Life’s been busy here. Two classes in April (one here and one at Roy Underhill’s) and a two week class at Penland the end of May means I’ve turned about 200 chair parts in the last month. Morgan and I have put in a garden here. I made my first wheelbarrow wheel yesterday in preparation for my class with Peter Ross in June. I’d post photos, but somehow I’ve lost my camera.
All this means I’ve been holding onto a story for a few weeks, forgetting to publish it. I delivered three loop backs to John and Lynne, to match a chair they bought last year. Here’s their story:
“He can build anything.” “He’s the nicest guy.” I’d heard about Glen Schultz years before I met him.
I was looking for someone to help build my shop, so I drove over to meet Glen. His shop is down a long gravel driveway. As I approached, neatly-stacked piles of lumber towered over the driveway. He stopped his sawmill, walked over to my truck and I introduced myself.
“Oh yeah, you’re the chair dude that moved to Moorefields last year,” he said. “My neighbor told me
about you.”
He showed me around his neatly-organized shop, then gave me a tour of his house. He spent five years building his large craftsman style home, sawing and drying every board, doing all the carpentry, stone masonry, roofing, wiring, plumbing … everything.
Glen became the brains behind my shop, and his teenage-son Eli was the brawn. A wrestler and football player in high-school, Eli was strong as an ox and took great pride in his work. His patient hands made every detail sing.
Last week I was scraping the seats on three loop backs, when Eli drove up the driveway. He brought a girl with him. He wanted to show her the shop he’d built with his dad. My shop.
He’s a quiet fellow, but you can tell he’s proud of this shop. Thanks you two.
Some photos by Duke Student Sangjie Zhaxi of me painting these chairs:
