Precision
A reveal is either 1/16th or it isn’t. We measure to the line and cut to the line — every time.
About the Studio
One pair of hands. A lifetime of work.
Iron & Oak is the working studio of master carpenter Ethan Cole — three decades from sweeping the shop to running it.
Ethan Cole
Founder · Master Carpenter
- Trained
- North Bennet St. School
- Based
- Rhinebeck, NY
- Shop
- 3,200 sq ft
- Team
- 1 master, 2 apprentices
The Story
I learned to read wood before I learned to read.
My grandfather Frank ran a one-man shop above a feed store in Red Hook, New York for forty-one years. He built kitchens for farmhouses, replaced sash windows the railroad had broken, and carved newel posts that are still in those homes today. I was eight when he put a block plane in my hand and showed me how to read the grain.
I went to Boston for the bench program at North Bennet Street and spent four years cutting joinery in white oak. I came home in 2014, opened the shop, and renamed it Iron & Oak — iron for the tools he handed me, oak for the wood we still build with.
Today the studio is small by design. One master, two apprentices, one truck, one bench. We take on twelve commissions a year — no more. Every piece gets my pencil on the drawings, my hand on the plane, and my eye on the final reveal before it leaves the shop.
If the work isn’t right, it doesn’t leave. That is the only promise I’ve ever needed to make.
“A reveal is either 1/16th or it isn’t. There is no almost.”
Six Standards
What every project is measured against.
These aren't taglines. They are the criteria we walk every job through before it ships.
Honesty
Flat hourly billing, fixed bids, and weekly photo updates. You see what we see.
Heritage
We were taught by old men in cold shops. The methods are slower because they last.
Durability
Solid stock, real joinery, hardware rated for 50,000 cycles. Built for the next owner.
Craftsmanship
Sand to 220, raise the grain, sand again. The finish is the work nobody sees.
Stewardship
FSC-certified lumber, reclaimed beams, low-VOC finishes. We leave a smaller pile of sawdust.
How We Work
Five steps. No surprises.
Every commission moves through the same five chapters. You always know where the work is.
01
Conversation
A walk-through of the room, a coffee, a notebook. We listen for how you actually live before we draw a line.
02
Drawings
Hand-sketched elevations, then scaled CAD with every reveal called out. You approve before lumber is ordered.
03
Shop Build
Cut, joined, sanded, and dry-fit in our shop. We finish 80% of the work where the dust belongs.
04
Install
On-site in clean canvas drop cloths. Scribed to your walls, set with hand-driven brads, no nail holes.
05
Walk-Through
We walk every reveal, every drawer pull, every finish edge with you. If it isn’t right, it doesn’t leave.
Service Area
Hudson Valley · Berkshires · Litchfield County
We work within a 90-minute radius of the shop in Rhinebeck. For larger commissions outside this area, let’s talk.
Start the Conversation
Or call directly: (845) 555-0184
Build with Iron & Oak
Tell us about the room.
We’ll bring the wood.
We book one major commission a quarter. If your project is calling for real craftsmanship, let’s talk.