Nearly every day you can find Chuck Nash tinkering around the woodshop at The Estates at Carpenters. He’s spent more than a year organizing the 1200 sq ft shop with his old favorite supplies that he brought with him when he moved into the Independent Living neighbor last October.
“Woodworking has been something that I have been involved with for 60 years,” Nash told Action ABC News. “One of the things that I didn’t want to do is when I moved out of my single-family residence is give up my tools.”
From a table saw at the heart of the woodshop to power tools and dozens of saws, this 30’ X 40’ building has anything a handyperson could want. More than 100 residents attended the grand opening ceremony of the shop in August. Many of them can’t wait to start using some of the tools to create gifts and fix some of the items in their home.
Chuck and his fellow woodshop elves have already helped one neighbor repair chairs for her dining room table. “We know the importance of keeping residents socially engaged,” said Brian Robare, CEO and executive director. “Studies show activities like working in the shop or involved in the plethora of activities at the community have a wide range of beneficial outcomes, including improved memory and self-esteem. Residents can also experience reduced stress when surrounded by their neighbors.”
More than two dozen residents have already taken the beginner classes to learn about the shop. This is a great way for residents to change people’s perceptions of aging and learning.
“A lot of residents here have very limited experience so to introduce them to woodworking in general we decided that we’re doing different classes,” said Nash.
A large crowd attended a recent woodshop demonstration that was open to the entire community. Him and resident Phyllis Gabler showed others how to use a scroll saw to create silhouette projects.
“I haven’t been doing it that long, but I really love it and you can do a scroll saw project really easy, very fast, and have a beautiful outcome,” said Phyllis Gabler.”