Doug Feeney can make anything seem interesting — even a pile of rusty tools.
The Orange resident arrived at our interview with a bucketful of tool heads missing their handles. “We inherited some of these from Sally’s family,” said Feeney, who lives with his wife, Sally Kleinfeldt, on 40 acres in a home Feeney built with a little help. The DIY master said as he removed tools from the bucket, “We have an adze, a hoe, an axe, a small rake, a scoop and two shovels.” Feeney pointed excitedly to one shovel: “The closed back means it’s automatically a high-quality tool. The rare and excellent design makes it stronger than other shovels.”
Noting that “most people would think it’s a piece of junk,” Feeney observed, “it still has a good point. It hasn’t seen much use. It’s rusty, but rusty tools can still have a lot of integrity.” To address rust, Feeney recommends using a grinder or sander, although he admitted, “it’s not great for the sander. A stiff wire brush will do the job, but it’s tedious.”
Feeney conceded that, while chemicals can remove rust, he avoids them. “Probably the best approach is a bench-mounted wire wheel, but not everyone has access to one of those.” Rust removal isn’t likely to make a tool look brand-new, but Feeney said, “There’s no point in making a shovel look shiny and bright. Rust can make the surface a little uneven; there’s no real need to remove it. Just using the tool will wear away some of the rust.”
Feeney grew up around tools. “My parents were professionals and my grandparents were businesspeople, but my mother’s father was a talented woodworker,” said Feeney. “My father was a chemical engineer, but also a very capable handyman.”
Growing up with five siblings in the metropolitan New York-area of Montclair, New Jersey, Feeney was mentored by his father in fix-it realms from an early age. “All of my siblings turned out to be handy,” he said. “Our mother was extremely creative and not afraid to do anything. She stripped furniture, painted the house and sewed. My parents were definitely of a class and generation that prioritized DIY (do-it-yourself).”
Speaking of DIY: Feeney addressed the quandary of removing remnants of an old shovel handle. “It’s not easy to remove the rivet that helps hold the handle on,” he said. “It must be cut, and the simplest way to do that is with a hacksaw. A rivet is effective — and therefore hard to remove — because one end is driven into the wood and its other end is banged with a ball-peen hammer to form a second head.”
Feeney said with a sigh, “Fixing a shovel handle is doable, but it’s a nuisance. It’s better to prevent damage in the first place by not using a shovel as a pry bar. If you’re tempted to use your shovel to pry, put it down and go get a pry bar. You can bend a pry, but it won’t break.” But in the event of damage, Feeney shared a tip: “The best way to remove a broken handle remnant? Use fire. After years of using drills, pliers and chisels — all of which are frustrating and annoying — I got the idea to just burn the wood out. Make a little bonfire and put about four or five inches of the wood into the fire.” In response to the concern that this could affect the shovel’s temper, Feeney said, “Just keep an eye on it. You can put a wet rag over the shovel blade as you burn out the stub.”
It’s easy to get drawn in by Feeney’s gentle manner and calm tones; he even makes various kinds of forks sound fascinating. “Each one has a specific purpose: hay fork, manure fork, digging fork. Tines can number four, five, six or even more, and it’s good to choose the right tool for the task.”
Feeney mimics a worker trying to lift manure with a shovel: “They run into resistance, hay or other material. It’s easier to use the right fork.” Using the best tool for the job is a guiding principle for Feeney, who noted that he could “talk about tools for hours.” He offered another tip: “If you can help it, don’t use axes for hammering. It mushrooms them out.” Feeney advised caution when buying used tools: “You can find great stuff,” he said, “but watch out for used files. A little rust turns a file into junk. If I see a box of rusty files at a flea market, I walk away.”
In addition to handyman tendencies, Feeney possesses gifts in arenas of artistry and nurturing. He was the primary caretaker for his and Sally Kleinfeldt’s two children. “Sally worked full-time in IT (information technology) and, for me, parenting was really important work and the most delightful part of my life,” he said.
A lifelong musician, both instrumentally and vocally, Feeney earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, specializing in painting. He plays many instruments, including fiddle, guitar, mandolin and tenor banjo, in many genres, including traditional Québécois, Celtic, Balkan and Scandinavian.
Readers can catch Feeney in action during an event with the Fireside Orchestra that’s billed by the sponsor, Fabric of Life, as both a concert and a party this Sunday, April 19 at the Buckland Public Hall starting at 5 p.m. Feeney also plays with a neighborhood band dabbling in American roots music, R&B and rock & roll. If you catch him between sets, he’s happy to chat about fixing tools before playing the next tune that will brighten your outlook on life.
Eveline MacDougall is the author of Fiery Hope and a local musician, artist, teacher and mom. She can be reached at eveline@amandlachorus.org.