Sat Feb 11 2012
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Frankfort Face: Harold Hensley
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For more than 30 years, Harold Hensley has been honing his woodworking skills – but ends up giving away most pieces to friends and family.
He has a workshop behind his Holmes Street home where he works for 10 or 12 hours each week sawing, sanding and finishing a variety of wood products.
Before he retired from Texaco in 1992 after 33 years on the job, Harold said he’d sometimes work on his projects for hours daily after work. He said he enjoyed the freedom and was glad to take his mind off things by concentrating on woodworking.
“I spent every free moment I had out there,” he says.
But now that he’s older, Harold says it’s harder to work for more than a few hours. He’s also had a few injuries and close calls working with the saws and lathe, which is his favorite tool.
Once, Harold had a piece of wood on the lathe and tried to change the speed, but the wood came flying off and hit him in the face, breaking his glasses and covering his face in blood.
“It sure did fly. It hit me with a whole lot of speed. I was about to pass out.”
The shop is filled with tools of all types and several large pieces of equipment including a table saw, drills and a homemade lathe. Harold said a friend made the lathe for him years ago using the transmission from a Chevy truck. It has three speed settings and Harold uses the stick-shifter to change them.
What Harold doesn’t give away he keeps in his house, including dozens of bowls, vases, picture frames, a grandfather clock, a highboy chest of drawers and several end tables. He said he became interested in woodworking after selling antiques and making repairs to them for about 10 years.
Harold can only remember selling one piece. He tried selling a few pieces at a church yard sale once but didn’t get any buyers.
“I couldn’t get anything for it,” he said.
However, friends and neighbors frequently ask Harold to make special pieces for them, usually around Christmas he said. Recently, he made special picture frames for City Commissioner Kathy Carter and local cabinetmaker Eric Burke.
The picture frames are composed of two concave wooden bowls attached to each other so they face in opposite directions. He inserts a supplied photo into the bottom of each plate.
The top and bottom edges are cut off to create flat surfaces and allow for an opening. Harold said the picture frame serves a double purpose and that recipients can insert flowers into the openings.
He uses whatever wood is available - sometimes friends will give him wood when they have trees blow down during a storm.
Sometimes, he’ll try something different and use either rotten stumps or wood from a fungus-infected tree. The stumps create jagged edges and gaping holes and infected wood has a variety of patterns created by the fungus.
“It feels good to try something new, something different.”
Inspiration for a new design or idea comes when Harold lies awake in bed late at night. He also makes pieces with patterned inlays from different kinds of wood.
One of his first projects was a grandfather clock he built while taking a class at Franklin County High School in the 1970s. It took about five months to complete.
“I couldn’t afford one so I thought I would get some material and try and make one. I was tickled to death.”
Other projects include pens made from wood or elk antlers. He also built the countertop and floor in his kitchen using maple. It took several weeks to finish the kitchen, but it only takes a few hours to do a cup, vase or picture frame, he said.
Harold is also interested in cross-stitching and has several pieces on display in his home, including a copy of the “Last Supper” and a Norman Rockwell painting.
He’s been married to his wife, Betty, for 35 years and said she likes seeing him work.
“If he’s happy I’m happy,” she said. “He enjoys it so much.”
“Frankfort Faces” is a series that highlights people from within the Frankfort and Franklin County community. Each feature follows one of the city’s most unique personalities and includes a story, photos and video, which can be found by clicking the TV icon attached to the story online at state-journal.com.
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