Popular Woodworking 2007-10 № 164, страница 69

from London (England) University, Wilson taught anthropology from 1962 to 1972 at Purdue University, Michigan State University and Albion College. Failing to get tenure, Wilson changed careers and became a licensed residential contractor for the next 10 years. Following that was another 10-year period as a teaching craftsman, making and selling Shaker boxes. By 1992 Wilson was a full-time businessman, selling Shaker box supplies and teaching on the side. In 2002 he added writing to the mix.

Walking around his property, Wilson points to a large, old farmhouse, which he no longer owns. There he lived with his first wife and two sons, both now in their early 40s. After his divorce, Wilson moved into The Little House, which he initially built for his sons after vandals burned their fort. Now a guesthouse, The Little House features a wood-burning stove, bathroom fixtures, kitchen appliances and a loft for sleeping. Carved into the bed is the Hebrew word "Rehoboth," which means "ample room." For five years it also held a workbench, lumber and tools.

Growing Business, Growing Space

Wilson finished the first section of The Home Shop in 1988, just in time for his May 8 wedding to Sally. It was in the then-empty shop that they had a potluck reception with friends, piano and dulcimer music, and folk dancing. After the wedding, Wilson moved his shop out of The Little House and into The Home Shop. He and Sally lived in The Little House until Molly was born.

Today The Home Shop consists of three sections on three different levels, which follow the slope of the land. This allows for a 10' ceiling in the main room, and 12' and 14' ceilings in the inventory and storage rooms. Wilson recycles building materials when possible. The 32' x 32' main room contains a 16' x 20' cider mill that resembled a carriage house. A friend offered it to Wilson, so he simply loaded it onto a trailer, took it to his property and worked it into the design. Light floods the shop thanks to 13 skylights - made from old sliding glass doors - and, what Wilson calls "window walls" everywhere.

"I don't regard myself so much a green person, as being a resourceful one, which is a virtue I hold in pretty high regard," he says.

Most of the tools Wilson shares with his two partners - Eric Pintar and John Kellogg -are in the main shop. Work areas are arranged

in triangular shapes. Wilson spends 15 to 20 hours a week at his Craftsman table saw cutting bands for sale. Completing this triangle is an old 10" Craftsman radial-arm saw and a jointer. Another triangular work area consists of a 24" Performax drum sander, a 15" Delta planer and an 18" Grizzly band saw.

A long counter lines the back wall with shelves underneath filled with box-making supplies in cherry, bird's eye maple, Eastern white pine and lacewood. In front of the counter is a large, freestanding workbench, one of several in the room.

The main room is heated using an old and

ornate, twice-owned potbelly stove fed with wood scraps. (Wilson initially bought it for his old farmhouse. When the farmhouse's new owners decided to sell it, Wilson bought it again for his shop.) Next to the stove are a 1920s veneer press and a four-bag customized Grizzly dust-collection system.

The second section is a 32' x 20' inventory room. In addition to several workbenches, stacks of box parts, including tops, bottoms, shapers and molds, line a counter and shelves.

The Home Shop's third 32' x 36' room is used for an impressive amount of wood

The Little House. Wilson's home and shop were all in one in The Little House (right) before he built The Home Shop (left).

Re-purposed. Recycled sliding-glass doors serve as skylights, flooding the shop with natural light.

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