Conecuh County
Wooden Boxes
Woody Ryals
grew up around woodworkers. As a youngster, he used simple tools to construct
small projects and went on to work in construction as a young man. Before his
retirement from Woodman of the World Life Insurance, Woody began making boxes
to hold kindling. A sales representative from Brewton Enterprises admired the
boxes and made arrangements for Woody to sell his items to L.L. Bean. Woody
also created his duck box and sold thousands of them through the L.L. Bean
catalog. Although he now limits the quantity of boxes he makes, Woody is quick
to point out that he finds woodworking to still be a relaxing activity even
with his arthritic hands.
Woody
admires ducks for their natural beauty and therefore uses them on his boxes. In
a shop he built behind his house, Woody uses a band saw and a router to cut the
seventeen pieces of ponderosa pine he uses to make the ducks. The boxes are
assembled with brass fittings and are stained “special walnut” before three
coats of polyurethane are applied. Because Woody is careful to never abuse his
tools, he has many that are well over twenty years old. He considers this
investment a commitment to quality workmanship.