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Show Y)mmmm v-:r - ' I ; ' ' " . ' 5 IUI.H.I-. .... A;.; ,;, 'im --y PgJ; "l ,-. . .. , - - ' , , . illlilWlWPii- - --;;-::v,,..... " ; llliiilll - TOmw; mmmmmmmmmmmmm., .1 ;ii:iIillIJ . liiBMStaKM&KMI''' '" if.t:. ; Jillll ' ' , ' '-f , ' V ' .....;:tfV ' ;l.'r' . llliiilll '! -, -' - 1 - .-Jlllliteit:!- .: vll- slilllil ' i- ' : -Vt - , 1 v s -, ' .lilllll . .,Siii, ;iBiif ,11111 :.. I J- V, - ; c;'v-x' IIIIP" illllllli.:., Jllllllf' ..llllll V. - - - " " , , . The hands of master craftsman, Burns Hansen, worked tirelessly and meticulously to create this miniature replica of an early American chest. Building miniatures is Mr. Hansen's third career. - Tiny tools Mmg giait icce to senior By JUDY JENSEN Editor How do you fit and glue together the tongues and grooves on a dresser dres-ser drawer that is only two inches wide? It's simple if you have the right tools, and 70-year-old Bountiful Boun-tiful resident Bums Hansen to assist you. Mr. Hansen has manufactured the "right tools" for the task. Mr. Hansen is regarded as a premiere pre-miere miniaturist His works have been showcased in national magazines maga-zines and museums. And his wood-carving wood-carving skills have been recognized by experts. An engineer by profession, Mr. Hansen spent 40 years working for General Electric Company. He and his family were transferred to New York, Boise, Denver and South America during that time. His duties du-ties had nothing to do with woodworking wood-working or furniture, but his interest in antique furniture grew as he visited local museums. "I have visited most of the big museums in this .country and others. My engineering engi-neering was interwoven with my interest in-terest in the museums," said Mr. Hansen. ' v After his retirement, Mr. Hansen began a second career as part owner of his own engineering firm. Eight ' years later he retired once again and entered what he calls his diird career, ca-reer, "staying productive and trying to be a good example for my - peers." . , ' Mr. Hansen's 'wife, Evelynn, agrees strongly with her husband's current goal. Mrs. Hansen, who has been recognized as the "Outstand- . ing Elementary Music Teacher," retired last year at age 71. " Older people need to be role models, they, need to be productive. I tried to teach my students the older generation ge-neration has a lot of wisdom and experience, but they can't demand respect, they have to earn it; We' can't expect our grandchildren to listen to our advice if we're just whiling away our time in a rocking chair,"she said. Mr. Hansen is certainly not , -spending time "rocking away" his life. His new hobby keeps him very busy. He currently has orders to fill that will take him six months to complete. . , LI His detailed replicas of authentic antique furniture are' works of ait . Many of his creations come from what he calls, "The golden age of Jturniture, America's colonial period, the late 1700's. In many instances in-stances he has sent for the exact blueprints for a piece of furniture. His Boston Bombay chest is an exact replica of the original of which there are only four still in ex- istence. .. ; His carvings are created in 112 ' scale. Where possible, Mr. Hansen used the original wood to create his --miniatures. "Walnut and mahogany are the best, because they color well -when I stain them. I'll bet I've pawed through every lumber store in the valley trying to find wood '- !'' ' ,. "ft IV .is' 'i5SW.. . ' ) ' ... ; -i .. -:;-::::.:. v I -. . . f ' , 4. , X' '. "! : : I' V 1 Creating a "high-boy" is considered to be the "pinnacle" "pinna-cle" for a miniaturist. Mr. Hansen's high-boy won the "Best In the Show" award at the Utah State Fair. ' ' " ' 1 .-4-1- ' ' ' - 'i ' : PHOTOS ROGER TUTTUE - ' with the right grain, " he said jok-ingly." jok-ingly." . Once just the .right Wood is . found, the building process begins. His engineering background helped Mr. Hansen design his miniature tools, He manufactured a 2-inch-in-diameter, circular saw, which . he uses to cut the wood. He also has a miniature,i jnilling macWneiand. v jwuterThjough trial and error, ..her ' found a jewelers' iathe works best 'to''-"turn" 'to''-"turn" the legs on pieces like the gate-leg table. The fan shaped carvings carv-ings are done by hand. ' The delicate work requires the steady hand of a surgeon. In fact many of his tools ; are surgical equipment. "My favorite tool is. a 11 blade, surgical scalpel," he said with a laugh. Mr. Hansen applies ap-plies the glue with a syringe and needle. For a miniaturist, the "high-boy chest" is considered to be the "peak" of creations, and Mr. Hansen's Han-sen's mahogany high-boy is a pre-, niere example of the piece. He ; spent 125 hours creating the finished fin-ished product, which . included ' hand-tooling the hinges and hard-- hard-- ware. "On impulse I entered it in the State Fair and it won '.'Best in the Show," explained Mr. Hansen. His "tip and turn table" was featured fea-tured in the Fall 1988 edition of the national magazine; "Miniatures Showcase." Editors of the publication pub-lication praised Mr. Hansen's work as being some of the finest they had -seen. -,,- :, Always artistically inclined, Mr. Hansen created his tirst wooa carving, carv-ing, a stagecoach, at age 14. His ; musical talent, put him through college. col-lege. He played a trumpet in a musical mu-sical group and considered a career in music until he switched to engi- neering and graduated from the University of Utah in 1941. The Hansen's three daughters .-.and six grandchildren are fascinated byMr. Hansen's new hobby. "It's ' an exciting new career for him," said his wife. His recent ill health has not slowed: Mr. Hansen down. "Yotfve got to claim your greater godd. We're all on a hero's journey.1 We've got to find our dragons, slay them and go on," said Mrs. Hansen in explaining her husband's philo- sophyoflife. ; , ''- The two ' of them are in the process of packing up the tools and the miniatures and embarking on yet another adventure. They are go- ... ing to "rediscover" their roots and ' move back to ' their home town, Monroe, in rural Utah. ; ;. ' "We had a great yearning to go , home, To return to the simplicity of our childhood," said Mr. Hansen. But, the simplicity of his childhood included hard work and Mr . Hansen has already refurbished his grand-. father's old log home to serve as his , new workshop. , - True to his goal of serving as an example, Mr. Hansen summed up his plans for the future. "Life has . given us so many rewards. I think i u's important that we just keep moving right along." 1 4 ..I- " J-.'.'1 - I - -' - .'I! - , iV "... -If- ' r ' - ... ... ;" s . i ' ' : 1 : '! ' i I . ' - ' ' , " i'-vv . - ; v , - - . . ' , ni A ' r ' t ' , i ' . - ,i v , i J - - f. ; jy f . ; ' f ' t ' . I , ' 1 ". ; . '! I - 1 r !-. l I"- ... ' '1S:;V V; ;" -f I' - " S I : I , I A ........ i j .;. . - . i ; V klhcs ere just a few cf the .: . t-.usuzl tools used, to create , ; his dec'ns like this spinning -; ci::;.,.,,;r7::...T. ...... Miny cf the creations ccir.a front wl.-t Mr. Hansen cr": :' 2 "s!icn t ji cf f-im'; : V t- : " ! period, the late 17C3's. Every detail is aulhcntic, frc.i tcre end grcove dravcrs ta C: I. ... 3 hard.vsre. . ' " |