SEARSMONT—Woodworker and boatbuilder Joel Cox likes to roam his 14-acre property for the perfect fallen tree. As an artist who crafts chunks of deadwood into sturdy tables with an industrial touch, he knows what to scout for. One tree however, aimed to get the better of him in 2009.

“I told my wife I was going to prune up a few trees and I saw this big pine that had a bad spot in it,” he said. “I thought it would make some nice tables, so I went to chop it down. When I cut it down, it got caught in an oak tree and when I cut the hinge some more it slipped off of the stump. It threw me back about 15-20 feet right up against another tree.”

The tree was easily several tons. Pinned, he tried to reach for his phone in his back pocket but couldn’t see the numbers to punch in 911.

“I’ve seen the movie on this,” he said, wryly. “I know how this works. You call 911. But I couldn’t even see the phone to dial. So, I put the phone back in my pocket, and by this time my face was bleeding pretty good. I just gave a big yank and dislocated my shoulder and pulled myself out.”

Ten stitches to his face later and with a mending shoulder, Cox decided that big old tree needed to be put to better use.

The table he made out of it which should probably be named “Nearly Killed Me” sits on the second floor of Beyond The Sea bookstore in Lincolnville, where most of his pieces are on display.

The roundish chunk of varnished pine with a split is anchored by a boat stay and a shaft strut, which functions as its legs.

As a boatbuilder and steel fabricator for the last 25 years, he creates custom end tables and harvest tables with an interesting hybrid of marine hardware, finding odd bits of pipe or boat rigging and re-imagining it as an extension of his tables.

Smack in the center of a harvest table which sits on the second floor of Beyond The Sea has built-in davit, which is a device on the side of a boat which pulls up a dinghy. And in the corner sits a floating wooden bar with a foot rail called a “Billy Bar” named after his late friend Billy (who apparently really wanted it). Even though he can churn out the same kind of end table over and over, the Billy Bar is one of a kind.

“I think you can also pick one up at Walmart,” he joked. 

Cox doesn’t “do” the Internet and you won’t find his woodcarving business River Root online. To see his unique tables visit Beyond The Sea bookstore or feel free to call Cox at 207-975-7722.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com