Following his retirement from AT&T in 1994, already busy with family and “honey do’s”, Carl Stanfill of rural Amoret, Mo wasn’t looking for something to take more of his time. However, a friend in the woodworking trade made him an offer he couldn’t refuse- showing him the basics of making ornate wooden bowls and then telling him “you’re on your own to figure out the rest.”
And he did just that. As a former precision machinist for nearly 30 years, he understood the finer points of calculating angles and making the necessary jigs needed to properly assemble the works of art and still, no two are exactly alike due to size and configuration. “I’m not sure exactly how many I’ve made, maybe a thousand?” he whimmed when asked as we toured his workshop that features a couple of high quality lathes, planer, drill press, tons of hand tools and yes, some sawdust despite always trying to minimize waste.
As the walk through continued, he noted that the love of his life, Evelyn whom he recently lost never minded it all. In fact their home is adorned with many that she considered her favorites and serve as a reminder of her love for his work that motivates him to keep going- to which, there’s several in each room.Marveling a Micky Mouse themed bowl on display “I can’t make ‘em fast enough” he mused “And they’re all over the place. A bunch local, but also Texas, Louisiana, Arizona, Kentucky, Belgium, Switzerland to name a few.” The Disney themed silhouette character is quite popular, however others such as a complex basket weave, a current project, is becoming popular too. He then showed how the hundreds of tiny wooden pieces must be arranged, assembled and then more cutting. “And they’re all glued. I buy a lot of glue. No fasteners of any kind.” He went on to say the only hardware added might be a lazy susan turntable on the bottom per the customer’s request.
New ideas and suggestions for custom designs are welcomed that would include the Chevy bow tie, crosses, dominoes and more, along with matching bowl and cutting board sets. Carl noted that YouTube is a great resource for ideas and practical time saving steps. Once in a while he’ll just see some kind of pattern and realize “That would look really nice” and then he gets busy on it. In the great beginnings, he managed to turn out great work despite limited equipment. “So, I made all these for free back in the early days and just gave them away” he noted “Then my kids told me I should make a little money doing it.” He eventually took their advice and started charging a nominal amount (which many still think is not enough) allowing him to upgrade to better equipment and expand his workshop. In fact, at the moment with other family commitments Carl is about as busy as a guy could be, keeping up with orders.
And those keep coming. Many are repeat customers that are wanting a ‘collection’ of Stanfill’s handiwork. Facebook has been good for sales, too. Just putting up a photo of his latest creation always results in a quick message “Just consider it sold!” and of course, Carl obliges as he begins work on yet another.As we chatted about his success, a humble Carl Stanfill patted his loyal dog who is never far away regardless of noisy machinery or not. He also has a well fed tabby that often finds a nearby resting spot, overseeing the operation.
“The designs get more elaborate all the time” he reflected “It’s really not rocket science. Just keeping track of all the parts and running a little assembly line.” He added that complicated designs keep it interesting but standardizing on say 12 or 14 degree cuts make the math a lot easier to manage. Even with a brand new design he sticks with his basic guidelines that make it easily come together.
As our visit wound down, he mentioned that while someone was willing to teach him the trade, Carl is more than willing to ‘pass it forward’ to the right person, an apprentice if you will, who desires to learn from him the intricacies of this aspect of woodworking.
With that “I’m always welcomed to new ideas” he said as it clearly appears that Carl is up to the task of trying something new along with the challenges of figuring out all the angles and assembly processes.
To see more of his work, you’ll find a nice showcase of photos on his Facebook page, search Carl Stanfill- he’s not hard to find. From there shoot him a message and rest assured he’ll reply most likely sooner than later, just know he’s a busy guy.
As we know, people excel at things they are passionate about. In my short visit it is clearly apparent that Carl fits that category and most of all loves seeing the joy that his work brings to others. -Doug Mager
