He uses ordinary wine corks to build various sculptures, transforming discarded junk into everyday objects with a whimsical twist.

"I like making something out of nothing," he says.

Waggoner is no stranger to artistic expression. His grandfather was a talented wood carver, whose work is displayed alongside Waggoner's own carvings and sculptures. His sister is also a sketch artist.

"Since I was a kid I've tinkered with carvings and stuff," Waggoner says.

Long-time companion Suzy Waterman has even given up the display case that once housed her mother's ceramic collectibles, so Waggoner can the space for his corksters.

A finish carpenter by trade, Waggoner, 45, installs kitchen cabinets, doors, baseboard and crown molding, and has worked in construction since he was 18. But two years ago, Waggoner was knocked out of commission when he tripped on some rebar sticking out of a sidewalk on a construction site. He landed squarely on his knee, fracturing it. Rather than perform surgery, Waggoner's doctor suggested rehabilitation, a longer, slower process that kept Waggoner off his feet and unable to return to the job.

With time on his hands, he was at a loss of what to do with himself. Waterman, who enjoys collecting high-end cookware and kitchen tools, suggested he make a trivet out of some leftover wine corks lying around the house, and a new obsession was born.

"I asked everybody I knew what I could do with a bucket of cork," Waggoner says. "I saw my friend's Harley Davidson and got inspired by the whole thing."

In fact, the name of his creations arose from a type of motorcycle, a Harley Davidson Sportster, owned by his friend Tim Alves.

Since that day, Waggoner has created a veritable city of cork—a log cabin, trees, goal posts with tiny little cork footballs flying through on invisible wire. He has even constructed a 4-foot-tall Eiffel Tower, a smaller copy of which will be given to friends who are renewing their vows in Paris.

Waterman laughed when it was suggested that the Eiffel Tower should have been made entirely of French corks.

"I would have loved that," she says.

Many more of Waggoner's pieces have been given to friends as gifts, including, he says, a graceful wood dolphin and the carving of a "wolf pack" sculpture he made for the head coach of the University of Nevada. The carving was made out of dark wood with crushed obsidian embellishments, and represents the university's team mascot.

Waggoner is not sure how he will market his creations, but he hopes to develop a client base by sending one of his motorcycle pieces to Jay Leno or David Letterman, or even the cable show American Chopper.

The amiable Waggoner is a California native, born and raised in San Jose, the son of a local dentist. He has lived in California all his life except for a six-month stint in Seattle, where he decided the weather wasn't to his liking and returned home. He and Waterman have been together for 14 years and have lived in Campbell for the past decade.

The couple's cozy Hacienda Avenue apartment is home to an assortment of hand-carved wood sculptures.

The Weber grill on the patio is ensconced in a wooden stand handcrafted by Waggoner, complete with a graceful pergola to keep out the elements. Waggoner built it out of spare lumber.

Alongside the grill, a hand-carved totem pole stares into the house from the corner of the patio.

The display cabinets in the living room carry the bulk of Waggoner's corksters, but nearly every piece of furniture doubles as a display stand for his work.

Waggoner's years of experience as a finish carpenter are apparent in his cork creations. All his work is clean, well constructed and has an element of practicality.

His projects have grown so ambitious and intricate that even a dedicated wine connoisseur could not supply enough corks to meet Waggoner's needs. To make up difference, the manager at Ridge Vineyard on Montebello Road in Cupertino donated a cork supply. It is from those corks that he constructed his largest creation—the Golden Gate Bridge.

Spanning a 5-foot-long sideboard, the bridge stands 2 feet high. It took more than two months to build and required more than 1,000 corks. Underneath the bridge is a small sailboat, also made entirely of cork, with a delicate filleted cork sail.

Waggoner admits that once he gets started on a project, it's almost impossible for him to stop until it's complete. This "obsession" was evident from the start, he says.

His first project, the long-forked motorcycle, took a month to complete.

"Suzy would have to drag me to bed," he says. "I became obsessed with it."

And Waggoner continues to think big, with plans for a plane or helicopter.

His carved apple is on display at the Adam's Apple Bar and Grill, 923 W. Hamilton Ave.

Shelli Farrel, the bartender, says the 6-foot-tall sculpture has gotten a lot of attention after being placed at the entryway.

"People comment on it all the time," she says. "Kids love it."

She added that Waggoner donated it to them because he enjoyed the food there so much.

In the future, Waggoner hopes Ridge Vineyard will consider displaying his bridge in the vineyard's tasting room.

Waggoner would like to give something back to them for their generous cork donation.