Mr Hawkins recently brought home the title of ‘Best in Show’ and first place in the complex fretwork category at the National Scroll Saw Exhibition held in Gympie for his wall plaque of Luke 2:8-14, ‘‘The birth of Christ’’.

‘‘The hardest part was the lettering because every bit had to be cut out individually, also the fineness of the work around the border,’’ he said.

‘‘I also won best in show in 2004 - it’s almost a once-in-a-lifetime thing and I’ve done it twice.’’

Fretwork is an ornamental design carved in wood - the letters and borders were carved from jacaranda timber from Gympie, with the darker design details carved from American walnut and the background in marine ply.

It took five months to make.

It was one of four pieces Mr Hawkins entered in the competition - his conventional chess set won second in the ‘open other’ category, while his more non-conventional chess set and fretwork clock did not place.

‘‘I thought the non-conventional chess set would have done better - I thought it was the best piece I did,’’ he said. ‘‘So when the plaque won best in show, it was a bit of a shock.’’

Mr Hawkins started learning fretwork in 2000 after he moved to Kiama.

‘‘I got sick of bowls and a friend introduced me to this,’’ he said.

While scroll saws are a common tool in cabinet making, he thought the small number of people using the tool as a hobby was because it required time and patience.

‘‘I do it because of the challenge - the more challenging it is, the more I love it,’’ he said.

He won a scroll saw for his efforts in the competition, which he has loaned to the Kiama Men’s Shed to inspire more men to take up the art form.