For James Keilholtz, library books and building go hand in hand.
The 67-year-old Pasadena resident frequently searches the shelves of the Rivera Beach public library for how-to books and then turns the pictures into reality.
His most recent creation, an hourglass-shaped wooden dulcimer, was featured in the library's display case last month. It is his second dulcimer and shows an advanced level of craftsmanship honed by trial and error.
Although he is not a musician, and he rarely listens to the Appalachian mountain music that made the dulcimer famous, Mr. Keilholtz said he took on the project as a challenge.
"I just wanted to see if I could do it, and see how it sounds," Mr. Keilholtz said. "They say it's very easy to play, but I never really tried."
The dulcimer is a stringed instrument, sometimes compared to a violin or a guitar because of how it is played. According to one author, it probably was created near the German settlements of Pennsylvania in what is now West Virginia.
Mr. Keilholtz's four-stringed dulcimer is made of veneer paneling and finished with a mahogany stain. It took about four months to complete.
Before he tried his hand at instruments, the retired Westinghouse mold-maker crafted a large dollhouse, a foot-long log cabin with a matching outhouse, and a porch and tool shed that he built for his house on Bridge Drive.
And before beginning most of his projects, he researched them in the library and found books that gave him step-by-step instructions for putting them together.
"He just sort of wings it," said library assistant Peter England, who has seen a couple of Mr. Keilholtz's creations.
"He gets an idea and he just does it himself. He always has another idea."
For his next project, Mr. Keilholtz will continue his interest in folk instruments by making a fiddle. He said he'll start this spring, after his garden is planted.
Mr. England said the task will be "real tricky," but he is confident of Mr. Keilholtz's ability to reach his goal.
"He'll bring it in here, I know he will. He usually does what he says he's going to do."
Once he puts the fiddle in the library display case, Mr. Keilholtz said he'll get started on a replica of a Victorian house.
Mr. Keilholtz has devoted more time to his hobby since his retirement in 1991.
But last year, his pastime became even more important, he said.
In less than a year, he survived five operations, including quadruple-bypass heart surgery and two cancer surgeries.
"It took my mind off of things because the cancer really upset me," he said.
He put the finishing touches on the dulcimer just before his last operation on Dec. 5.
These days, he also spends three to four hours a day in his basement workshop on a project close to his heart and home. He's fashioning a small hobby horse for one of his grandchildren.