A Conversation with Tom Baker

Every now and then I run across woodworking that is very creative and should be shared. Today, I am starting a series at woodfever.net where I highlight the work of woodworkers who are doing work I wish I were doing. These conversations will likely be sporadic in frequency, but something that I will definately continue doing as time permits. Enjoy.

I am currently working on the renovation of my front porch. This project includes replacing the newel post, which is commonly ornate in some way. I wondered if I could do something with my table saw to add some decoration to it.

About that time, I ran across a dining table on Lumberjocks.com; it had an unusual pedestal design. I instantly took interest in this table and wondered if I could create some relief cuts in my newel post like the builder did with his pedestals.

After closer inspection, I found the table had several creative design ideas and I really wanted to find out more about it. I asked the builder, Tom Baker, if I could do an informal interview and after several email exchanges, our conversation is shown below...

Tell us a little about your woodworking in general. Do you work on commissions, or are your projects mostly for around the house?

No commissions, woodworking has remained a hobby for me. Actually, I prefer this, no schedules or deadlines, just work at my leisure, with the only concern being what I think of the finished product, and I think I’m harder on myself than a paying customer would be. I have plenty of customers though, all are family members, and grandchildren get preferential treatment.

How long have you been at it, and do you lean more towards power tools or hand tools?

I started woodworking in 2003, for two reasons; a stress relief from work, and a need for a specialized cabinet in our game room, one that we could not find anywhere in the marketplace.

I prefer hand tools, but will use power if I have the power tool, and really feel like using it in lieu of a hand tool option. This happens when I’m in the mood for the easy way out, such as using my Delta 13” planer instead of my hand planes. The hand tools are what prompted my interest in woodworking though, from the articles in the magazines about tools such as spokes haves, hand planes, scrapers, scratch stocks, and especially the old wooden molding planes.

All my hand tools came from flea markets and antique shops; I was always on the lookout for these as I traveled for business. The only new hand tool I’ve purchased is a 9” Record Smoothing plane, No. 4. It was the first real hand tool I bought.

What is your shop like?

My "shop" is a one car integral garage. Not much room for a lot of big power tools, but plenty of room for working wood with hand tools. The single largest project I’ve undertaken was the pedestal table I posted on Lumberjocks. There were times when I had to move my work bench, then some tools, just to manipulate the table components so I could work on them.

I don’t think I’ll be going into another shop, although I’ve thought about it. Right now, when I feel like doing woodworking, I just go to the garage and do so, regardless of the weather, or the time of day. Besides, I just retired last year, so I’m not looking for any full time commitments, like a business. I spend a lot of my time with our four grandchildren; woodworking really comes second.

Who has influenced your work and why?

All the contributors to the available magazines, but if selecting one, I would have to say Glenn Huey. I like to make furniture most of all, something my “customers” can keep for a life time, and I really like the furniture Mr. Huey makes, the early period furniture. I have all his books, and I’d like to make one of everything he’s put in them.

I’m also very interested in Shaker style furniture, some of which he’s done, as well as Kerry Pierce, who mainly does Shaker.

What kinds of projects do you like to build? For example, do you tend to create tables more than other types of furniture?

Up until now, the type of furniture I’ve made is what is or was needed by my "customers". I’ve made desks for two of my four grandchildren, a rustic dining room table for my son, a step back hutch for my wife, a game table for another son, etc.

As long as these customers continue to request something I’ve not done before, that’ll work for me. I like the challenges of something new to me, like figuring out how to do the pedestals on the LJs shown table. If the project looks like it will allow me to use most of my hand tools, the spoke shaves, the scrapers, etc., I’m all in.

A project I have been toying with is a new dining table. I was very impressed with the table you made for your son which you shared at Lumberjocks.com. The pedestal design is pretty unique and I thought very creative. How did the design come about and was it difficult to create?

The design of that table was my son’s request from pictures of furniture he was looking at. He recently moved into a new home and is in the process of furnishing it. His taste in woodwork is towards the rustic, handmade, early American type of style.

He purchased several living room pieces advertised as being made from 100 year old reclaimed pine from old factories in England. The finish on these was either minimal, or nonexistent. The surface is rough, just like it came out of the factory, except with sufficient sanding to remove any possible splinter material.

The pedestal table I made him was very similar to three examples he showed me from three separate catalogs that offered what he wanted. "Can you do that?" was how it started, and I said most probably, as I’m always up for a good woodworking challenge.

