Manfred Baader made chairs, bedside tables and more with the help of old friends.
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Manfred Baader's vision is declining. Wet and dry macular degeneration blurs and blurs central vision, but he says the things around him give him context and perspective.
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"I woke up one morning and I was blind," he said. "They thought I was having a stroke but the CT scan showed nothing. Shadows, shapes but no details. I can't read. I can see the letters but I can't put them together. I didn't see Gary in all with my left eye.
It was Gary Ackland, an old friend and now Baader's eye. From time to time, Ekland worked as his driver, but mostly Ekland helped out at Baader's sawmills. It's really a common situation.
"You'll be surprised... You'll see Manfred walking around the shop using his tools," Eklund said. "He knows very well where everything is and how it works. I read the tape measure and that usually helps.”
For Ackland, carpentry was a new skill. "Everything was new to me, even though I shopped at Sheridan Tech in high school," he says. "I cut, connect, hit, help." It's really a two-person team. "We even have breakfast at Eddie's every Tuesday." Both are long retired; Ackland after 30 years in office.
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They first bonded over golf. Although they both worked at Inco (now Vale) — Baader worked in general engineering and lead estimator on civil and mechanical engineering projects, and Eklund worked in infrastructure and wiring — their passion for golf is still talked about.
"I have a good handicap and I play in a league that allows me to compete in France, Spain and all over Germany," says Baader.
In his youth and youth, Baader took tools and killed them. "I completed my studies in Mannheim and here in Sudbury," he said. “I'm a metal worker, woodworking actually started as a hobby. I was told to have a hobby because a job like building SNOLAB is very stressful.
Baader still owns and uses the original machinery, but has also inherited the know-how, workshop and other tools and equipment from the former owners of the property where he lived for decades. "When my wife died, everything fell apart," he said. "I had no motivation to do this for a while."
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Baader said he learned a lot from the people who originally lived here. "He was a very good carpenter, originally from East Prussia," he said. The PBS New Yankee Workshop with Norm Abram was an excellent resource. I have made a round table, an ash dining set, a kitchen cabinet and TV and projects for many people.
During the winter of 2022-2023, he built a set of 13 wish boxes for his six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Each also has an oak bench. The latter is sent to Saskatchewan. Ok, now back to the Adirondack chair.
Several baby chairs are placed on a table in a well-lit shop. "When you start making chairs for adults, you have an opportunity," he says. "You have two options: use it as firewood or do something else. Since the wood is very expensive, I left the small pieces and made three other sizes of chairs, although the smaller chair took about the same amount of time to make.
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Lathes, grinders, planers, routers, radial saws, drill presses and various hand tools line the aisles and along the edges of the great room. "Some of these cars are 80 years old," said the foreman. "I love working at this store."
Forty years ago, Baader began buying lumber from two sawmills in Manitoulin. Oak and cedar planks are ready for your next project.
Nice child sized chair. "They're great for a 1.5-year-old who can already walk," she says. "Then they can go up to the next bigger size."
There are templates or templates and many pre-cut pieces waiting to be assembled. By creating multiples, Baader was able to preserve working wood at the expense of muscle memory.
"I can't spend eight hours here anymore," he said. "Not on the back side. A maximum of two to three hours in the morning and hopefully in the afternoon as well."
Ackland was only five minutes away, so he came often to support his friends.
There are plans for the future. "I need more supplies. I'm going to get more Ottawa cedar," Baader said.
The Baader and Ackland team is definitely making more Adirondack chairs.
"We have a great friendship," said the first, and the second nodded.
South. editor@sunmedia.ca
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