Ryan Johnson

Ryan Johnson

Thursday, 14 January 2021 02:26

It's beginning to look like a violin!

It's beginning to look like a violin!! Finished gluing on the neck. The neck angle is absolutely critical for good tonality. The neck depth into the body and the height of the fingerboard is absolutely crucial for good tonality and balance. The tilt and the pitch of the neck are absolutely critical for the feel and playability. It's a long careful process for carving out the pocket for the neck keeping every angle and measurement perfect. Also in these pictures, I finished the scroll and started scraping and sanding the neck and body. Still more sanding to do before I begin adding the finish. More to come...

Chanukia Menorah "Tree of Life"- Original Design

This design was a long thought-out first design for a series of Chanukah menorahs I plan to be making in the Carriage House. The design was initially sketched on paper and further developed using Affinity Designer. The vector design was then brought over to the CNC, where it was carved from two pieces of 1" thick wood. One piece for the main body and the other for the base. The wood featured in the photos is sycamore. I was thrilled with how well it carved. The edges were rounded over using a router and then sanded. The candle cups were made from .38 special bullet casings. This idea came from a good friend who asked if I had made any Chanukah menorahs in the shop yet. I replied that after several years I was yet to find a good solution for candle cups. So unfortunately, no. Without missing a beat, she said, "..what about bullets"? "Brilliant,"! After finding the right size and creating a method for flaring the tops, I was overjoyed. Thank you, Pam!!! It's all forward from here on out.

Carriage House Wood Shop is a company established in 2014 with aims of providing inspiration, education while creating products that are sustainable, artistic and functional woodworking.