A Woodshop Far, Far Away
An Australian cabinetmaker may be retired, but his woodworking is still out of this world.
An Australian cabinetmaker may be retired, but his woodworking is still out of this world.
When he was working full time, Martin Creaney of Victoria, Australia, made tall boys, bookcases and did a lot of general furniture making. Like most woodworkers who retire, Martin never stopped woodworking; he just applied his skills in a different area than he did professionally. In his case, the “different area” isn’t even on this planet.
A fan of “Star Wars” (and sci-fi in general), Martin has become a specialist in making wooden versions of iconic starships and other items. These aren’t your typical model ships, though.
Up above you can see Martin’s version of the legendary Millennium Falcon. Martin’s version won’t be gracing anyone’s desk or bookshelf any time soon – it measures 6’ long and 5’ wide and takes two people to lift it.
Made over a period of about a year and a half, Martin says it contains somewhere between 2,500 and 3,000 individual parts, some of them measuring only a few millimeters. Due to their small size, he was able to take advantage of cutoffs and scraps from his shop in the ship’s construction. He estimates that he used probably 30 different species of wood for the visible portions of the ship, as well as MDF, plywood and other materials on the inside.
His growing collection includes a variety of ships, including X-Wing fighters, shuttles, star destroyers and more. Along with those, he’s made wooden helmets, blasters, vehicles and droids, including a full-sized R2-D2.
Although space and sci-fi related wooden art is his favorite, he doesn’t limit himself. When not creating ships and other galactic reproductions, he devotes time to sculpture, carving, drawing and woodturning. He even, from time to time, does some down-to-Earth furniture making, “On a rare occasion when I need something.” — A.J. Hamler
A.J. Hamler is a former editor of Woodshop News and author of the magazine’s long-running blog, Over the Workbench, at woodshopnews.com.
This article was originally published in the July 2023 issue.
A.J. Hamler is the former editor of Woodshop News and Woodcraft Magazine. He's currently a freelance woodworking writer/editor, which is another way of stating self-employed. When he's not writing or in the shop, he enjoys science fiction, gourmet cooking and Civil War reenacting, but not at the same time.
