Woodworkers share their craft Northeastern Wisconsin Woodworkers Guild member Ron Dauplaise talks with a visitor to the guild's spring show and sale Saturday at Port Plaza Mall in Green Bay (photo submitted by Robert Platten, guild founder). By Anna Krejci News-Chronicle The smell of wood hung in the air Sunday at Washington Commons. Woodworkers showed the curious the art of scroll sawing, chip carving, routing and turning on Saturday during an annual woodworking show and sale. Over the course of 14 years, Joe Martin has worked at a scroll saw, carving intricate shapes on flat pieces of wood. His saw cut away pieces of wood with a thin, metal pin rapidly raised up and down in one place as pieces of wood were guided beneath it. A Greenleaf member of the Northeastern Wisconsin Woodworkers Guild, Martin displayed his work for sale at the guild's spring event. People meandering by his collection saw ornaments, a wall clock and a rotating Ferris wheel approximately 1 foot in diameter that took 40 hours to carve. Among Martin's largest projects are four, 6-foot-tall grandfather clocks built with carved wood. Martin measures the worth of his creations in large part based on the time he invests into them. "They (people looking at his work) should figure how much time went into it, how much labor," he said, estimating that labor comprises 90 percent of his investment into the projects. On the other side of the room, a beginning woodworker used a scroll saw to carve an angel ornament. Kevin Ferrier, 12, said two months ago he decided to adopt scroll sawing as a hobby in addition to skateboarding and fishing. "It requires a little bit more concentration," said the Allouez boy. Guild president Lyle Martens said the organization has a diverse membership that includes women. The working population are members alongside retirees. "We have doctors, lawyers and candlestick makers," he said of the professionals who have taken up woodworking as a hobby. The guild meets on the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay campus the third Friday of the month. Hot topics among woodworkers are finishes, where to buy wood, buying and using machinery, and sharpening tools, Martens said. Chip carving has become a recent passion for Ron Dauplaise, a town of Scott resident who has been practicing the technique for nearly two years. He gives away most of his work. Dauplaise cradled a board in his lap, holding the blade of his carving knife at a 65-degree angle. "Can't be in a rush," he said. Dauplaise pressed his knife along the lines of a decorative cross pattern that he transferred to the wood's surface. The most challenging aspect of chip carving is cutting the wood consistently at the required angle, he said. Dauplaise is building his skill to tackle what he called a life goal, chip carving the entire surface area of an 18th century pie crust tea table that has a 32-inch diameter top that stands on three legs. According to Jane Alesch, committee chairwoman for the guild's spring show, 40 of the guild's 200 members are presenting their crafts or have donated raffle prizes for the show. The raffle prizes include a Norwegian chair valued at $400 and other pieces crafted by guild members. A De Walt scroll saw, cordless screwdriver and a set of six battery-operated woodworking tools are among the prizes to be raffled today. The guild brings the show to Washington Commons each year. New this year is a display of more than 200 kinds of wood from all over the world, including Australia, China and South and Central America. People can match a piece of unidentified wood to the selections at the show, Alesch said. In addition to wooden statues, ornaments, bowls and furniture, guild members displayed wooden toys. At Christmas, the guild donates 100 hand-crafted wooden toys to local organizations such as the Family Violence Center of Green Bay, Freedom House and Families of Children with Cancer and to other groups that show interest. The show continues from 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. today.