Handcrafted wooden toys provide gift buying alternatives at Sandwich shop

Just like Santa Claus, woodworker Bob Fredrick is busy this time of year.

The 75-year-old Somonauk resident makes handcrafted wooden toys as well as home and office decor from sustainable hardwoods. Fredrick operates a shop in the Village Square Mall at 37 S. Main St. in downtown Sandwich.

The mall is accessed through Johnson’s Floral & Gift store. He has been working with wood since the ‘80s.

“I started making bookcases and such for around the house,” Fredrick said.

He uses a scroll saw in his work. Scroll saws have a thin blade that allow him to cut intricate curves and corners.

From toys to home decor, he makes a variety of items. His cell phone stands are his most popular item.

Working with one’s hands is something that runs in Fredrick’s family. His grandfather was a blacksmith.

“He was very possibly the last blacksmith in the city of Chicago,” Fredrick said. “He actually would shoe horses for a dairy.”

Fredrick tries to convey what he does through his YouTube channel, which has about 700 subscribers.

“I love teaching,” said Fredrick, who has taught courses in general business marketing, marketing management and new product development and also taught an adult Sunday school class for 20 years at the Baptist church in Somonauk. “I want to pass on my knowledge to other people. I’m a teacher by nature, so this gives me the opportunity to teach.”

Fredrick has a workshop at his house in Somonauk. He believes that people like his products because they are unique and homemade.

“They’re not mass produced,” he said. “And unless you’re skilled at what I do, it’s not something you can make yourself.”

Fredrick’s pieces are built to last. He only uses hardwood.

“I buy from a dealer that all they do is sell hardwoods,” he said. “I know when I’m buying from this dealer that the wood was properly harvested.”

How long it takes to finish a piece depends on what he is making. Aside from being a woodworker, Fredrick also is a guitarist and writes song parodies.

“People sometimes get song lyrics confused,” he said. “In the song ‘Bad Moon Rising,’ there’s a tagline that says there’s a bad moon on the rise. Maybe he didn’t enunciate it right, but people actually thought that the line was there’s a bathroom on the right. I thought it would make a good song. So I took that and I wrote the song, ‘There’s A Bathroom on the Right.’ I took ‘Bad Moon Rising’ and wrote new words to it.”

Something else he makes are Noah Ark play sets. Fredrick enjoys cutting the animals for the play sets.

“It’s been a popular item,” he said. “I have two at home that I’m working on. I can sit there for hours and cut out animals. It’s enjoyable.”

More information about Bob’s Home Woodshop is available at its website, bobshomewoodshop.com, or on its Facebook page.