Woodworker, designer, writer and inventor Mark Duginske of rural Wausau presents “Woodlot to Workbench: Antique Tools” at T.B. Scott Free Library on Sunday and Monday, Nov. 14 and 15 as part of the library’s Words Worth Hearing series.
Duginske will present his program at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 14,and then at 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 15.
Admission is free, and refreshments will be provided, compliments of First Street Coffee Station and the Checkered Churn.
Duginske will demonstrate many of the tools he brings, and will even offer hands-on experiences to willing audience members. Most of the tools Mark displays and demonstrates belonged to his grandfather, Peter Duginske, a longtime Merrill resident who died in 1959.
In fact, Duginske came to know a lot about his grandfather and his work while pursuing his first career as a pediatric nurse. Patients recalled woodworking and carpentry work that Peter had done for them.
Now, Mark has become an expert on woodworking himself, operating a sawmill, writing books on using band saws and other equipment, and planning someday to teach classes at his shop.
Duginske enjoys sharing the craft of woodworking with the public, especially with youth. He’s given school programs locally at St. Francis Xavier and Maine schools, helping students build their own pine boxes. Mark finds that, even in a computer age, children are still fascinated by the process of making things from wood.
Mark has also been recently involved in the Art From The Park program, through which lumber from trees removed from Wausau’s Marathon Park is made available for woodworking projects.
While Duginske’s books won’t be on sale at the program, they can be purchased at Book World in Merrill and Janke’s Book Store in Wausau, and Mark will be happy to autograph copies of his books brought to the program.
To learn more about Mark’s presentation, call the library at 536-7191 or visit www.tbscottlibrary.org on the web.