Veteran teaches others with skill in basement

With planes, saws and chisels, veterans craft support
Lowell Sun.com
By Amelia Pak-Harvey
UPDATED: 09/13/2014

Lee Curll of Lunenburg, a retired veteran who served in Kuwait and Iraq, practices with a crosscut saw as instructor Steve Branam, right, and Vietnam veteran Bill Regan of Auburn look on during a recent woodworking class in Branam's Ayer basement workshop.
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AYER -- Veteran Lee Curll stands in Steve Branam's basement, watching him shave a block of wood.

Beforehand, Branam offers a little safety lesson on the chisel -- a small tool that doesn't look nearly as intimidating as the saws, hammers and metal that fill the room.

"The key to making all of these things work is they have to be absolutely razor sharp," he said.

"Which means that the most dangerous tool in here is a chisel, because these are a big sharp hunk of metal that will go right through you. Everything else is pretty controlled."

The woodworking lesson is one of a couple sessions Branam is offering to veterans, free of charge. A software engineer by day and woodworker by night, Branam decided to offer free classes after hearing about veterans coming back from Iraq injured and unemployed.

"It's nice to hear people say 'Thank you for your service,' but I'd like to do something," he said. "I thought, well, it's a fun thing, you can make stuff, earn a skill -- maybe some people might even be able to turn it into a profession."

His basement workshop only holds four students, but it's his small contribution to the veterans who've served their country.

"I just feel it's our responsibility to take care of people who've put their lives on the line for us -- in some cases, they've paid a very heavy price," he said. "I figure this is just my microscopic way of dealing with that problem, four people at a time."

Branam made the workbenches and tool racks that decorate his basement, which is lined with piles of wood.
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