Chainsaw woodcarving pioneer returns to Randolph Fair

Ben Risney made his first chainsaw sculpture at 21, when he felled a tree in the family cow pasture and carved a bear head with the wood.

That was in the 1990s. Since then, he’s made about 70,000 sculptures, won the world championship chainsaw carving competition more times than he can count and has been featured on television shows. He has a busy schedule, but he still finds the time to cultivate vegetables with a team of horses at his farm in Spring City, Pennsylvania.

And, he finds the time to attend the Randolph Fair.

Randolph Fair Honorary Board Member Sharon Eldreth found Risney nearly 20 years ago and gave him a spot at the fair. This year, he gave demonstrations and carved about 20 different sculptures, which were auctioned to the highest bidder on the Saturday of the fair.

Back when Risney started sculpting with a chainsaw, woodcarvers were still largely using traditional tools to make wood sculptures, which Risney said is a much slower process.

“It’s immediate. That’s what’s so nice about it. I think with chainsaws, it’s one of those deals where as fast as you’re thinking, you’re making the cut; although it’s unforgiving – you can’t make too many overcuts, and you can’t lop off things you’re going to need later. It’s unforgiving in that respect,” Risney said. “It’s super fast when you add a motor to it. You’re really attacking the wood in a way that’s much, much quicker than if you were to do it all by hand work, chisels and mallets, and stuff like that. It totally speeds up the process exponentially.”

Chainsaw carving was a predominantly new art form when Risney picked it up, and he soon realized that he would need to modify his chainsaws, because smaller, custom chainsaws weren’t commercially available. He uses about 12 different chainsaws that range from small to large and have different chains, bar sizes, lengths and shapes that are capable of doing the detailed carving that is required of the job.

“Mastering the tool was, in itself, an art, let alone just the art itself. You have to master the tool, and it’s kind of an awkward tool,” Risney said. “I’m making basically curved cuts, back cuts and under cuts, you know, and all different sorts of somewhat dangerous cuts, to be honest with you. You’re sticking the nose into that wood and it can walk right out and get you if you’re not careful. It’s fairly dangerous to do it. That’s why with kids that come up and say ‘I want to try it,’ I say, ‘You better ask your dad.’ There’s a lot of things that can go wrong.” 

Risney makes the sculptures with speed and accuracy, with some taking as little as 30 minutes to finish. 

Every sculpture that Risney made at the fair this year was auctioned off, with the highest bid of $3,800. That was for his largest sculpture of a bear holding a fish. And one of his deer sculptures garnered much interest from spectators.

“I go to different logging shows and I have never seen anybody even come close to him,” said Randolph Fair Board Member Charles Breiding. “This year, that one with the little deer inside the log, that was probably the best one I ever saw him do.” 

Ravenna resident Bob Hanna and his wife, Alice, won a pig sculpture. The couple attended the Randolph Fair on their first date, at which time they bought one of Risney’s sculptures. Since then, they’ve bought one at the auction every year and are currently up to 15.

The sculptures were auctioned off with no finish, because Risney said they require different finishes depending on whether buyers want to keep them inside or outside.

Hanna generally keeps his inside and uses a thin mixture that will soak deep into the wood.

“We try to get them into the shade,” Hanna said. “When they’re out there in the sun like that, it’s the worst thing in the world. We get them in a shady spot, like in the garage, or somewhere, and we take 50% denatured alcohol and linseed oil and mix it, and just keep coating and coating them until they won’t take anymore. They seem to stand up pretty good after that.”

He said he’ll buy one of Risney’s sculptures every year until Risney retires, which may not be too many years away.

Risney said he might retire from the fair circuit in about five years, but he won’t stop making sculptures. After 31 years of selling at state and county fairs and festivals, he’s ready to spend more time with his girlfriend, Jennifer, and his team of plow horses. 

“We have a farm stand that we sell out of in the fall, so when we get home, we sell pumpkins and corn and you name it. We just have the team (of horses) right now, two black percherons,” Risney said. “We try to get out of the mechanicalization of it, try to get closer to the soil, into the land, less automotive, so we’re kind of no chemicals, none of that stuff. We have greenhouses, so we try to do 70% of our own food intake, so we’re not relying on an artificial grid. I don’t know what’s in all those chemicals; I can’t pronounce half of them.”

Risney has left an unbelievable amount of carvings in his wake over the past 31 years, but it’s the relationships he’s made along the way that stand out as the high points of his career.

“I’ve met so many different people over the years and generated a following. I’m so humbled and honored that other people like my vision. That’s got to be the most fascinating thing for me, and they say the same,” Risney said. “It’s a little bit of a bonding experience. People have a little piece of your heart and soul and they hold on to it, and it’s tangible, and they can look at it. It’s just kind of neat that you’re leaving something behind.”