In one corner of a recreation room at the Eugene J. Towbin Healthcare Center in North Little Rock, a volunteer guided the hand of a disabled veteran chiseling a block of olive wood that would soon become a writing utensil.
Once the wood was shaped how he wanted, U.S. Army veteran Jeffrey Bise, 54, sanded it and applied a wax polish. Then, with a little more help from volunteer Ken Leslie, he used a clamp to press the pen mechanics into barrels already inside the wood.
After about an hour of work, Bise finished a wood-and-brass pen last week, his fifth since the local Veterans Affairs system started a weekly wood turning class for its patients in April.
"I love doing it," Bise said. "I love looking at a block of wood, and then turning it and looking at the final result."
Wood turning is done by shaping wood with a lathe, which rotates the wood on its axis.
Alyssa Welch, a recreational therapist with the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, first thought to take the activity to the local VA after she heard of another location offering it as a supplemental therapy to mental health patients at outpatient clinics.
About six months ago, she got in touch with Leslie, who had donated turned-wood pens to the volunteer services office of the VA. The two figured out what they'd be able to offer the patients, who have a spectrum of different abilities.
Welch said that so far it's just a pilot program, and classes are only available to patients in the community living center in North Little Rock, where veterans go to rehabilitate after surgeries. She hopes to expand it to include more veterans and two classes per week.
"I figured it was going to be a pretty good bet," Welch said. "We're doing the crafts thing, but we're not saying, 'Here, let's do arts and crafts.' We're saying, 'Hey, do you want to make something useful with me?' It's a big sense of accomplishment."
In addition to having a hand-made pen to show off, wood turning offers some rehabilitative benefits, Welch said.
Bise suffers from incomplete quadriplegia, Welch said, and he has limited use of his arms and hands. In rehab, he's working on improving his grip.
With wood turning, Bise has to grasp the chisel and a tool Welch modified for him in order to apply the sandpaper and wax. He also pulls a lever on the clamp to finish the pen.
Martha Emmett, 74, said at first that she didn't think she would be able to participate.
"When she [Welch] came in and wanted to know if I wanted to make a wooden pen, I said, 'What do you mean a wooden pen?'" said Emmett, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran recovering from back surgery. "I didn't think it could be done."
Last week, Emmett turned blocks of colored wood into her second pen.
"I kind of like this," she said, as sawdust flew around her.
Emmett alternated sitting and standing at the lathe, which Welch said was good for Emmett's back.
Volunteer services helped gather funds for the lathe, and it has collected donations of wood and pen parts. In return, veterans are asked to donate some of their pens to the volunteer services office, which distributes them to volunteers as gifts.
Last Monday, Bise printed his name on a card that goes along with the pens. It explains where and how they were made, so people can "see the significance of it," Welch said.
But Bise's newest creation wasn't going to a volunteer. It was his favorite, and he wanted to send it to his daughter, Sarah, in Washington state to use at work.
"I think it's the prettiest," he said.
Metro on 05/25/2015