Tom Smith, an engineer from Green Bay, WI, joined us for lunch today.  Tom is an avid woodworker with a big workshop attached to his home.   His 17 x 35 foot shop has some pretty nice amenities: SawStop cabinet saw, Powermatic PM1800 bandsaw, Delta 15-inch planer with a Byrd cutterhead, and a bunch of other heavyweights. “Real estate is inexpensive in Green Bay, and I have some disposable income,” he said, trying to excuse his big shop and tool addiction. No need to do that with with us.

Tom told us about a great lumber rack he designed. Dissatisfied with commercial options, he used 2×6 lumber and galvanized pipe to create a wall-mounted rack that holds 300 bf of lumber, for around $100. This sounds like a Methods of Work winner. Look for it in a future issue. He also wanted to know which waterbased finishes have the best clarity, and we’ll get that answer for him in our Q&A department.

Woodworkers are down-to-earth people, and we had a great time talking about our backgrounds, favorite finishes, etc. He says he started out making Arts & Crafts style furniture for his home, but has graduated to more complicated stuff. One of his latest pieces, a Chinese-inspired table, is in the FWW gallery.

Tom is a huge fan of FineWoodworking.com, and told Matt Kenney to lighten up in his videos. “You are so serious!” he said. He said he watches every single FWW video, and loved Anatole Burkin’s recent video series where the “Glue Genie” magically appeared (editor Tom McKenna) to help with a complicated glue-up when Anatole snapped his finger.

He wanted us to mention that he is a member of the Northeast Wisconsin Woodworkers Guild.