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Ed McGill has been working with wood for a long time. In fact, the 83-year-old retired auto technician still has the first scroll saw gifted to him by his father about 70 years ago.

Since his retirement in 2003, McGill has been making a variety of wood crafts ranging from puzzles shaped like snakes to tissue box covers and even different breeds of dogs –all accomplished with his scroll saw.

“I had done some woodworking all my life but nothing like I am doing now,” he said. “I was an auto tech for 40 something years and when I retired I needed something to do and I started doing this.”

A native of Northern Michigan, McGill said he learned woodworking from his father, who he described as a “jack of all trades.”

McGill said his process for creating an item with his scroll saw begins with a pattern, many of which come from a woodworking magazine he subscribes to.

“Some of these when I get them there is nothing I am interested in and another one there might be two or three patterns in it I like,” McGill said while picking up the magazine.

Working from his backyard workshop, McGill will print his selected pattern on self-adhesive paper and then stick it on the piece of wood he has selected for the project.

“Then I put clear packaging tape over the pattern,” he said. “They claim it helps keep the pattern down on the board plus it keeps the blade cool.”

It is then time to fire up the saw.

While some of the items he makes are small enough to be held in one hand, that doesn’t mean they can be finished with a few quick cuts with the scroll saw. Oftentimes it can take over an hour per item, depending on its size and detail.

McGill said he just works on his projects whenever he feels like it.

“I don’t work a longtime at a time,” he said. “A lot of times I sit here in the mornings and watch certain shows and in the afternoon I will go out and work.”

“In the summertime if it gets too hot I have an air conditioner in there,” he added.

McGill and his wife Lorna sell their items at local craft events in Manchester.

Lorna McGill said the couple’s children and sometimes other vendors will help them set up their booth and pack everything up at the end of the day. These days the couple only attends craft shows closer to home, and can often be seen at the Manchester Community Market during the warmer months, as well as the Oliver’s Wood and Fabric shows at the Coffee County Fairgrounds.