'I try to keep moving': Keith Seyer's personal projects range from woodworking to creating his own camper

Keith Seyer of Jackson has been interested in woodworking and creating from an early age.

"I've done woodworking since I was 10 years old," he said. "I've piddled around with it for a long time, and it's just something that when the world kind of throws you a curveball, that's where I can hide and get my mind right again."

Recently, Seyer has been hulling out a large wooden canoe made from a cottonwood tree log with hand tools like a two-man saw, a hatchet and an adze ax.

"This came from a sawmill in Illinois; Farrow Lumber had it and a good buddy of mine, Ryan Eftink, bought me the log," he said.

Even though Seyer said poplar is the traditional choice for creating a wooden canoe, finding that type of wood in a large enough log is rare.

Keith Seyer uses a nadze ax to carve out a canoe from a cottonwood log.Laura Simon

"You just can't find them logs anymore; they just get cut before they're that old," he said.

The canoe has been tested on water before, but Seyer said there is still work to be done, most of which he hopes to finish this winter.

"It's been in water already; I don't know if I'll ever use it," he said. "I say I'm a woodworker; I'm not a canoer. Eventually I'm sure I'll put it down some river."

And although he may never use it, Seyer said he finds satisfaction in working with the wood and manipulating it to create something new.

"I figured it was something to try," he said.

Seyer's projects aren't limited to woodworking, though. Four months ago a friend of Seyer's gave him the frame for a pop-up trailer that was all rotted out. He tore it out and started from the frame up to create what he calls a "glamper," a bright blue teardrop camper.

The small glamper has several amenities, including two cushioned beds, a hidden cooler with a drainage port leading outside and a 12-volt system to supply the vessel's lights and power a fan.

Seyer said he's still tinkering with the camper and plans to put it to use in the spring.

Looking toward the future, Seyer said he's unsure whether he'll keep the camper and canoe.

"There's a chance I end up selling them, I mean, it's something I've done; if I want another one I can make another one. I did it the first time, I could do it again," he said. "I told myself when I started the teardrop trailer that I had to finish it and the canoe before I started anything else, so [the canoe] should be dry enough this winter to where I can hopefully finish it and seal it up real good and everything."

Along with his larger projects, Seyer likes to focus on making smaller pieces as well, including a wooden bow he made by hand last weekend at the Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center.

"It's not just the bigger things that I kind of enjoy," he said.

Seyer said he enjoys taking on these projects because they keep him busy and allow him to stay occupied during the slower months.

"It's something to keep me moving," he said. "The winters get kind of long, and it's something I can do inside and it keeps me moving. My dad always said, 'You quit moving, you die,' so I try to keep moving."

Working on personal projects is a priority for Seyer, because he likes the ability to make changes or tweak his projects without consulting anyone else.

"Being able to do it and, you know, if I decide that I don't like something, it's mine, I can change it, it's not a big deal. And that's a definite good thing," he said.

Seyer said the sky is the limit for any future projects, and he'll be happy with whatever comes along.

"I never can tell what my next project will be," he said. "It might be wood, might be metal, might be, well I don't know, I just don't know."

lyoung@semissourian.com

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