The pine I used wasn’t reclaimed, so I made it look that way. Rough cut from the sawmill, I surfaced it on four sides so as to remove any warp or cup, etc., then I resurfaced the table with a wooden coffin shaped smoothing plane that I sharpened to have a cambered blade.

I use old traditional "buttons" to secure the top to the legs, and the feet and pedestal cross members are mortised and pegged. I made one inch cherry pegs for this, for a chance to use my draw knife.

The pedestals were easier than I originally thought, but I did lean as I went. The second one was done differently than the first. If I do another, I have already determined a better approach to do it.

Since your designed was inspired by photos, how did you transform what you saw into a project plan?

Generally, if I am working from an example photograph, I use a draftsman's scale, which is simply a conversion ratio of inches to feet. But for this table, the procedure was to first determine maximum table size for the room, then set the trestle legs positions for comfortable end seating. For the leg design, I was using 6/4 pine, so I estimated by making a 4" square leg and glueing two layers of this material around it, I would have close to an 8" square. This was very close to the catalog picture dimensions when scaling the leg width against the table height, a typical 30".

Once I determined dimensions, I made a full scale leg drawing on heavy cardboard to use as a pattern, the lines of which are visible in some of the photos. I don't use sketch-up or any other CAD software, but I do sometimes make scaled drawings, really more like sketches, for assistance in construction.

The table top retains hand plane tracks which imparts a very rustic look. Had you seen that kind of treatment before? How did the look come about?

I used the coffin smoother. This was one of the many techniques I read about in woodworking magazines, with descriptions of how to camber a blade. This provides the early American country look that also shows "handmade".

Not only does the table have an old world look to it, but the joinery is very traditional. Do you use old world joinery often (mortise and tenons with pegs) or do you use some of the trendy modern techniques (pocket screws, dominos) to join wood?

I try to use only traditional joinery, mortise and tenon, pegs for strength, the wooden buttons for table tops, etc. I don’t own any pocket hole jigs, or a biscuit slot cutter, or a domino machine.

My interest in woodworking was through the magazine descriptions of the “old ways”, which I wanted to try, and I keep doing it that way. Besides, I think it provides a bit of beauty to the furniture, and reflects handmade craftsmanship. I don’t have anything against the other methods, just my preference for work.

This table is made from pine which can be hard to stain. What was your finishing process like?

I learned early that the real beauty of wood is the natural color, especially cherry. However, if I need to add color, I use an alcohol based dye. The dye doesn’t blotch, at least it hasn’t for me, and it dries very quickly.

I wipe it on with folded cheese cloth. I prefer to leave cherry wood to age naturally, but with a couple of small curly maple tables I made, I simply finished with amber shellac. This gave a warm amber color, and amplified the curl in the wood. If a piece needs additional protection, I use a wiping varnish, which also accents the wood itself, and provides a hand rubbed oil look.

What are you working on now and what is down the road for you?

Currently, I’m making my wife a chest on chest for use as a spare bedroom dresser. It’ll have four drawers on the bottom, double doors on the top, and the step back large enough to allow her to display pictures and some kind of craftwork paraphernalia on it. After that, a formal dining table has been requested by my daughter-in-law.

Where do you hang out online? Do you have a website or blog?

I watch several good woodworking blogs, like the ones associated with the Lumberjocks; Woodworking for Mere Mortals, Wood Whisperer, and the many videos by the LJs members (see Tom's Lumberjocks page here).

I especially like the Logan Cabinet Shoppe with very nice tutorials on the old ways, and the Woodwright’s Shop on the public television web site.

I don’t have a blog or web site, since retiring I’ve started to stray away from technology, except for viewing.

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My thanks to Tom for being so willing to be interviewed. A few things I found interesting from our conversation: First, I am also a fan of Glenn Huey (see Glenn's blog here). I highly recommend Glenn's book, "Fine Furniture for a Lifetime" which was recently rated a must have by Popular Woodworking magazine.

Tom and I have a shared interest in the Logan Cabinet Shoppe. I recently watched Bob Rozaieski working on a ball and claw foot making the process less intimidating for me and something I may try to do myself (visit Logan Cabinet Shop here).

Also, Tom's method for coloring pine is interesting. I once used a water based dye but did not like the color. I'll have to give dye another try this time using alcohol.

