From cabinets to coffins, it’s all a passion for self-taught Afton craftsman

By Erin McGrath

Published: July 9, 2008

Tucked away on the side of a mountain in Afton, is a small white shed where inside, sawdust covers every available surface.

Wood particles are added to the layer as Kenneth Fischer, 61, uses his electric saw to plane a length of walnut for his next wood-working project.

Fischer, a self-taught craftsman, has been making everything from cabinets to coffins for more than 30 years.

He said his interest in creating wood furniture began after he and his wife, Janice, married and bought a house.

“I went to Sears Roebuck like everybody else did, bought a table saw, and found that it was fun,” Fischer said. “I read a lot and practiced a bunch and got better at it. I started out fairly simple and I got better as time went on.”

Some of his first pieces, like a jewelry box he made for Janice are still in use today.

“I’ve always been a maker,” he said. “I’ve always made stuff. Since I was a little kid, destroying my father’s tools.”

Fischer, who is retired, creates pieces of furniture when he sees a need. Practically every room in the Fischers’ household is filled with his creations. From the bed, to light fixtures, to his very own hand-made recliner.

It’s always been just a hobby for him, Fischer said.

“Whether I make it or not depends on whether I feel like making it,” he said. “And the nice thing about not having to do it for money, is that I can make what I want rather that what somebody else wants.”

The wood used in Fischer’s projects comes from local donations. Very local donations.

A year after the Fischer’s moved to Nelson in 1989, they were able to salvage imperfect logging pieces from their neighbor’s property in Afton.

“The loggers left all the odd, crooked stuff,” Fischer said. “So I got six or eight pick-up loads of imperfect logs and brought them over here. We just sawed wood for three days. I still get a little bit now and again but I’ve more wood now than I’ll ever use in my life.”

Fischer’s creative process started extending to pottery a little more than five years ago.

After slowly accumulating a collection of pottery over the years, Fischer said he wanted to learn how to make it. He took a class offered by local pottery artist Nan Rothwell.

“I figured that I would do this for two months, three months, something like that. And I starting doing it, and I got hooked,” he said.

Fischer now splits his time between pottery and furniture. When the weather is very hot or very cold, he spends time making pottery. When it’s nicer, Fischer said he’ll work in the furniture shop.

“The nice thing about pottery is that you can try something and if it doesn’t work, you just recycle the clay,” Fischer said. “If you try something that doesn’t work when you’re making furniture, the only thing you can do is put it in the stove.”