‘Front doors, bowls, lamps--anything. . . that had to do with woodworking, I did it.’
Gary Stodgehill started his woodworking career at the age of 8, making a pool table from scratch. Now, 27 years later, he has graduated to reconstructing an entire house from the inside out. In the intervening years, the lifelong Vista resident painstakingly polished his craft while carving from wood everything from custom-made furniture to classic cars. Times staff writer Leslie Wolf interviewed Stodgehill at his workshop, and Don Bartletti photographed him.
When I was 8 years old, I remember building a pool table, but I really got started in this line of work in 10th grade, during the summer. I started doing carpenter work with my brother-in-law, and then, when I graduated from high school, I went right into construction work.
I had built some aquarium stands and nightstands for friends, but they were real rough. What turned it around is some night classes I took at Palomar College--that introduced me to some new techniques, and to using machinery.
I already had all the hand tools, so I started buying pieces of old machinery that weren’t running and rebuilt them. I couldn’t afford new ones, so I just had to do it. My oldest machine is a shaper, built in 1936. The rest are ‘40s-era. They’re just built a lot better than the ones today. I drove all the way back to Missouri for one piece.
I started building furniture in 1975, and my first commission was about two years later. It’s all referral work, I’ve never advertised. One year, I made 30 pieces, and that’s probably the most I’ve ever done.
The customers choose their own wood and come up with their own ideas. For instance, people hire me to build a hutch for some space on their wall where they can’t buy anything that will fit. Right away, when they’re saying what they want I can picture it, and I come out here to my workshop and do some rough sketches. But a lot of people don’t know what they want, and they just leave it up to me. Then I put everything I’ve got into it as far as design.
I learned a lot by trial and error. I don’t make the same mistake twice. I built the entire form for a Ford Cabriolet once. It was all oak originally, but it had rotted away, so I restored it. I’ve made a guitar, front doors, bowls, lamps--anything that came along that had to do with woodworking, I did it.
Now, I’m taking about a year off to get my house done. I’ve owned this house for 10 years, but it’s a two-bedroom, one-bath house, and my wife and I have five kids. We’re just outgrowing it. It’s going to be a four-bedroom and two-bath house, but it’s going to take some work. Every room is going to be different, with a lot of woodwork.
Last March I decided I had to quit my other work and start treating the house like a full-time job. I just had to push everything else aside and do it. I’ve probably turned down $30,000 worth of work so far, and that hurts.
When I was in high school I bought a piece of property in Vista, and I just sold it this year. That’s what gave me the money to do this. Before, I was just living month to month.
After I get done with this house, I’m going to really concentrate on making individual pieces of furniture. I have so many ideas, and they just eat at me. I’d like to come out with my own line of furniture. But I wouldn’t want to get into large-scale production. I wouldn’t stand here day after day making hundreds of tables. I still want to deal with individuals, that’s what’s best about the whole thing.
It’s a tough way to make a living, working with your hands. You put in 10- or 12-hour days, but there’s a lot of freedom. I listen to the radio while I’m working, and I hear about all the traffic jams and wrecks, and I’m so thankful I don’t have to do that.
