Does a bear sit in the woods?
By Suzanne Werre
Editor
Sometimes those ugly stumps that are the remnants of mighty trees can be simply unbearable.
But give Underwood’s Druex Kuntz a chain saw, and he’ll turn that ugly chunk of wood into something a homeowner would be proud to have in his or her yard.
With an MS251 Stihl chain saw with a 12-inch carving bar and diamond tip, Druex (pronounced Drew) can turn a stump or a log into a work of art in pretty short order.
After examples of his chain-saw art started showing up around Underwood since he moved here in November, people have started to take notice, and he’s even been asked to carve some bears in Underwood’s Pioneer Park where several trees were just taken down, in the hopes that it will become a tourist attraction.
At this point, Druex, who has been a carver for about three years, has focused primarily on carving different types of bears. The 21-year-old can quickly carve a bear out of an 18” piece of wood, or he can carve several bears climbing tall tree stumps, or even a bear climbing out of its den using a short stump.
A sunny afternoon this week found him working on a recently-commissioned bear wearing a cowboy hat. As he looked at the as-yet-untouched pine log, he figured he’d have it done in a couple hours.
