Carriage House Woodshop Blog
It's been a long time on my mind to build a slit drum, and the opportunity finally came. As if making a slit drum wasn't hard enough, I chose to create a 12 note chorded slit drum. Because tuning is the most time-consuming part of this process, twelve "tongues" took a while to do. After much hand carving and chasing notes, I eventually came up with...
I have been busy in the woodshop and wanted to take some time to keep the blog updated. A friend commissioned me to create a pair of custom cup holders for a client who cares for someone who has cerebral palsy. She has a favorite cup that uses. The lid has a hole for straws to help her to drink. The problem is that the cups are not s...
After a couple of months of work, the Dragon Violin can now begin its journey of being a violin. Over time and after many hours of playing this "green" violin, a more mature and refined voice will emerge. It was once told to me that after building a wood instrument, especially a violin, the wood that was once a tree must now learn to be a musical i...
The last step before stringing the violin is the bridge. Much time went into the shaping and sizing of this bridge. The bridge determines much of the sound transfer from the strings to the soundboard, so it is essential to get it right. It also determines the string spacing and height. After carving the bridge to the perfect shape, I laid a piece o...
The colour has finished drying, and a final coat was applied. I painted the f-holes and the pegbox black. I cut the slot for the second nut (saddle nut), the fingerboard, and also the main nut. I reamed the peg holes to the proper angle and also the peg hole at the base. I am getting closer.Next, I'll be shaping the nut and filing the grooves for t...
While waiting for the violin to dry, I thought it would be a good idea to keep all the many other projects moving, including the tenor ukulele project. I quickly realized that it had been a while since I have posted any updates with this one, so here it is. I've recently added the neck, fretboard, and binding. Currently, I'm working on filling the ...
The next step in the Dragon Violin is the color. This is a time consuming, yet relaxing process of slowly rubbing layer after layer of several colors over top of the base layer (shellac). Here's the side and the back. By applying the colors with many thin layers, I was able to create a sunburst effect on the backside. Here's the front. Al...
Welcome! I'm so glad you found this small gem in the vast expanses of the internet. Welcome to my blog! I'm Ryan Johnson, a believer in Jesus the Messiah, a husband, a father, and a passionate artist who loves to make beautiful and useful items from wood. Many of the things you'll find in the woodshop are original designs and one-of-a-kind pie...
