High school junior and second-year shop student Brian Walis recently wowed his teacher, Jesse Eilbeck, with a special bandsawn project. Walis built a beautiful owl box, using walnut and white pine for the body section. He then reversed the woods for the belly and face mask sections when cutting them out. Walis used a technique called plug cutting to reproduce the eye sections, working with the exotic hardwoods yellowheart and black ebony. The pull for the belly drawer and the wings were constructed out of African bloodwood.

“Brian has amazing talent,” said Eilbeck. “He gave the owl to his mother, as he told me that it reminded of the works his maternal grandfather was noted for building.”