U.P. North

06/01/2026

Feathers
The stump features two bald eagle feathers. These are 2 of the 4 carvings on this stump that honor Fort Payne's Cherokee heritage.

05/29/2026

Stars and Stripes.

The original plan was to carve a free standing, vertical flag inside the stump. Would have looked amazing. That wasn't possible since the tree is hollow so this is Plan B.

The layout and measuring took several hours and I had to use a real flag as a guide to get the right proportions. After that it was easy carving and painting.

05/28/2026

WB Davis Sock Mill - Fort Payne was once the sock capital of the world and t "Big Mill" started it all. (It still operates today as an antique store, live music venue, and restaurant). Check it out.

I had planned on just carving socks but added the water tank because it fit perfectly in the open space next to the flag.

My daughter gave me a hard time for only carving three socks. "Socks don't come in packs of three, Dad". 🤷‍♂️ My mistake.

05/27/2026

Fort Payne Logo - I was not sure how this was going to turn out. It's a large, flat sign on a round surface and I had to make sure I didn't cut all the way through the wall of the stump.

This was the second most difficult carving on this tree. Lots of detail and very little room for error with all of the letters and outlining.

I prefer my smooth-running battery saws for lettering and fine details.

05/27/2026

Here are some detailed close-ups of each carving from the Fort Payne project. I will post several short videos showing the carving process and the significance of each piece. Each carving is symbolic to the city of Fort Payne and/or the State of Alabama.

05/19/2026

Done!!!

Finished the Fort Payne stump last weekend. Here are a few of the pictures that show the before and after. As always, we'll post some videos of the actual carving process later.

This is located right in front of the Children's Advocacy Center near City Hall in Fort Payne Alabama. It was a large, hollow oak tree that was cut down before it fell over. The stump is 9 feet tall, over 4 feet in diameter at the base, but only 8 inches thick all the way around.

This took a little over a month to complete working a few hours each week. I used every grinder, sander, and chainsaw in my arsenal and even had to turn the K5 into scaffolding to cut the top "safely".

I appreciated the dozens of visitors that stopped by while I was working to say "Hi".

If you live in FP take a ride and let me know what you think.

05/14/2026

Finished the painting last week. Had to break out my left-handed paint brush (Cora) to get some hard-to-reach areas. Just some burning and sanding left and it will be done....maybe next week.

04/29/2026

I'm about 90% done with this monster. Haven't had any time to post any progress pictures but I'll put one in the comments. Should finish this up next week.

If you have a chance this week, take a quick drive by Fort Payne City Hall and check out
this tribute to our town by Steve Baumgartner, Master Wood Sculptor. Steve is known at Boom Town Makers Market for his bears, bunnies, frogs, gnomes, and more. (Be sure and visit Little River Canyon Center to see his larger-than-life eagles nest sculpture, too.)

What a cool thing for the City of Fort Payne to create for our enjoyment and to honor our history!

THANK YOU!!

04/27/2026

Practiced carving a few state outlines.