One of the last events of the 101st West End Fair was a wood carving auction featuring 40 pieces that Benjamin Rannels, of Rannels Rustics, cut and spray painted during the seven-day event.

The items for the auction were lined up in front of the main stage Saturday, including a bench that took him about two hours to carve, deer head with antlers, a pumpkin with the word “welcome” carved in the stump, a cardinal and fish.

“The auction went well, and we raised close to $14,000,” he said.

He donates three-quarters of it to the West End Fair Association and he keeps the remaining 25 percent.

“I’m usually carving and working from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. I like detail. I don’t finish a carving project until it is painted,” he said.

He and his wife, Melinda, have spent the week living in their camper and working at the fair. The camper is parked next to his demonstration area, near the fair museum. They are from Glasgow, which is just west of Pittsburgh on the Ohio state line.

“I took a lot of orders this week and will make them once the fair is over,” he said. “This was one of our best fairs.”

He mostly uses white pine, and sometimes walnut. There is netting around his carving pit for safety.

Each day of the fair, he did 10 to 15 demonstrations for people who stopped to watch him carve. It takes about 2 hours to carve the larger pieces, like the benches, end tables and large deer head with antlers.

“I have competed against some of the fastest carvers in the world,” he said. “I do 95 percent of it with a chain saw and the other five percent with grinder tools.”

It started out as a hobby, but after about 6 weeks, it turned into a profession for the past 15 years.

He has done carvings for the Pittsburgh Penguins, country singer Lee Brice and reality television’s Swamp People.

“I have carved in every state out West. In the winter, we go down south, and I carve at the Florida Strawberry Festival,” he said.

The Rannels said they enjoyed the week in Gilbert and have been invited back next year.

“We absolutely will be back,” Melinda Rannels said.