BUCYRUS—Randy Clady is a woodworking wizard.
The Bucyrus native, who for decades owned Clady’s Wallpaper & Paint on Sandusky Avenue downtown, now spends his days working in wood. A rewarding hobby for him and for those lucky enough to own one of his unique pieces.
“I don’t sell anything, but I’ll definitely give you something,” said Clady, whose basement workshop is chock-full of lumber, power and hand tools, and projects in the works.
“I like giving it away to people who appreciate it.”
Since buying his first table saw back in 2000, Clady has made 75 pieces to decorate his home, including a dresser, pie chest, and dining room table. He’s also crafted cutting boards and carved dolphins from slabs off white oak, walnut, and cherry.
“A lot of times, the wood you use is really critical,” Clady explained. “The quarter-sawn wood, for example, is just beautiful. People that see it will usually say, ‘Wow, that’s beautiful,’ and what they’re really seeing is the grain in the wood.”
Clady, 71, was inspired to start sawing and sanding after the death of a friend who also was a woodworker. But he credits another longtime friend, the late Bob Schifer of Bucyrus, for showing him the skills of the trade and serving as his early mentor.
“I could go to Bob and say, ‘How do I do this operation?’ and Bob would stop whatever he was doing and work with me,” Clady recalled of Schifer, who retired from the Timken Co.
“He was amazing. He was the best teacher in the world. He was a wonderful man.”
Clady built a few bookshelves and mantel clocks at first, then moved on to furniture and other more intricate pieces, often finding patterns online or from other woodworkers.
He also upgraded his router table, planer, jointer, and hand sander.
After retiring in 2016, Clady devoted even more time to his newfound hobby and encouraged his brother to try woodworking as well. The two even traveled to Harrisonburg, Virginia, for a five-day course led by nationally acclaimed woodworker Charles Neil.
Clady said Neil got permission from Monticello – Thomas Jefferson’s plantation home – to obtain the exact measurements of a “laptop” desk used by Jefferson when he was president. Clady’s mahogany replica is a favorite, along with a cutting board and Queen Anne table made of cherry.
Clady has also become fascinated with Intarsia, an ancient form of wood inlaying resembling marquetry that uses sections of wood, often in contrasting colors. “I love to do scroll sawing. It’s just a little tiny blade, and you can make all kinds of things with it.”
When he’s not making sawdust, Clady devotes his days to creating stained glass. Sometimes he incorporates the colorful, decorative designs into his wooden objects. “It’s nice to go back and forth between stained glass and little woodworking projects.”
Clady and his wife of 49 years, Denise, have two sons who also own several examples of their father’s handiwork. But mostly, Clady said, he’s happy to give his pieces away or donate them to local clubs and organizations for charity events.
“I think the thing with the woodworking is you can’t retire and quit. You gotta’ be busy,” he said. “It’s just fun to make things and give them away. It’s also fun to do some good for the community.”
