Wooden Creatures Anything But Lifeless

‘Papa Jimmy” White … interesting name, interesting guy, interesting hobby.

White, 58, prides himself on being able to turn wood scraps, mill ends and discarded wooden pallets into the most ingenious characters.

The little wooden creatures bring a smile to faces of children and delight to the adults who proudly display White’s handiwork.

As White tells it, “This whole deal started about two years ago after talking with my twin brother, John.”

Seems John busied himself with a scroll saw, shaping animal figures from wood scraps.

“I kind of liked what he was doing,” White said, “but all I had at that time was a band saw. I was told I couldn’t cut intricate lines and curves with a band saw.

“Well, that was my challenge - to do it, because others said it couldn’t be done.”

White began collecting magazine and newspaper pictures of animals - beginning with the jungle varieties. Next came pictures of domestic animals and wildlife, then sea creatures and flowers, then “just about anything imaginable.”

White said stained glass pattern books are among his best sources.

“Also, believe it or not, the state Fish and Game pamphlet has provided more than one excellent picture of an elk, a moose, a bear - animals like that.”

So, with pattern in hand, White traces the image on a block of discarded oak, alder, hickory, cedar; whatever he happens to have.

“I try to trace the image using the grain of the wood to its best advantage. Then, I cut out the image with my band saw, sand the edges, paint it, then finish the job with maybe some touch-up.”

Each figure is different, “largely because of the grain of the wood offering a different look. Plus I try to use any imperfections in the wood to my advantage. Like a knot will serve nicely as an eye.”

As for materials, White said he tours local cabinet shops for scraps, visits area lumber mills, even consults trucking companies for leftover wooden pallets.

“You’d be surprised how pretty a rough-looking oak pallet can be once you run it through the planer a couple of times.”

White said his best customers are his two grandchildren, Hannah, 3, and her brother, Connor, 2. Both, he said, have spent hours perched atop a stool intently watching their grandfather work on his little characters.

“About my name,” White said, “little Hannah named me. Couldn’t say Grandpa while my oldest son always called me Jimmy,” he said. “Hannah put it together, Papa Jimmy. It just stuck.”

White said he’s shied away from putting a price on his figures, as “I want children - and adults, for that matter - to be able to enjoy the animals, regardless of any payment.”

White admits he charges a small amount for his work, to offset the cost of machinery.

“It’s all worth it…very worthwhile,” White said, his eyes and thoughts moving from cluttered shelf to cluttered shelf in his Post Falls workshop.

“I close the shop for the night…and I find myself saying good night to my little critters,” he said. “I just really enjoy making these little guys.”

, DataTimes MEMO: Tom Burnett is a free-lance writer and former full-time journalist from Rathdrum. Panhandle Pieces appears every Saturday. The column is shared among several North Idaho writers.