THE Len Stevens Memorial trophy for a trade space exhibit was awarded to 11-year-old Carter Simmons for his impressive wooden chopping boards at this year’s Euroa Show.
“I made these chopping boards out of old trees,” Len said when asked to describe the wares for sale at his stall on Saturday.
“I'll carve them down so they're smooth, and then I'll put lacquer on the bottom, it's like a really strong super glue that keeps it all together.
“I'll put beeswax on the top which will darken it and make it a different colour, and it'll make it nice and food-safe.
“For the bigger chopping boards, I weld the handles out of horseshoes and metal rod, and we spray-paint them black.”
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The Gooram youngster said the wood is sourced from trees that have fallen over.
Carol Stevens, the daughter of the late Len Stevens, presented the trophy to Carter on Saturday.
“What impressed us with Carter was the fact that he made everything, and he was talking about where he sourced his timber from,” she said.
“And we just sort of thought, you know, he's a young guy having a go and it's very impressive at his age.”
Carter’s dad, Jace Simmons, said he was “pretty proud”.
“He's got a lot of initiative and it's great to see him excelling,” Mr Simmons said.
“His sister started making earrings, and it sort of was borne out of him wanting to make some money for himself as well.
“So, he just asked me to show him how to weld, and I taught him how to use a chainsaw, and he's just gone from there, really.”
Carter’s business, Weld n Wood, can be found on Facebook and Instagram.
