Blodgett man is building a hobby

BLODGETT - Tom Romas loves woodworking. He has used his talents to construct all sorts of things, from swings and picnic tables to gazebos.

"It's relaxing and not that hard," he said. "It's something I really like doing."

But Romas isn't the only one who enjoys his woodworking hobby. His family members, whom he builds these treasures for, enjoy it just as much, if not more, than he does.

"Grandma's kept me pretty busy," he said of his mother-in-law, Dottie Bruce, also of Blodgett. "She gets these ideas - whenever she wants something for her birthday or something, she comes to me."

Not that he minds, though. He has made a gazebo for her, and more recently, a plantation-style table that seats twelve, for his in-laws to put in the recent addition to their home.

"I needed a room big enough to accommodate our growing family when we are together for holiday meals," Mrs. Bruce said. "A table like that is very hard to find, but it will last from now on."

That's good, since Romas said he made it to last.

To his mother-in-law, the beauty and sentiment of his work is priceless. "There's no dollar amount you can put on something like that," she said. "It's made of labor and love."

Romas' passion for woodworking began when he attended Oran High School, where he took a woodworking class each of his four years. While he credits his instructor for teaching him the skills needed to further develop his talent, it was his principal who really encouraged his hobby.

"He gave me my first job - to make a swing for his wife as a Christmas present," Romas recalled.

The habit stuck, and he has been doing woodwork off and on for the past 25 years.

Although Romas only makes things as gifts for his family now, he would eventually like to start building for others again, and spend all his spare time in the shop. In the future, he wants to make more difficult pieces as well, such as curio cabinets, china cabinets and gun cases.

He just doesn't have the right tools and materials now.

A few years ago, Romas was working on completing his shop and acquiring the tools he would need to start making these other pieces. Then, he and his wife, Laurie, found out she was expecting and his plans were put on hold. "He's priority right now," Romas said of 17-month-old Nicholas. "I spend all my time with him of an evening and its not safe for him to be in the shop right now."

But when he starts working in the shop again, it may also help him grow closer to his son. His three other sons, Michael, Chris, and Cody all helped him in the shop, and he is sure Nicholas will spend time there with him as well.

Of course, Romas has met some challenges with woodworking over the years. He doesn't use blueprints - he simply looks at pictures, then forms a picture in his head. "Everything now is eyeballing and guessing," he said, adding that when he starts woodworking more often, he will start purchasing blueprints. Making the plantation table for his mother-in-law, the hardest part was the legs, which he had to start over on a couple of times.

"I had to shape the wood to make them fit right," he said.

And he made the gazebo the hard way, only using a skill saw and drill. Having to measure and mark every angle on his own, it was quite difficult to make all the cuts, he said.

But no matter what, Romas said he will always enjoy woodworking. "It's kind of like fishing," he said. "Even if I don't catch something, I still love to fish."