Michael S. Gray (Murāri-Prema Dāsa) found his love for woodworking in high school shop class. His passion for power tools was soon diminished after a severe table saw accident left one of his hands in pieces. After a twentyish year hiatus, he jumped back into woodworking with enthusiasm and has been endeavoring to teach himself the craft of fine woodworking. He began with the intention of building open-backed banjos, but as his woodworking skills progressed, so did his spiritual practice. He is now endeavoring to dovetail all of his activities with devotional service which resulted in the creation of Twelve Forests Woodworking.