Ramsey is self-taught carpenter

    John Ramsey could write a book on woodworking. Ramsey, of rural Washington, is a self-taught carpenter who uses his free time to make everything from dressers to wooden ducks. Ramsey has made many of the pieces of furniture that adorn his home such as stools, chairs, cabinets and desks.

    Ramsey?s interest in woodworking began in high school more than four decades ago. At that time, Ramsey was involved in another activity ? duck hunting ? which would later prove to be an inspiration for future woodworking.

    ?In the 1960s, I started duck hunting at Lake Odessa by Wapello,? he remembered. ?Back then, you used papier-mâché for duck decoys. They?re light weight, brittle, and they broke easily, but that?s what we had to hunt with. Some guys had a few wooden decoys but they were rare.?

    A few decades later, Ramsey decided to try his hand at carving wooden duck decoys. He made his first decoy in 1987, and he hasn?t put down the drawknife since.

    Ramsey makes the ducks so that they will float upright in water. To do that, he places a narrow block of lead on the duck?s belly that goes in the water. He has a horse tank on his property he tests the ducks in to see if they float. He puts them in upside down, and then if they spin 180 degrees upon release, he know he has done everything right.

    Ramsey doesn?t limit his craft to ducks. Ramsey has carved swans, geese, mallards, owls, turtles and fish, just to name a few. The only thing he doesn?t much care for about carving is the necessary painting that follows it.

    ?After you learn to carve, you have to learn to paint,? he said. ?There are so many different colors. The mallard has the green head. The Canadian goose is a little simpler, and I?ve enjoyed making those.?

    When Ramsey starts an animal, he has two blocks of wood ? one for the body and the other for the head. He said the body and head are carved separately because it allows him greater freedom of movement. 

For the full story, see the July 12 edition of The Washington Evening Journal