Greenville Business Magazine 2010 July issue : Page 50
››executive lifestyles personal Woodworking BY BECKY MANN I t starts out as a rough piece of raw wood with bark intact. A few days later, a magnificent bowl materializes. For Jim Kilton, that’s the draw of woodworking: seeing the beauty of wood emerge. Kilton, a former manager of equipment development for Cryovac, says his hobby gives him a purpose in retirement that work once occupied. Woodworking keeps him active and puts him in touch with people. When health problems sidelined him recently, a desire to return to his hobby topped Kilton’s list of concerns. “I had some heart surgery,” he says. “One of the first things I asked my cardiologist was how long before I could use my chain saw to get back to wood turning.” In wood turning, a lathe and turning tools are used to create bowls, vases, lidded boxes, pens and more. Kilton, whose work has been featured in Fine Woodworking magazine, could sell his pieces at handsome prices, but finds more satisfaction in giving them away. In fact, he’s been offered as much as $1,750 for platters, pieces he creates for family and donates to wood turning sympo- siums around the country. Furniture on this page designed by Wayne Comstock. Photo by Commercial Imaging 50 GREENVILLEBUSINESSMAG.COM | JULY 2010
>>executive lifestyle - Personal Interest
Becky Mann
Woodworking
It starts out as a rough piece of raw wood with bark intact. A few days later, a magnificent bowl materializes. For Jim Kilton, that’s the draw of woodworking: seeing the beauty of wood emerge.
Kilton, a former manager of equipment development for Cryovac, says his hobby gives him a purpose in retirement that work once occupied. Woodworking keeps him active and puts him in touch with people.
When health problems sidelined him recently, a desire to return to his hobby topped Kilton’s list of concerns. “I had some heart surgery,” he says. “One of the first things I asked my cardiologist was how long before I could use my chain saw to get back to wood turning.”
In wood turning, a lathe and turning tools are used to create bowls, vases, lidded boxes, pens and more. Kilton, whose work has been featured in Fine Woodworking magazine, could sell his pieces at handsome prices, but finds more satisfaction in giving them away. In fact, he’s been offered as much as $1,750 for platters, pieces he creates for family and donates to wood turning symposiums around the country.
While some people work in one field and enjoy woodworking as a relaxing hobby, Joe Carlson has taken his lifelong interest and built a new career. A victim of outsourcing, the IBM veteran enjoyed building pieces out of wood as a sideline to his telecommunications responsibilities. When a supervisor at IBM delivered downsizing news and expressed concern about the 41-year-old’s job prospects, Carlson knew that telecommunications work was just one of his capabilities.
Carlson eventually turned several of his talents into a company called Clutter Busters. The business offers handyman services including carpentry, landscaping, residential wiring and cabling, and almost anything else found on a “honey do” list.
Now Carlson is learning more about working with wood as a student in the Building Construction Technology program at Greenville Technical College. This 12-month program will prepare him to test for a builder’s license so that he can construct spec homes and complete remodeling projects while he continues to refinish furniture, install shelving systems, and produce furniture for friends, family, and clients.
In woodworking, he can see the trees and the forest. “I like the idea of working out a design and taking it from start to finish,” he says. “It keeps me focused on the details while keeping the big picture in play.”
Woodworking is an interest many people in this area share. The Greenville Woodworkers Guild, which seven years ago had 140 members, now boasts a membership of 675. A few members are professionals, including several of the people who founded the organization in 1981, but the majority are hobbyists.
A desire to learn is key, says guild President Wayne Comstock. About half of the organization’s new members are interested in furthering their skills. Others want to find out if woodworking is truly an interest. Courses in hand tool joinery, bench-making, pen turning and other topics are taught by volunteer instructors for a small fee that covers the cost of materials, and experienced woodworkers serve as mentors for new members.
The organization allows woodworking enthusiasts to use the hobby as a vehicle for making a difference in the community. Currently, members are creating beds for dorm rooms at Generations Group Home, a facility for boys who’ve suffered abuse. In May, the group met a need at the Children’s Hospital, producing a mobile art cart to house supplies used for activities.
The guild established a relationship with the Meyer Center for Special Children many years ago, and members have donated custom-designed pieces for children with special needs ever since. Chairs used in classrooms were developed by guild members who worked with a school therapist. In addition, walking bars, racks for special equipment, foot supports for bicycle pedals, and many other devices have been custom built to serve the needs of the preschool children who receive developmental education and therapy services at the center.
Comstock estimates that members donate around 7,000 man hours a year to building charitable projects, including the toys they send to various organizations each holiday season. This year, the group hopes to increase toy production from 1,500 pieces to 2,000.
Projects are completed at the organization’s Education Center, established in 2003. A larger facility with room for the organization’s growing needs for shop, assembly and training facilities is expected to open soon on Holly Ridge Court in Mauldin.
Are you one of those people who is drawn to the smell of sawdust? Learn more about membership in the Greenville Woodworkers Guild at www.greenvillewoodworkers.com. For information on turning your hobby into a career, go to www.gvltec.edu/bct.
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