Basing for Dummies, An Easy Alternative to the Stone Problem – Sept/Oct 2000

One of the problems I have faced as a “mostly hand tool, hobby sculptor” is dealing with bases. I took Joanne Duby’s workshops at the Camp Brotherhood Symposium, learned her techniques, and then wasn’t able to implement them myself when I got home. It was frustrating. I simply don’t have the drills, diamond blades, power tools and stone available to me that she uses. Nor was I ready to invest in them for the sake of bases, when hand tooling beautiful things in softer stones was my passion. So I had to invent another way and I utilized the help and tools of my woodworking husband, Peter.

I use MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard) cut to the dimensions that I want for the base of a piece. You can get it at any lumber store in 4′ x 8′ sheets, like plywood. It comes in various thicknesses, mostly I use the 3/4 “. It cuts like butter so it can be cut with a hand saw or a table saw. When I finish a sculpture, I decide the size and height of the the base I want. I cut enough pieces of the MDF to the same dimensions to get the height I want for my base by stacking the pieces. Then I pile them up and drill a very small hole through the top pieces into the bottom piece. Just big enough for a skinny nail.

We then glue the pieces together with wood glue and stick a nail down through the drill hole to keep them in place and we squeeze the pieces together very tightly with clamps. Be sure to put little flat pieces of wood under the clamp feet or you may make impressions in the MDF. This dries overnight. The next day I pull the nail out, take the clamps off and either use a wood chisel to scrape off the glue that has oozed out from between the pieces or run them through the table saw again to get nice smooth edges.

Then I sand the sides to make sure the glue made a solid bond and to smooth out any discrepancies in the wood surfaces. You don’t want holes in the side of the piece where there is no glue! This MDF is very soft so you have to be careful not to round your top and corner edges in the sanding process.

Putting your sandpaper around a block of wood is the best bet.

Now you have a wood base that is the dimensions you want and YOU CAN LIFT IT by yourself. After sanding I put the base on blocks and paint it. My best results have come from, don’t laugh, Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch Multi Purpose Paint in SemiGloss Black. It gives the piece a nice sheen without a real shine but is not flat. I put several coats on the wood, lightly sanding between coats. I paint the edges of the bottom side, then glue black felt to cover the entire bottom just up to the edges. If you use one of the cheapo foam brushes, you do not leave any bristle marks.

These bases can be drilled to stabilize a sculpture on a pin, or can just sit there and hold the piece. I have sold sculptures on these bases that were up to $1000 each, and no one seemed to have any complaints about them. I know it isn’t stone, but somehow I find the juxtaposition of the wood with the stone to be complimentary and it solved a big problem for me.