Furniture-Maker Creates Face Shields For Nurses, Doctors

NEW LENOX, IL — New Lenox resident Ron Dyrcz usually spends his time running his wood and metal furniture business, but he recently turned his resources to making face shields for healthcare workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

Normally, in his business, Rounders, Dyrcz uses wood from the tree of the person who placed the order and returns it as a finished product.

"It's the combination of welding, wood work, and logging as I mill my own lumber with my chainsaw and a sawmill outside my shop," Dyrcz said.

Now, Dyrcz has shipped out 30 face shields he made using his 3D printer and with the help of Makers Workshop in Maynard, Massachusetts.

"It's a slow process with one printer, but teaming up with my friends in Massachusetts will help speed that up some, along with a few other makers here in our Illinois maker group that have fired up their printers," Dyrcz said.

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The 3D printer takes about two hours to make one shield, Dyrcz said. Dyrcz keeps his printer running non-stop, and the Makers Workshop in Massachusetts cuts the clear part for the face shield.

He said it was not hard to make the switch to making face shields.

"I am ready to make almost anything plastic, metal, wood, big, small," Dyrcz said. "You dream it, I can make it happen."

If you would like to help pay for supplies or shipping, you can visit the Rounders website. You can also contact Dyrcz via his website if you are in need of personal protective equipment. He is shipping the face shields to any frontline workers who ask for free of charge.

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