AFTER retiring in 2004 Dennis Coe joined the Warwick Woodcrafters where he has been mentored by skilled craftsmen and made many new friends ever since.

Mr Coe moved to Warwick in 1988 as a valuer for the government and was forced into an early retirement due to poor health.

He was introduced to the group by a friend and said he feels lucky to have become part of such a tight-knit club.

The group generally meets every Saturday and Tuesday and do skills like woodworking and turning.

Mr Coe said men like projects and are not really talkers, but enjoy the doing and that is what the organisation is all about.

"As older men we have nothing to prove, we are just a bunch of grumpy old men," he laughed.

"But really it's a great fellowship and I am happy to say my wood working skills are increasing incrementally."

Mr Coe has always had a passion for building trellises and is very proud of the one currently in his front yard.

He said being a member of the Warwick Woodcrafters is taking his carpentry skills to a new level.

"I enjoy building decorative outdoor chairs, and last Christmas I made each of my five grandchildren a personalised stool," he said. "I'm currently working on a stool I saw in a magazine, it's a bit hard without a plan but makes it more challenging."

The group also prides itself on assisting in a variety of community projects and has been involved in supplying honour boards for the ambulance service and possum boxes for a wilderness society, to name a couple.