BARN woodworkers make benches

There might be no such thing as a free lunch, but in the land of BARN, there is free carpentry. The artisan network’s band of eager woodworkers has provided many a piece to community needs; transportable music stands for the high school, a phone booth for the senior center, and now, benches for the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial.

March 26, 2016 3:09 pm
During the last few months
During the last few months

There might be no such thing as a free lunch, but in the land of BARN, there is free carpentry. The artisan network’s band of eager woodworkers has provided many a piece to community needs; transportable music stands for the high school, a phone booth for the senior center, and now, benches for the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial.

Dave Whitacre, a retired petroleum engineer who spearheads the studio’s community service efforts, said he can’t remember exactly how the project came about. He thinks someone simply called BARN up and asked for the benches, sans design. And then his crew got busy.

Dick Culp drew up the plan, incorporating Japanese elements in the joinery. The lumber was milled by Coyote Woodshop from an island cedar log. Dave Christianson provided a shipping container for two months, to allow the cedar to dry. And Whitacre, Culp, David Grant, Dan Jacobs and Kurt Shultz put in at least 150 hours altogether building the four benches, which should be installed at the memorial site next week.