Goodrich-If a block of wood could speak, it would tell Ted Nicklas a story of its curly grains, wavy lines and unique colors.
Those characteristics define the stellar gunstocks Nicklas has created over a lifetime.
For more than a half a century, Nicklas, a Hadley Township native, has transformed a small forest of hardwood blank stock to custom-made creations to fit a variety of gun actions including, shotguns, rifles and pistols.
Nicklas refinished his first stock, a gun owned by his grandfather, in the1940s as a student at Lapeer High School. Then, in 1955, he showed one of his gunstocks to Davison-based Williams Gun Sight. His work was a hit, so for the next 23 years, Nicklas crafted stocks to order until 1978, when he began working independently.
Nicklas could carve about one stock per week’spending upwards of 60 hours on one creation that sometimes cost more than $3,000. Many depended on how detailed the customer wanted the stock to be and the type of wood utilized in the job.
‘The tree needs to have a tough life’the ground just can’t be too fertile’that makes the best stock,? said Nicklas, 86. ‘There’s not much American wood that makes good stock material’trees from Turkey that have grown up in the mountains are the best, along with European Walnut and stock from Russia.?
Over the years, Nicklas has carved stocks for some rather unique individuals, including automaker Henry Ford, Jr., firearm manufacturer Warren Center and even a U.S. president.
In about 1959, Nicklas received a Winchester shotgun with a cracked stock owned by then U.S. Senator John Kennedy.
‘I remember the shotgun came to me’it was split from the receiver on back. I repaired the gun and sent it back to him,? laughed Nicklas. ‘He probably never knew who fit it.?
Nicklas retired in 1999 after a serious bout with carpal tunnel syndrome.
Today, in the garage of his township home, an array of blank stocks with outlines of gunstocks etched in pencil await transformation.
‘I miss the finished product,? quipped Nicklas.
Ted and Betty Nicklas have been married for 52 years with two daughters, Julie and Jenny.