Johnny Lambert held his breath slightly as the thin, brittle wooden net ran through the sand of the drum.
"It was nerve-wracking," the Oklahoma City resident said. "I was afraid everything would fall apart."
Lambert, a former Oklahoma City police detective turned YouTube creator, spent several weeks learning how to use kumiko, a Japanese woodworking technique that creates intricate patterns, to build a dining table and then prepare and assemble the pieces.
Both mesh panels remained intact after being treated with drum sanders.
They are placed in the spaces of a pair of boards made of myrtle wood.
The result was Kumiko sheets, boards and black epoxy filled into the voids to create a complex and unique table set on a metal base.
"The joy I felt was unlike anything I've ever felt in my life."
The project grew out of a group discussion between Lambert and other well-known woodworkers who have large YouTube followings.
Jonathan Katz asked Moses if either of them would consider doing projects for the Katz Moses Foundation for Disabled Woodworkers.
The charity started after Katz Moses saw a post on Reddit by a father trying to encourage his son Vlad to take an interest in woodworking.
Vlad was born with Apert syndrome, a genetic disease that causes the bones of the skull, arms and legs to fuse together.
Katz Mozes, together with the companies sponsoring his channel, sent a large number of Vlad's musical instruments to Ukraine.
"The joy I felt was something I had never felt before in my life," Katz Moses said. “I did a lot of research and found that making things was one of the most healing exercises for people recovering from depression, mental and physical injuries, disabilities, and more. I think it gives them a sense of self worth to people. with permanent disability".
Over the past year and a half, the foundation has distributed nearly $500,000 in instruments.
Lambert jumped at the chance to help the Katz Moses Charitable Foundation.
"What he does is amazing and Cutts is a great guy, just a very tough guy," Lambert said.
The Ace boards had been in Lambert's Oklahoma City shop for about 18 months, and he decided they were perfect for the project.
How Johnny Lambert became interested in woodcarving
Lambert didn't do much carpentry until about a decade ago.
"It all started with wanting to avoid buying cheap furniture at Walmart and Target," Lambert said. "So I did what I always do when I want to learn something. I went to Amazon and ordered the book."
He started with Ben Ueda's book HomeMade Modern and created a media panel on the cover of the book.
"I've always had some kind of creative drive," Lambert said. "And I've never had anything to satisfy him." I am not an artist. I am not a musician. I can't do anything artistic. But I can be creative and I can work with my hands.
Soon his daughter Chloe asked him to make her bed.
"That's what lit the first spark," Lambert said. “It's really a lot of fun. I actually appreciate that. I think part of my personality is that when I'm doing something, I'm really into it."
Lambert knew he wanted to do something outside of his police work, and by watching Ueda and others work, he learned as much about building a YouTube fan base as he did about woodworking.
A few years later, the Jonny Builds channel appeared on YouTube.
Lambert decided to give the channel a year to grow its audience, aiming to reach 10,000 subscribers by working out of his garage.
And after that year, he had about 75,000.
Eventually, he earned enough from the chain to open a brick-and-mortar store.
Lambert's work is not limited to woodworking, he regularly uses metals and other materials in his projects. The CNC machine is one of the working tools of Lambert's shop.
“People tell me I'm not a carpenter. OK. I'm not a carpenter. I'm creative,” Lambert said. "Anyone can be creative, just create something."
Lambert has done just that, growing his YouTube audience to 650,000 people and expanding it to other social media platforms.
He has built a resin ax handle in the shape of a scorpion, a Star Wars themed coffee table and many other completed projects.
However, Lambert's highlight is the Katz Moses Foundation table for disabled carpenters.
The table was originally listed on the site for $19,000, including six matching Kumiko chairs. The price was recently reduced to $12,000 without chairs.
All profits from the table will go to charity.
"I don't think I've ever been more proud of how something turned out on that table," Lambert said.
This article originally appeared in The Oklahoman; OKC YouTuber Johnny Builds brings woodworking to the public and to charity.