Have a question or comment? Leave yours by clicking on the "Comments - post yours here" link below. My email is jobranch@yahoo.com. Consider subscribing via email or RSS by clicking here.

Summer Reading: Box Making by Doug Stowe

Nice: a woodworking book and the beach.

Ah, summer. A time when many a woodshop gets too hot and humid to work in, and for me, time for our annual trip to the emerald waters of north west Florida. This usually means a new woodworking book to read while taking in the sun and sun tan lotion laced breezes.

This year I chose Taunton's Complete Illustrated Guide to Box Making by Doug Stowe. Why? One of these days I'd like to build projects that don't take six months (or longer) to complete. Hopefully making a box will go much faster than building a bed or creating custom crown molding. Box making will allow me to experiment with woods which are more exotic than pine or red oak, without spending a ton of money. Plus I have seen some mighty creative box designs and wood combinations.

Doug Stowe is big on boxes. He has written seven books for Taunton as well as created a DVD on box construction, and he has written a number of articles for Fine Woodworking covering various aspects of box making. The image at the right is what inspired me to consider boxes. Note the cool design features found in the boxes Doug showcased for his Fine Woodworking article titled "Designing Boxes" (issue 197, page 62, click the image to enlarge). In addition to his work with Taunton, Doug has written articles for several other noteworthy woodworking publications.

He is also a prolific blogger. A quick scan of his blog reveals almost daily blog updates, sometimes more than one in a day. The core theme of his blog is to communicate the benefits of learning a craft like woodworking.

To see some of Doug's current work, you can take a look at the boxes for sale at his Esty store - click here.

The Complete Guide
His book is laid out to be just what the title says, a "complete guide". Doug admits a truly complete guide is an allusive thing, but I think the book sure takes a good stab at it. The book has "sections" as opposed to chapters.

Section one is all about the tools needed for box making. Subjects covered include shop layout, marking tools, power and hand tools, and clamping tools among other things. I was most interested to see the hand planes included: a smoother, a couple of block planes, and #4, #5 and #7 bench planes.

Concerning hand tools, Doug writes:

"Hand tools are either a source of frustration or a source of great pleasure, depending on whose hands they are in. I relish the opportunity to work with hand tools but have had my share of frustration in learning to use them well."

Doug, I know what you mean. Section one also includes drawings of some table saw jigs which are useful in box making. In particular, I liked the keyed miter sled. I'll be adding that one to my shop.

Section two moves into a discussion about materials useful for box making. There is a ton of interesting information here. In addition to an overview of wood in general (hardwood, softwood, rift sawn lumber, figured wood, etc.), Doug details the process of turning logs into wood for boxes. He discusses re-sawing wood as well as creating a suitable face on such wood.

DIY milling: creating stock from a log.

There is enough information here for me to go out a cut down a tree in my yard and turn it into prized wood for boxes.

Box joinery is next. Doug covers various joints which work well with boxes, most all of them decorative. Until now, I saw myself making boxes using the typical finger joint, but after reading this section, I have become more fascinated by the keyed miter joint. You can make them with veneers, cut them on the table saw where the key is thicker, etc. etc. This part of the book goes into great detail showing well done photos covering various types of joinery, and there are many covered. Section three is by far the most interesting in the book.

Cool joinery - the keyed miter joint.

The next two sections cover box lids and feet and bases; pretty cool really because it is at this stage the box really comes to life. Again, the photography is first rate. Not only are various styles of lids covered, but Doug shows useful lid joinery as well as the critical process of separating a lid from a box.

Feet are next and just as with lids, there are many ways to add creative feet and/or a base to a box. Through photography, Doug shows examples of both traditional designs as well as very artistic ones. Again, nice photography; beautiful wood and a lot of inspiration here.

The remaining sections cover box interiors, hinges and hardware, decorating boxes and a section on shaped boxes. It is box interiors which have me thinking that making a box could take longer than I originally envision. With options like trays, dividers and drawers all made of small, slender pieces of wood, box making can certainly become complex.

Box interiors - fine parts to develop your skills.

If box interiors are not enough complexity for you, then how about specialized hardware? Who would have thought you could get so creative with hinges, lid supports, locks and latches. Hum, maybe I'd better give box building a little more thought (I had never heard of a "quadrant hinge" before - Google that). The creativity continues with Doug giving examples of hardware which is either shop made or shop modified. Doug writes about the vast number of hardware options saying:

"...the range of choices in hardware is staggering. The challenge of learning the various installation techniques is enough to keep both amateur and professional woodworkers on their toes."

