A LOCALLY OWNED NEWSPAPER DEDICATED TO THE SERVICE OF GOD AND MANKIND.
Jason Whitenton, left, starts ripping down pieces of wood to the correct width as Zack Caldwell watches at their shop in the Palmetto community. The two men own Back 40 Customs, which makes custom furniture and furnishings for homes and businesses.
The men specialize in custom-made resin river tables.
Charcuterie boards are small pieces Back 40 Customs can make in between large jobs.
Zack Caldwell gets ready to run a piece of black walnut through his planer at his shop in the Palmetto Community.
One client commissioned butcher-block countertops.
Here's an example of a live-edge resin river table.
Various types of wood wait to be assembled at the shop.
Jason Whitenton, left, starts ripping down pieces of wood to the correct width as Zack Caldwell watches at their shop in the Palmetto community. The two men own Back 40 Customs, which makes custom furniture and furnishings for homes and businesses.
The men specialize in custom-made resin river tables.
Charcuterie boards are small pieces Back 40 Customs can make in between large jobs.
Zack Caldwell gets ready to run a piece of black walnut through his planer at his shop in the Palmetto Community.
One client commissioned butcher-block countertops.
Here's an example of a live-edge resin river table.
Various types of wood wait to be assembled at the shop.
Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
A receipt was sent to your email.
PALMETTO – What do you get when you cross a former pastor with an ex-cop?
Zack Caldwell, who was a minister for five years, and Jason Whitenton, who worked for the Tupelo Police Department for 19 years, are the faces behind the custom woodworking business in the Palmetto community.
The two men, who have known each other for 15 years, first worked together in the summer of 2018.
"When I left the ministry, he'd left the police department and had started back in the construction business with his dad," Caldwell said. "I was working at Walmart Distribution Center on weekends, and I was bored. I needed something to do during the week."
Caldwell called his old friend Whitenton and asked if he could come work with them.
"That's when I discovered I had a knack for carpentry," Caldwell said.
By the fall, the Whitentons' construction business had slowed. Caldwell went to work at Pontotoc Spring – another weekend job – and Whitenton went to Monts Paper and Packaging.
"We went our separate ways for a while," Whitenton said.
In 2019, Caldwell started dabbling in woodworking again during the week. He started making small things – jewelry, bath caddies – and tried his hand at working with epoxy, a resin.
"I found that Facebook and Instagram were free advertising," Caldwell said. "I just needed to post things I'd made regularly. At first I was just dabbling in it, but when people wanted it, I started selling it."
By the time COVID hit in the spring of 2020, Caldwell had so much work he had to quit his job at Pontotoc Spring.
"Luckily, COVID didn't slow me down," he said "People were sitting at the house, getting stimulus money and unemployment checks, and they were looking at things that needed to be done in their homes."
By the fall of 2020, the jobs had gotten bigger, and the work load was too much for one person.
"Jason started piddling with me and the first of October, he came on as a partner," Caldwell said.
The two men work six days a week – they try to take Sundays off – creating custom dining tables, end tables, coffee tables, restaurant tables, doors, small cabinets and butcher-block and epoxy countertops for customers.
"Anything we build is custom," Caldwell said. "We work with a client on the wood type, the base, the size, the color, and then we add our creative flair."
Because everything is custom, the men don't use templates to build anything.
"We're constantly being challenged – every day – in what we do," Whitenton said. "It's all about problem-solving."
"Sometimes, we manufacture our own tools to make a job work," Caldwell said.
They try to buy as many of their materials locally as they can. All the wood they use comes from local sawmills, much of it from a man in Eupora.
"He buys it and dries it in his kiln," Whitenton said. "We bring it back here and cut it into what we need."
More than 90% of the wood the two use is hardwood. Black walnut is a customer favorite right now, followed by white oak, cherry and poplar.
"One of the things we're known for around here is live-edge wood and resin river tables," Caldwell said.
Live edge refers to the natural edge left on at least one side of a piece of wood. A resin river table is a piece of hybrid furniture made out of wood planks with epoxy resin filling in cracks and crevices, which often gives the appearance of a flowing river.
Back 40 Customs still makes some small pieces, like charcuterie boards, stovetop covers, cake stands and signage.
"You need small things in between the bigger jobs," Caldwell said. "We can usually squeeze small things in. Larger projects may take four to six weeks."
The men start a piece or a project at Caldwell's shop. That's where they do the building, woodworking, planing, milling and sanding. Then they take it a mile away to Whitenton's shop, where they put the final touches on it, such as epoxy or a wax- or oil-based finish.
"We're not the cheapest builders around," Caldwell said. "We use the best materials. We take our time. And every piece is one-of-a-kind."
"There's several things we've scrapped," Whitenton said. "If we don't like it, the customer's not going to get it."
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
The latest breaking news, plus our top stories each week.
Our top headlines each morning, seven days a week, as well as each weekday afternoon.
Get our top sports stories of the week each Sunday morning.
"The area behind my house used to be wooded – all grown up. If I wasn't in the shop working, I was out there clearing it out. If anyone came looking for me, my wife would say I was out in the Back 40. So she really came up with the name for the business."
– Zack Caldwell, co-owner of Back 40 Customs
Ginna covers food, entertainment and lifestyles for the Daily Journal.
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Our top headlines each morning, seven days a week, as well as each weekday afternoon.
The latest breaking news, plus our top stories each week.
Get our top sports stories of the week each Sunday morning.
Weekly recaps during Mississippi's annual legislative session, plus breaking alerts and weekly updates throughout the year, from our state politics team.
Our top headlines each morning, seven days a week, as well as each weekday afternoon.
The latest breaking news, plus our top stories each week.
Get our top sports stories of the week each Sunday morning.
Weekly recaps during Mississippi's annual legislative session, plus breaking alerts and weekly updates throughout the year, from our state politics team.
Friday night high school football recaps and breaking updates from our Northeast Mississippi preps sports team.
Subscribers can view our e-editions each morning with just a click.
Are you an Itawamba Times subscriber? Sign up to view our weekly e-editions each Wednesday with just a click.
Are you a Monroe Journal subscriber? Sign up to view our weekly e-editions each Wednesday with just a click.
Are you a New Albany Gazette subscriber? Sign up to view our weekly e-editions each Wednesday with just a click.
Are you a Pontotoc Progress subscriber? Sign up to view our weekly e-editions each Wednesday with just a click.
Are you a Southern Sentinel subscriber? Sign up to view our weekly e-editions each Wednesday with just a click.
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Invalid password or account does not exist
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.
Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
A receipt was sent to your email.