The Chelsea Standard
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Timber man
Woodcarver building historic benches for McKune
By Sheila Pursglove, Special Writer
PUBLISHED: September 11, 2008
John Knapp has always loved working with wood - and after retiring from the Chrysler Proving Grounds 11 years ago, he was finally able to realize his dream of becoming a woodcarver and artisan.
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Knapp's work is exhibited at the Chelsea Gallery, alongside paintings by his wife Sandy. The pair makes a great team at their Sharon Township home where Knapp creates hand- rubbed frames of cherry, Brazilian cherry and maple for many of his wife's paintings.
Knapp, who creates hand mirrors, jewelry boxes, large mirrors, sofa tables, end tables, and coffee tables out of birdseye maple, cherry, curly maple, red heart and more, also exhibits at the River Street Gallery in Manistee.
His current project is building six benches for McKune Memorial Library in Chelsea, from a walnut tree that had to be cut down when the historic structure was expanded.
"They had the walnut cut into slabs and have let it dry for several years," Knapp says. "It's now ready for transformation and will carry history with it.
"It's very satisfying to make the benches because it will become part of the library's history and will be providing benches for generations to come."
A self-taught artisan, Knapp learned his craft from woodworker's magazines and personalizes the designs.
His love of woodwork stems from his childhood on a small farm in the Manchester area, where he spent much of his youth exploring and enjoying the surrounding woods.
His uncles, Chelsea residents Raymond and Roy Koch, were carpenters as was their father, Christian - Knapp's grandfather. Raymond and Roy would come out to the farm to hunt and talk about their jobs. providing much of Knapp's early inspiration although he had no experience with woodworking until he took shop class at Manchester High School. It quickly became his favorite class.
"Working with wood seemed to be ingrained in me from the beginning," he says. "I always had a curiosity about how everything works and making things run smoothly — projects were always something to be solved."
One of his first woodworking efforts was in the mid 1960s, when he made a toy chest for his son, Tom.
"It had a rounded top and looked like a treasure chest," he says. "My next project was a walnut salt and pepper mill, made it from a piece of firewood that I found."
His next project was somewhat larger. "We lived in a small apartment on Jerusalem Road in Chelsea, but got permission from our landlords to use one room for me to build a pool table," he says.
Knapp buys wood rough sawn from Armstrong Millwork in Highland and L. L. Johnson Lumber Manufacturing in Charlotte, and mills it after transporting it home in his trailer.
"I enjoy the natural beauty of each species, and for that reason, I prefer natural finishes rather than staining," he says.
He transformed the garage into a workshop; since it's attached the house, he has easy year-round access. Before his retirement, he started buying equipment so he would be ready to swing into woodworking action.
"I made many jigs that are either templates or jigs that make certain jobs much easier," he says. "Some of the equipment includes a table saw, mortising machine, jointer, thickness planer, drum sander, belt sander, router table, cut-off saw, drill press, air compressor and dust collection system, not to mention about a zillion hand tools."
The Knapps love working together in the studio on their 13-acre property, drawing inspiration from the beautiful rural landscape.
"We work really well together and when John is helping me with framing, we just naturally have our specific jobs and anticipate the needs as we go," Sandy Knapp says. "It's a very comfortable relationship and we don't get into struggling with each other.
"We do many projects like that together without the stress of working together. I help John in the initial planning and brainstorming of his projects. We problem solve very well together."
Woodwork seems to run in the family. Not only was Sandy's grandfather a lumberjack in northern Michigan but their son works with lumber at Lowe's, and looks forward to the day when he will have more time to explore his woodworking skills.
Knapp, whose wife heads up the Chelsea Painters, is involved in the business end of the group's annual Art Fair at Chelsea Community Hospital, and assists the group throughout the year.
The couple is very involved with the Chelsea Center for the Arts, where Knapp made nine bookcases. The pair also helped to paint the mural project at the Chelsea library.
After the bench project for McKune, Knapp plans to make heirloom pieces for his family.
"I've made an entertainment center for our son, but look forward to leaving more of a woodworking legacy to hand down throughout the generations," he says.
"I want to keep the passion of bringing wood to life by letting the character of the wood itself come shining through. It's a wonderful thing to leave something of quality on this earth long after I'm here."
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