We now come to decorating boxes which is ironic because the whole process of building a box from wood selection and joinery up to this point includes at least subtle shots of decoration. But here, the focus is inlay, veneering and carving; all of which are great learning lessons for woodworking in general. Doug devotes twelve pages to shaped boxes: bentwood, turned and bandsawn versions. I am already familiar with the bentwood box having long ago constructed a Shaker box from a kit, but it was a kit - all the parts already cut for me.

Wrapping it up
Looking back on all of this, you could easily say this book is complete. Doug covers wood selection, a wide variety of joinery options, feet, lids, hardware, etc. Each section includes tips from an accomplished box maker; tons of photography and a variety of drawings. Especially for the box beginner like me, this is very complete. The only thing missing are a few box project plans. I'd like to see a start to finish guide for some of the cool boxes shown in the book. But you can get that elsewhere. Overall Taunton's Complete Illustrated Guide to Box Making gave me great insight into box building and is a good guide for instruction; well worth the money.

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My first woodworking project

The writing table - my first woodworking project, completed in 1983.

Someone recently asked me about my first woodworking project, especially from a design perspective. After giving it some thought, I realized I have never put up a blog post about that table; something I’d like to fix.

I actually designed my first project; it wasn’t something devised from a plan. The design developed as many of my projects have over the years – by being inspired by a photo and seeing how I could incorporate what I saw into something for my home.

The photo above is of my "writing table" which was inspired by a dining table I saw in a magazine sometime in fall of 1983. Fortunately for me, I still have this table in our home (I have lost track of some of my early pieces; handed down to family and friends as upgrades were acquired). Currently this writing table serves as a desk in our guest bedroom.

In the beginning…
While a student at the University of Alabama, someone suggested I check out a class called Wood Technology. This was a fancy name for a woodworking shop class the university offered. I had been around woodworking as long as I could remember – my dad was and still is a woodworker (and now a talented wood carver – see a short blog post about him here). I thought this would be in the least an interesting class. I had no idea it would have such an influence on my life.

Taking a woodworking class was a great way, and I think the best way, to learn the basics about woodworking. I had many industrial quality tools to work with including the largest band saw I have ever seen. Two times a week, I had a seasoned woodworking professor to guide me and offer suggestions. And again, the tools – the first table saw I worked on was a cabinet shop style saw; pretty sweet really. The table took all semester to build and I got an "A" as a final grade.

Note the cross members; probably over-kill for a table this size.
The top is attached with small L brackets.

The project
For my writing table, the design was simple: four legs joined to aprons with dowels. The frame has two cross pieces to help give the table strength. The top is a glue-up reinforced with dowels and has an additional band of wood which wraps the table top on all four sides.

The lumber is mostly construction grade 2 x 4s with some 1x stock here and there. The shop had a 24 inch capacity thickness planer which I used to bring the table top down to a thickness of a full inch.

I learned three things from this project: First, I had my first lesson in wood movement and proper joinery for cross-grain design. I was mildly warned about the pieces which cap the ends to the table top. I simply glued them in place which means this little bit of trim runs across the width of the top. Over the years, the width of the table top expands and contracts as wood does. Cracks appear which isn’t ideal, but a failure has not occurred.

Second, I learned a little about staining pine. I had used some water to raise some dents which happened during construction, but either I did not allow enough dry time prior to stain, or I did not sand sufficiently and dark spots developed as stain was applied.

Thirdly, a slight warp developed in the table top while the table was being constructed – another lesson in wood movement I guess. Really, it was good that I got a taste of warped wood so early. Being in a class room, I had a teacher and other woodworkers to discuss the problem with.

A good first project - full of woodworking lessons.

Today
Even though other types of joinery have become popular over the years, for me, basic dowel joinery has proven to be a very reliable way to marry two pieces of wood to each other. Even though I look forward to the day when I can effortlessly create hand cut mortise and tenon joints, I have to say that a proper dowel joint is a perfectly acceptable alternative. This writing table proves this.

The dowel joint gets very little respect these days. Not too many people drool over the typical dowel joint, like "man that sure is a killer dowel joint you made." But I plan to use this style of joinery more in the future.

The table top needs to be re-finished. Over time, it has accumulated the patina of a few scratches and dents, but as a first project, this one has aged well.

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