers

I was born in Chicago Illinois in 1957 and raised in Milwaukee and Chicago suburbs. After graduating from New Trier West high school in 1975 I moved to Bellingham Washington to go to Fairhaven College/Western Washington University. In the late 70's and most of the 80's I mixed travel, work and education. My travels included a cross country trip to Nova Scotia in an old VW Bug, tree planting in Oregon, and a trip to the southwest and Mexico that included riding the rails. My educational forays included automotive at Bellingham Technical College and woodworking through Whatcom Community College. Work included a motor paper route (500+ at times) for the Bellingham Herald, weatherization and home repair for the Whatcom Opportunity Council and a brief stint as a convenience store clerk. In the '80s I tried my hand at James Krenov style furniture - fine handcrafted solid wood artistry. In 1989 I established Bellingham Bay Woodcraft and became a trim subcontractor. As Bellingham Bay Woodcraft I've done trim, built-ins, casegood furniture, sailboards and houses. The later included design, foundation, framing, siding, painting, and tile as well as my usual trades (trim and cabinets). I currently specialize in custom cabinetry and case goods.

My hobbies include DIY (just about anything and everything), reading, movies, baking, computers (Linux, Perl scripting, servers, etc.), basic electronics, metalworking and any woodworking related things I don't make money at (lots).
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Bellingham Bay Woodcraft

Bellingham Bay Woodcraft is a one man shop that specializes in the design, manufacture, finish and installation of high quality custom cabinetry and casegood furniture. I prefer relatively small projects that are designed for a specific space and that provide unique functionality as well as aesthetics.

I'm a perfectionist and my goal is to exceed your expectations. It doesn't matter if the project is a simple storage solution made from melamine or an elaborate custom veneered built-in, everything I do is designed and built to the highest standards.

Bellingham Bay Woodcraft started out as David Lers Woodcrafter in 1980 when I turned my hobby of working with mostly hand tools to create fine handcrafted solid wood cabinets and furniture into a business. In the late '80s I got distracted with the faster paced and financially more rewarding trade of a finish carpenter.

In 1989 I established Bellingham Bay Woodcraft and became trim subcontractor. In the early '90s I got introduced to European cabinetry and closet systems (32mm Cabinetmaking) and started biding closets and built-ins along with trim work. Along the way I got interested in trying my hand at designing and building houses. Between '95 and '99 I designed and built two houses.

In 2000 I was able to set my sights on full time high quality custom cabinetry and case goods. The proceeds from the sale of the second home allowed me to add/upgrade the machinery necessary to make it viable. Since then I have been continuously adding and refining the design and construction options I offer.

In 2011 I added the option to have your project made from any species of wood veneer available. Depending on the project and species, this can be a relatively inexpensive option that allows unsurpassed grain and color matching. See my Veneer page for some in stock possibilities.

In 2020 I added a medium duty/size (~30x30") CNC router that is currently used for templates and small projects.
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