As a fourth-generation woodworker, Stephen King, owner of SAP Hardwood in Chapin, South Carolina, was destined to develop a love for the craft. Aside from running his business, King has started a new hobby making cutting boards using wood waste from his installations.
“It all started when I was installing hardwood floors in multimillion dollar homes in Charleston, South Carolina,” says King. “There would be a ton of really high-end wood leftover, and the homeowner wanted nothing to do with it, so I’d go back in and pull the wood out of the dumpster and turn it into a cutting board.”
Now, when King finishes an install, he uses the leftover wood to make his client a cutting board as a thank you for their business. “I’m trying to take my company in more of a green, sustainable direction, using safer finishes and properly harvested wood,” says King. “Part of this is not letting valuable material go to waste. With the cutting boards, it works in favor of my business and my client because I’m able to use what would have otherwise been thrown away and my customer receives a custom cutting board that matches their newly installed hardwood floors.”
While the current demands of his flooring business don’t allow for much downtime, King would eventually like to be able to turn this hobby into a new business endeavor and sell his custom cutting boards in a shop.
Another hobby of King’s is creating custom wood prints from salvaged trees. You can check these out on his Etsy shop, Sapwoodworks.