Madison Eastmond, Murray Pioneer
Barmera craftsman Owen Cash was able to finally lay down his hammer and paintbrush on a nine-year project of three doll houses last month.
Hoping the identical houses now become family heirlooms, Mr Cash began the venture in 2015 for each of his granddaughters, Shelley, Jessie, and Lainie, who are now 19, 17, and 12.
A joiner by trade, Mr Cash has always had a life-long love of woodwork and “making things”.
“When my kids were little, I always wanted to make them a doll’s house,” Mr Cash said.
“I finally had the time and thought ‘right, I am going to do it’ — however, it was instead going to be for the grandkids.
“I have made a lot of toys, tables and chairs, and jewellery boxes over my time, but this is the biggest project I have ever done.”
With plans he adjusted from a children’s toy design book, Mr Cash spent a few hours each day making the houses using his years of experience, machinery in his back shed, and a lot of patience.
“I began with the staircases, then the skirting boards” he said.
“I used almost 15,000 brass nails for the roof’s wood tiling, which was from a tree just down the road that I reduced down to use.
“I had to be really creative, often having to make a tool so I could continue making the doll’s house.
“The painting was the worst part because I used a water-based paint and it raised the grain of the wood.
“Just for example, there were 220 foursided balusters which I had to sand-back using a nail file.”
Though it was a long and meticulous job, Mr Cash said he never thought about giving up on the project.
“I am always tinkering,” he said.
“I would have been making something every day regardless.”
Mr Cash said he is now using his free time to finish his own home projects.
“I have the time to garden now — do all the jobs I don’t want to do, like weeding,” he said.
“My grandson (Will) wants me to get back to a (model) ship my dad was on during the war.
“But, I have heaps of my own (woodwork) to do first.”
This article appeared in the Murray Pioneer, 2 October 2024.
