The floor is covered in sawdust. Well-used lathes and table saws dot the space as Christmas music plays from the radio in the corner. And everywhere you turn, there are gavels.

Dave Giles owns and operates The Gavel Store, an online distributor of handcrafted gavels, from his home in Provo.

Giles learned woodworking as he worked with his father at Ferry's Mill and Supply when he was 18 years old.

When the Internet bubble took off in the late '90s, Giles decided to try to make a little extra money beyond repairing dairy equipment, his full-time job, by selling some of his handcrafted items.

He began selling old-fashioned wooden yo-yos, but the product wasn't moving as well as Giles would've liked. He tried selling all sorts of different wooden handicrafts, but it wasn't until he put one of his father's gavels on the site that he found his niche.

"It's a wonderful feeling to be able to do something you really enjoy," Giles said. "However, now that I've been doing it for over three years, it feels more like work. It's not as much fun as it was."

While he doesn't enjoy the bill collecting, he still likes working with the product, Giles said. The fun he has making unique gavels for clients shows through when he showcases his gavels, and attaches puns to his favorites..

Every time he pulls out a gavel, he'll ask, "What does this look like to you?" Generally, the gavels shaped like peanuts and potatoes are easily identifiable. "I've just gone gavel nuts," Giles said, referring to the gavel he made for a client in Alabama - the peanut state.

The motorcycle engine block gavel is a little harder to identify, but that may be because the leather tassels off the handle can be distracting.

Generally Giles' clients are professionals from the U.S. who need gavels for organizations or as gifts. But sometimes, in cases like the motorcycle gavel, Giles places custom orders that are unusual -- like shipping six brass gavels to Russia.

Gluing together the preliminary model for each gavel can take hours, and assembling one is time consuming. Giles puts in 12-14 hours a day in his home office and woodshop.

All the woodwork in Giles' home - banisters, cabinets, and floors highlighted by artful sunburst designs-was done by Giles himself. Each design seems flawless, which according to Giles' brother, is typical of the woodworker..

"He's a craftsman and a perfectionist," said Eric Giles, owner of Giles Dairy Service where Dave Giles was employed before the Gavel Store became a full-time job. "Everything he touches needs to be perfect or it's not good enough. He'll never ship anything that isn't perfect."

Eric Giles emphasized this conscientious attitude extended beyond the workplace and into Dave Giles's family life.

"Dave's a good dad," he said, referring to Giles' relationship with his wife and two teenage daughters. "The family works hard together, and they play hard together."

Giles said he enjoys teasing both his 15-year-old and 18-year-old daughters.

"With the older one, I'd ask for a $50 deposit before I'd let anyone take her out," Giles said. "They get it back when they get her back on time. I tell the younger one I'm going to do it with her dates too, but she says, 'Dad, no!'"

Giles has been able to share his woodworking hobby with his daughters. The youngest took a woodshop class at Provo high and made a cabinet. She then came home and turned a couple of gavels for herself.

"My family has been really supportive," Giles said. "My wife is good with whatever I do, so long as there's enough money to put food on the table."

The online store has been successful enough to become what Giles terms his "bread and butter," though he won't get anymore specific on its bottom line than that.

The key to the success of The Gavel Store is the quality of the product. Giles will place a mass produced gavel next to any of his handcrafted ones, and the difference is striking.

The quality of the product has provided Giles with his best publicity. When "Regis and Kelly" invited actress Amy Brenneman from the television show "Judging Amy" to appear on their program, they decided to give her a gavel. Regis was so impressed by Giles' work that he ordered one for himself and raved about it on the program for several days.

"I sold a lot of gavels because of him," Giles said, recalling the story with a smile.

Brad Hoover, vice president of Mullet Hoover Jewelers who does the engraving for The Gavel Store, said the quality of Giles' gavels is what captures everyone's attention.

"He's very honest and very particular with the overall appearance of the product," Hoover said. "He wants to make sure his customers are 100 percent satisfied with the product before he ships it out."

Copyright Brigham Young University 29 Nov 2006