Volunteers are busy building squirrel feeders, lawn ornaments, and a roof in the new woodshop at the Paynesville Area Center.The woodshop is located in a former classroom of the Paynesville Area Elementary School. The center obtained the building last summer and moved the new building to their compound on the west end of town for use as a woodshop.
"The building allowed us to more than double our space for the woodshop," Don Torbenson said. "We are also not tracking sawdust throughout the area center now."
Don Torbenson (left) and Larry Thielen (right) work on building a roof in the new wooodshop.
The woodshop was designed for people who like to work with wood but don't have room to do it at home. Torbenson said he has some tools at home, but the shop at the center enables him to do bigger projects.
Most of the equipment in the shop was donated by local resident Marcia McCarney. The shop has a table saw, scroll saw, drill press, bandsaw, sander, two-way grinder, and router.
"We could use additional hand tools at the shop," Larry Thielen suggested. Blake added it would be nice if someone donated a quarter-inch drill.
A fairly new resident of Paynesville, Bud Blake volunteered his services to the center to supervise the woodshop and help organize the tools. He has worked with wood off and on since high school in Montana.
Blake shows newcomers how to use the equipment. He has a suitcase full of patterns people can use to make lawn or flower bed ornaments.
Blake is at the shop every Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon. He is willing to stay longer, if the need arises.
"None of us are real carpenters," said Thielen. "We just do this in our spare time."
The three men are working on a roof for a planter located at the entrance of the area center. Marv Fasen drew up the plans for the men. "It's a challenging project," Thielen added.
"We could never have begun building a roof in the old woodshop," Thielen said.
"We'd like to see more people use the woodshop," Torbenson said.
Items made by the men are for sale at the center. All the proceeds go to the area center. Return to Archives