wages, he made him his partner instead. Two years later, they had two rigs and a profitable business. In 1898, they divided their assets. In 1899, Baker moved to Coalinga, California where he continued as a drilling contractor, introducing one of the first rotary rigs in the San Joaquin Valley that same year. As he drilled he began to discover ways he could improve the equipment. He invented an improved drill bit with a dovetail groove in the side with a hole extending across the groove with a shank, key, and screw. He intended to continue as a contract driller and use his improvements to make his drilling business more competitive. After encountering layers of hard rock in the Coalinga area, Baker developed an offset bit for cable tool drilling that made it easier to get casing down a freshly drilled hole. Baker and his brother Aaron formed the Coalinga Petroleum Company on January 23, 1905, capitalized with USD$75,000, initially owning six wells in Fresno County, They sold the business to Samuel Allen "Al" Guiberson, Jr. on December 20, 1920. In 1909, Baker's competitor Howard R. Hughes, Sr. patented the first roller cone drill bit, which made it possible to drill through deeper, harder rock. This was the basis for the Hughes Tool Company. Baker organized the St. Paul Consolidated Oil Company on September 24, 1910 with USD$600,000 in capital. Baker was president and W. T. Knowles was secretary. They owned five wells in Fresno County. Four years later, on January 4, 1911, Baker formed the Coalinga Lost Hills Oil Company with USD$75,000 in capital. He served as president and Robert Lee Peeler as secretary. In 1912, Baker invented a way to make cementing more efficient and effective. The Baker Cement Retainer was designed to pack off between the casing and tubing when pumping cement through tubing. He then started working on a casing shoe, a device to ensure the uninterrupted flow of oil through a well at the bottom of the casing. The next year, Baker organized the Baker Casing Shoe Company to take advantage of changes in U.S. income tax law, to hold his patents, and to collect royalties from the patents. He licensed the invention to third parties to manufacture, market, and use the casing shoe, while he continued in the contract drilling business. Over the next five years, the company received from $600 to $1,500 per