One man’s trash is Beaver Dan’s treasure

Dan Tucker didn’t have any desire to make woodworking a new hobby, but thanks to the persistence of his brother, Dan is now known all over Eastern North Carolina for his woodturning skills. Most people don’t know him as Dan Tucker. Tey know him as “Beaver Dan.”

He got the nickname many years ago before he even began woodturning. “I got the Beaver part because I like to work so good all the time,” he laughed as he explained during a visit to his woodworking studio in Rose Hill.

He used to own a carpentry business named Beaver Dan Handyman that he operated for many years. He said he has always loved working with his hands, so it was to no surprise that he became such a great wood turner. One year, his brother purchased a lathe, which is the machine used to turn wood, in an auction. Te lathe belonged to the old Magnolia School in Duplin County. It was used for job skill training for local soldiers once they returned from World War II. He ofered it to Dan, but he kept refusing. Finally, one day Dan gave in, and it became the newest yet not-so-shiny object in his collection. Ever since that day fve years ago, he has spent countless hours in his shop located right behind his house.

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Making just one bowl can take two hours or more, so Beaver Dan’s shop has become his own little man cave complete with a fridge, swing, and clean bathroom for the women in his life. Dan said it’s not very hard. Te hardest part about woodturning is cutting the wood of certain types of trees and trying to make more than one piece identical. Also, he said hauling lumber between the places he picks up the wood donations from others or the sawmill can be very time-consuming.

Dan’s shop houses hundreds of pieces of wood in various stages, from raw logs to fne art pieces. He mostly makes tables, mantles, benches, and cutting boards, but his favorite things to make are bowls. Although he has only been doing it a few years, he has already won awards at local fairs with his bowls.

He said pretty much everybody he knows has at least one of his bowls in their house. His wife, on the other hand, doesn’t let Dan crowd her home with wood or its remnants.

“I better blow of or at least shake my shirt of before I come in the house,” he said.

Te two married in 1979. After his frst marriage ended in divorce, Dan said he never wanted to marry again. Until he met Debbie at a cookout. “We’ve been married 25 years, and I still kinda like her.” He said jokingly.

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Woodturning was not her thing, so he actually built her a shop of very her own to keep her busy while he spends time in his shop. She has a self-built greenhouse. He said his other children never really picked up carpentry or woodturning, but he has one daughter that shares his creative abilities through her arts and crafts.

His shop holds many diferent unique pieces, such as his table that was made from a Beechnut tree. Approximately 134 years ago, something came through and killed all of the Beechnut trees, he said, and only two trees made it to his yard. He created a beautiful table from the last tree, preserving it forever.

One of Dan’s favorite parts about what he does is that he can take what some may consider junk and turn it into something beautiful.

One day, a friend of his had a piece of wood that was left over from another project and he was about to throw it away. Dan took it because he thought it was shaped like a fsh. And so, one man’s junk became another man’s 7-foot wall decoration.

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