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Westbrookville woodworker, 8, gains renown
Dad ensures safety comes 1st




Liam Noakes of Westbrookville displays a cabinet he made at home. He is featured on the Web site of an Iowa tool company.Times Herald-Record/MICHELE HASKELL
Stephen Sacco
By Stephen Sacco
Times Herald-Record
Posted: April 13, 2009 - 2:00 AM

WESTBROOKVILLE — On Tuesday afternoon Liam Noakes, 8, was in his father's woodworking shop, a small shed behind their house.

He pulled a pair of green safety goggles over his mop of red hair and concentrated.

His father, Michael, was standing nearby.

Liam picked up an electric drill, still a little big for his 8-year-old hands, and carefully placed the bit in a jig before beginning. This jig is used to guide Liam as he creates a pocket hole in the oak to attach other pieces from the inside.

Liam has been working with wood for only about a year but already has built a mission table, proudly displayed in the family living room, and cabinets in the family's bathroom.

Noakes works as a safety engineer, so there are some things he insists on when his son is in his shop. Liam is well trained. He points to the table saw, which he is not allowed to use, and says, "That machine can tear your arm off like a dog."

Liam's mother, Suzanne, home-schools the couple's three children. "It started with (Liam) asking me what he needed math for," said Suzanne.

To give a practical answer to this, Michael Noakes introduced Liam to woodworking. It was a match made in heaven.

"I like it," Liam said. "And I'm good at it."

The folks at the Kreg Tool Company, in Iowa, also thought that Liam was pretty good. Liam wrote a letter to the company telling them how much he liked their drill jig and Kreg sent him a new jig worth about $100, free.

The family has also posted videos of young Liam at work on the Kreg Web site.

For Liam and his father, however, woodworking isn't a tactic to gain corporate sponsorship or save money. It's a way for father and son to bond, Noakes says.

In this, he is just carrying on a family tradition.

When he was young, Noakes was sent from Chicago to Asheville, N.C., during the summers where he learned carpentry from his grandfather.

ssacco@th-record.com

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Comment by KregRep on April 20, 2009 at 10:15pm
What a fantastically inspiring story, Liam. Thank you again for sharing. I have a feeling that if we could get more kids working with wood, and fewer of them watching TV and playing video games... it wouldn't be such a bad thing! :)
Comment by Tim King on April 13, 2009 at 11:46am
Way to go Liam! I'm trying to get my 13 year old son into woodworking. He been helping me with my current project from time to time. I make sure I always use safety glasses and sometimes mechanic's gloves (they're great for preventing splinters). The Kreg Jig makes life easier when joining wood.

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