Sitting out retirement: After his 35-year career as a commercial diver ended, David Darlow started a woodworking business

David Darlow, 86, spent 35 years underwater as a commercial diver.

“I watched Lloyd Bridges in ‘Sea Hunt,’ and thought if he can do it, so can I,” said Darlow.

In 1969, he and his wife, Kathryn, purchased Allied Commercial Divers. She ran the company, and Darlow and their son were the lead divers.

Over the course of his career, Darlow and his team of seven worked on 58 dams throughout the Northwest.

“We did surveying preconstruction, worked on them during construction, and then did maintenance,” he said. “We never had an injury.”

He also served in the Washington Air National Guard for over 28 years and worked with local law enforcement dive teams.

“I recovered 28 bodies,” he said.

Suffice it to say, Darlow doesn’t do idle time. So, when they closed the business in 2004, he knew he had to find a post-retirement gig.

“I had to do something to keep myself out of the house and away from watching TV all day,” he said. “I’ve always been enticed by woodworking.”

Using the same north Spokane space that once housed the diving company, he launched Cedar Chairs and Stuff.

“I made an Adirondack chair from a picture, and I modified it and made it my own design.”

Darlow created his chairs with comfort in mind – most feature gently sloping backs. He put his own spin on the arms, as well.

“Mine have hand-shaped arms, not round, not square.”

He said one of his greatest compliments came from a customer who told him he sat in his new chair for 15 minutes and promptly fell asleep.

Always looking to be innovative, Darlow repurposed wooden water skis and used them for chair backs. He did the same with a collection of old hockey sticks.

Once he’d mastered the chairs, he moved on to other Adirondack-style furniture, including benches, rockers, tables, stools and porch swings.

He uses Western Red Cedar or Redwood exclusively, carefully selecting the most attractive and visually interesting boards as the focal point for each item.

“These will not blow off a deck,” said Darlow of his sturdy furniture.

He finishes every piece with a coat of linseed oil, which showcases the natural beauty of the wood.

Darlow has crafted pieces for backyards, front porches, lake homes and even patio furniture for No-Li Brewhouse.

In addition to the furniture, his shop brims with other expressions of his creativity.

“I can make anything I want, so I make weird birdhouses and I make picture frames made with rotted two-by-fours that used to be in the dirt around gardens.”

More elegant than odd, several iterations of birdhouses resembling Asian pagodas perch in different spots throughout the shop.

A large coffin with a knotted rope swinging from it catches the eye. It would make a good Halloween decoration, but Darlow said he made it just because he could.

“I’m in my shop every day,” he said.

Retirement still doesn’t interest him.

“I’m not really planning on retiring,” Darlow said. “I pay particular attention to what I make, and when I finish a chair, it’s nice. I’ve accomplished something.”