ASHLAND — Using a chainsaw like a fine chisel, Joe Salyers looks at his art as just another part of living a normal life.

He specializes in the creation of what he calls “Kentucky Hardwood Christmas Trees,” in addition to log cabin style churches with crosses atop their steeples. If you see him in action, he makes it clear he doesn’t make much fuss over the fact he has only one hand.

“In 1968 I was working at Armco. I got my hand crushed and they had to amputate,” Salyers explained as his chainsaw engine cooled. “I was working on the coating line, and I tried to help and put my body somewhere it should have never been. My left hand got caught in a pinch roller. Today, they could have probably saved it, but at that time they had to amputate it. I’m thankful that they did. I never had a day of pain or any additional surgery. That was 25 years ago.”

Salyers continued working until retirement age, then put in another 10 years with a construction company.

“I was determined to go out and lead a normal life,” he said, recalling his mental and physical challenges after the accident. “I didn’t blame the company. They’ve been good to me through the years. I kept working and raised a family and retired a second time from the safety department of a construction company. I’ve had a good life.”

Salyers built the home he lives in as well as the barn where he does most of his chainsaw carving. He said the practice of making things from hunks of trees began about a dozen years back when he and his wife went to the International Plowing Festival in Canada, where they watched a man make a wooden tree similar to those he now makes. The man’s price for the finished product seemed a bit expensive, however, and Salyers told his wife, “I’ll make you one.”

“She said, ‘When pigs fly.’ I came home and made her one,” he said with a giggle.

Salyers kept making the trees as family and friends requested them, refining the style and changing his approach each time.

“I had never made any small ones. My wife suggested I try to make them fit on coffee tables so I can sell them when I retired. So, I got a small chain saw and I’ve worn out seven or eight of them since then,” he said with a smile. “It started as a hobby and turned into a good little business. I stay busy year round with it. I can’t hardly find time to deer or turkey hunt now.”

He first started using chainsaws in the usual manner, clearing trees and brush from a 120-acre farm he purchased. His job required extended shifts far from home, with rarely a day off. He found strength in the physical labor the farm required.

“When I came home from one of those jobs it was stress relief and physical activity. You just forget about the other stuff,” he said. “It’s good occupational therapy is what it is.”

These days, Salyers says trees and churches are “just about the only things I make,” although you can find a barn and a few other structures he carved along the way.

Born and raised around Cannonsburg, Salyers, 65, said he and wife Mary Lou enjoy time with their five children and nine grandchildren. He also tries to talk to people who, like himself, have to deal with unexpected physical challenges.

“I go and I talk to people who lose a limb in an accident,” he said. “The first thing I tell them is to have a belief and a trust in God. God will provide if you try to stay in his will.

“Number two, I tell them, ‘Don’t focus on what you can’t do. Everybody has limitations. Never ever focus on what you can’t do. Focus on what you can do.’ I built my house and this barn, and I learned to build, do plumbing and electrical.”

While carving is a hobby with cash rewards, Salyers said he most appreciates his present opportunity to work for the church.

“I can now use this for the upbuilding of His community and that is truly a blessing,” Salyers said.

For his carvings, Salyers uses every part of his chainsaw’s moving blade to add detail to his work. Finished churches get a touch of flame to add to the “weathered look” customers appreciate. Salyers said he enjoys using available woods, most often carving from chunks of red oak, cedar, sassafras, willow, hickory and walnut.

“Walnut is real pretty, but I’ll use just about anything. I don’t use much fruit woods like apple or cherry,” he said, explaining the softer fruit trees don’t tend to work as well for his carving style.

Depending on size, Salyers’ trees sell for between $16 and $90, while his churches are typically priced at $65 to $75. With knee surgery in his immediate future, Salyers said he isn’t sure he will be able to fill the orders he has already taken for this Christmas.

Anyone who really wants one, however, can find them in stores, at state park gifts shops (where he often does carving demonstrations), the Bob Evans center at Rio Grande, Country Garden Florist along Rt. 60 and The Chicken Coop in Grayson, among other places.

TIM PRESTON can be reached at tpreston@dailyindependent.com or at (606) 326-2651.