Meet Garie Chavez — artist, musician, woodworker, craftsman…and TimberKing sawyer! Garie creates one-of-a-kind live edge guitar hangers for some of your favorite rockstars (coughJoanJetcough) using his TimberKing 1220 sawmill and his own proprietary processes. But that’s not all! Garie also creates tables, knife holders, charcuterie boards, and more with his signature “electrocuted wood” look. Yes, we said electrocuted. Read on for more!
Meet Garie Chaves — hardworking artist, musician, woodworker, craftsman, TimberKing sawyer…..and ARTIST TO THE ROCKSTARS!
“I started building things as a teenager. At 19, I had an apartment but no furniture. So I built a dining table and chairs and realized I had a passion for artistry-in-wood. Fast forward to today and I have built a business making original and functional art pieces out of local desert hardwoods.”
One-of-a-kind functional art
The ‘creative spark’ that drives me is to make things that are unique, original, utilitarian, and creative — truly one-of-a-kind functional art. The kind of woodworking I do requires pro equipment plus engineering skills.
Guitar Hangers for the ROCKSTARS
To sell the products I make, they must be unique and high quality. You can’t do pro-level wood with tools from Home Depot. That’s why I have high-end equipment like my TimberKing 1220, Festool from Germany, Bosch, GEM, and more.
Joan Jett, of Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, shows her Guitar Hanger made by Garie Chavez. She’ll wall-mount it and hang her favorite guitar from the hanger’s pegs
Garie ELECTROCUTES wood
For example, I ELECTROCUTE wood. Using a proprietary process and equipment I built, I run 20,000 volts of electricity through wood. Like a natural lightning strike, Mother Nature etches an absolutely unique pattern into the wood. (Editor’s note to readers: watch this video BUT don’t try this at home!) I use this extraordinary, naturally-patterned wood in much of the work I do.
Garie runs 20,000 volts of electricity through wood. All that power etches random, natural, fractal deep into the surface. “Mother Nature” helps make every one of Garie’s creations one-of-a-kind
Passion drives my work and my personal connection to music. I make live-edge guitar hangers for musicians, many of whom have had a big impact on me as a musician. I custom-make these hangers for specific guitars and I’ve made many for famous musicians. (I also made one for Matt, one of TimberKing’s sales guys!)
I believe in giving back to my community, so I donate part of the sales from my guitar hangers to Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock Teen Centers.
The pieces I make have stories behind them. For example, a neighbor called me when he cut one of his mesquite trees. It was 50 feet tall and 36 inches in diameter. I had the crew cut it into lengths which I recovered with a trailer and winch. I sawed the logs into slabs and made my neighbor a charcuterie board of wood from his own tree.
Creative freedom with a TimberKing sawmill
This sawmill is a great tool for artists and creative people. Anything is possible with the TimberKing — I cut slabs, mantles, guitar stands, guitar hangers, tables, floating headboards, magnetic knife holders, and more. I sell on my website, at art shows, and by custom order.
Like a Ferrari
I baby my TimberKing 1220 like it’s a Ferrari. I’ve owned it for four years and start it up every day even if I don’t use it that day.
I did a lot of research before buying my TimberKing. I compared specs with other mills and the welded steel frame sold me. Some mills look flimsy — I’ve seen some and haven’t been impressed. TimberKing is rugged, made in the USA, and the price is very competitive.
Well, it’s not all rock ‘n roll. Garie also manufactures a wide variety of beautiful tables, magnetic knife holders, and charcuterie boards like this one that’s made of mesquite wood and inset with sea shells
My 1220 is RUGGED!
Like my shop mascot, a Rottweiler named Maximus, my TimberKing 1220 is rugged! It’s exactly what I need. I couldn’t do what I do without it. I don’t saw dimensional lumber, I’ll never build a building. I saw slabs just for my own use, not to sell to others. The 1220 is TimberKing’s smallest sawmill but I call it the Rottweiler of the TimberKing family! Arizona heat is brutal and desert hardwoods are incredibly hard, dense, and tough. But the 1220 works great.
I get calls from tree services telling me they’re cutting trees and asking if I want the logs. I saw tough desert hardwoods into thick wood slabs and turn them into dining room tables, some as long as 10 feet.
Sawing secures material supply, slashes costs
Of course, I could buy wood slabs from others but I choose to saw my own from locally-sourced trees. That way, I can make sure I have a regular supply of material for my artwork. There are at least 80 tree species in the Phoenix area. All the trees I saw are from within 30 miles of me. The climate here is very dry so the slabs dry very quickly.
Without my sawmill, I’d have to depend on someone else for my materials. Sawing my own materials with my 1220 keeps my costs down and lets me keep my prices low for my customers. Thanks, TimberKing. Keep building great sawmills!
— Garie Chavez, GC Creative Works , TimberKing Owner, North Peoria AZ
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ROCKSTARS who own Garie’s one-of-a-kind guitar hanger artwork:
- Michael Anthony – Van Halen
- Sammy Hagar – Montrose, Van Halen, Chickenfoot
- Joan Jett – Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
- Lita Ford – The Runaways
- Neal Schon – Journey
- Kenny Wayne Shepherd – The Rides
- Ed Roland – Collective Soul
- Jane Wiedlin – The Go-Go’s
- John Avila – Oingo Boingo
- Chuck Hall – Chuck Hall & The Brickwall
- Stevie Salas – Hardware
- Cesar Guiekian – President & CEO, Gibson Guitar