In my spare time, I like to build molecular models. Computer generated models are nice, but there's nothing like working with natural wood!
This is one of my first efforts. It's one of my favorites, caffeine. I carved this from a single piece of wood, a 100 year old oak stump that I dug out of my back yard and aged for three years in my basement.
Here's a model I built recently. I used a tight-grained cherry wood for the carbon atoms, oak for the nitrogens, and splurged on a nice piece of rosewood for the oxygens. Since hydrogen is not very dense, I made the hydrogen atoms out of yellow pine.
In the beginning I machine-cut most of my atoms, but now I carve each one by hand. I have a very nice 1923 set of forged steel knives, gouges, and chisels which I discovered at an estate auction. Fortunately I haven't had to use very many Band-Aids! As you can see, I do a lot of sanding. Then I finish with several coats of boiled linseed oil.
My current project is a model of HIV-1 protease. At 3000+ atoms, it's going to take a while to complete!
This page by Eric Walters April 1, 2000
About the photographs...
More wooden models...
Here are some really excellent models created by Prof. Edgar Meyer at Texas A & M University...