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Photo by Ann Cason
Kenneth Capps with several of his wooden ducks.
Grainger TODAY
All things wood - from ducks to whimmy-diddles
By Tracey R. McFarland
While wooden ducks are his main product, Kenneth Capps produces countless other whimsical items in the cluttered workshop behind his home in Mooresburg.
Upon entering his shop, one threads their way through the maze created by the piles of driftwood, lumber, machinery, works in progress and discarded experiments that failed to satisfy Capps' high standards.
Growing up working in wood with his dad, Capps has been a woodworker all his life. "This is all I do," he said, "Sometimes I get paid, sometimes I don't." He still uses a 1930 model American brand bandsaw that he and his father used. Back then, they mostly used it to fabricate furniture parts. Now, among other things, he uses it to shape the heads of the ducks he carves. "I don't draw 'em out," he emphasized, "I just start cutting."
Not only an artist, but an inventor as well, among other machinery in his shop is a device he designed and built himself, which he calls a miniature carving spindle machine.
Capps began selling his carvings as a young boy, starting out with wooden fruit, whimmy-diddles (a stick with a little propeller on the end), and granny switches just to name a few, much of which he sold in Gatlinburg. "I was selling in Gatlinburg when there was nothing in Gatlinburg but three or four stores," he reflected. "Made stuff for the Cherokee Nation too," he added.
From these simple items, his business, as well as his skills, have expanded to include wooden spoons, walking canes, back scratchers, fish, and his famous ducks. Other items Capps has just recently begun to produce include gunstocks and totem poles, as well as a carved horse lately commissioned by the owner of a local horse farm. He even once made a small motorcycle from two dinner forks and several bits of wood. "Took me about a month to make that," he mused.
The ducks, however, remain his most popular item. Unlike other woodcarvers, Capps carves only the head and shoulders, allowing the wood to mimic the feathers on the remainder of the body, creating a highly unusual and unique piece. Needless to say, this requires that he be particularly selective in the bits of wood he collects for this purpose and so he spends many hours scouring the woods and lakeshores for suitable specimens. "I go stomping with him," said his wife, Pam. "That's what we call it. Looking for wood to carve. Once we found a beautiful piece of cherry that weighed about 500 pounds." They had to recruit several friends to help get that piece back to the workshop.
"Cedar works up the best," said Capps but he also uses cherry, osage orange, black walnut, and many others. His ducks sell regularly in Japan and have also traveled as far away as New York, California, Alaska and Ireland. He also still sells regularly to several shops in Gatlinburg and to The Smoky Mountain Knife Works in Seviervile.
Capps never knows what he might find when he cuts into a piece of wood. He has a box full of arrowheads that he has removed from time to time, in addition to a Civil War era mini-ball and, of course, there's always the inevitable barbed wire and nails. Interesting as these finds are, they are definitely not beneficial for his saw blades, he said, but the twists and indentations they leave in the wood do contribute to the distinctive appearance of Capps' creations.
The next show Capps plans to participate in is the juried show at Jonesborough November 25 - 26. It will take place at the Visitor's and International Storytelling Center. Those who are interested can also view his work and place orders at his website www.theduckfarm.com or email theduckfarm2@aol.com
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