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Bruce Benton, an East Bloomfield carpenter and woodworker, sits on the bench he built for the Canandaigua Early Childhood Center. On the wall behind him is the donor tree he designed and built.

Article: A woodworker finds that teaching his craft is equally rewarding.

Will Benton has a different experience at day care than most kids.

Like every other kid who goes to the Canandaigua Early Childhood Center, when he walks in each morning, the 4-year-old East Bloomfield boy gets signed in at a long desk. He sits on the child-sized bench beneath an intricate, wall-mounted wooden tree to take off his boots. then he is off to day care.

Will, though, has a connection with the shelf, bench, and tree the other kids do not. His father, Bruce Benton, made them.

Making them required more than hammering a couple of two-by-fours together.

As the Wilcox Lane day care prepared to move to its new facility last summer, "we wanted something to keep some home atmosphere," said Debbie Browning, a program director there.

"We knew what we wanted; then we looked for someone to do it," she added.

They gave the commission to Benton, a 36-year-old carpenter and woodworker with a penchant for durable, simple design.

Benton went to work, creating benches and the sign-in shelf which would combine form and function.

Made of oak, with in-laid black walnut, the benches are both lovely and practical, Browning said visitors note frequently. The day care center keeps Benton's business cards at the desk for people who ask about his work.

That's something Benton anticipated.

"I thought this was work that that was going to be widely seen," he said in his woodworking shed behind his house recently. "I wanted it to highlight the best of my work."

To do that, he said, he decided to put in more labor than the day care center could pay for. He donated $3,000 of labor.

First came the desk, where children are signed in and out and the day care center exhibits a photo album on the construction of its new building.

Then there are the two long benches - one parent size, the other child size.

Set to take the tough abuse of rambunctious tykes, the benches and the desk were built tough, with simple designs.

The donor tree was entirely different, Benton said. It was made to be "pure artistry," Benton said.

The dark walnut "leaves" of this "tree," which is on the wall in the day care entrance just above the benches, hold brass plaques for large donors.

"It was something I pondered over for many, many months," Benton said. That pondering did not help much, so instead of planning it out in advance, Benton said he laid the wood on the floor, and began drawing freehand.

The "leaves" were traces of leaves he found on his property.

"It took shape on its own," he said.

So has Benton's life. Wood-working and carpentry were always his love, but he did not think of them as a possible career until about 10 years ago.

Originally an oceanography major, he switched to industrial arts. In 1992 he began woodworking as a business - in northern California.

A Philadelphia native, Benton went to Humboldt State University in northern California and stayed there for more than 15 years.

The woodworking business was temporarily put on hold when the Benton clan - which includes wife, Nancy, along with son, Will - moved to Canandaigua. Nancy Benton is a native of Canandaigua.

Benton worked construction for a while. Now he runs his woodworking business out of the 1,800 square-foot shop behind his home.He is also an instructor's assistant at the Flint BOCES carpentry program.

Woodworking is one love, but Benton said he has discovered that teaching it is another.

"It is really satisfying to see one of the kids go from not knowing anything about a piece of equipment, to beginning to get a mastery of it," he said.

Now Benton said he is beginning the courses to become a certified teacher. It is not only the joy of working with kids driving this move, though, he noted.

"It is possible to make a living as a woodworker, but it takes a while to get established," he said. "I'm looking forward to teaching as a stable funding source."

Clients like the child care center and Dr. Larry Jacobs of Pittsford do not want to lose Benton as a wood craftsman.

Jacobs commissioned a tile topped coffee table a few weeks ago. Last summer Jacobs saw Benton's work at the Canandaigua Street Fair.

"We've always liked clean, simple architecture, art - and woodworking," Jacobs said. "We liked that aspect of Bruce's work."

The Jacobs bought the tile for their table, then worked with Benton to design it.

"We really appreciated his willingness to listen to what the client has to say," he added.

Both the Jacobs and the day care center note that in the end it is Benton's skill with the wood that make his final product practical - and artistic.

And if genes matter, for young Will Benton, his father's trade may someday become his own. Bruce Benton said both his grandfathers were avid, amateur woodworkers.