phil4woodart

No two of these pulls are identical.  Each is individually formed, usually from exotics, such as Bubinga, Cocobolo, or my favorite for these, African Wenge, a very dense, tight grained hardwood with a fine texture and rich black colour.  Basic shapes have evolved and developed, which I find appealing to the eye and pleasant to the touch, but they all take on their unique characteristics as I carve, shape and file each one to it’s final form.

They are mated to the doors or drawers with a dovetailed mortise.

I try to leave them a little proud to add visual interest and create shadow.

They are remarkably friendly to the fingers......

So called because they look like an eighth note (which will not mean much if you are not a musician!).

The latches are shaped with an elongated, eccentric groove, which serves to catch a corresponding stainless pin in the door to pull it closed.

Because of the stress put on them to keep the door tightly shut, no matter how I attempted to orient the grain while making them, they had difficulty withstanding the pressure and often failed.

The answer was to make them out of plywood, so they were strong in all directions. Not home improvement store plywood, of course; I re-saw a block of the wood to be used into 7 to 9 plies and glue it back together with every second piece turned by 90 degrees, assuring their virtual indestructability for this application.  A little extra step that assures a strong and beautiful method of latching my cases secure.

Again, no two are exactly alike.

Phil 4 Wood Art Humidors come supplied with either a custom cradle or a locking hanger.

The locking hangers are modified to fit the cabinet and will keep the instrument secured at the neck, until the guitar is raised enough to release the lock.

My cradles are a two part system that gently caress the guitar’s bottom while supporting the neck around the 3rd to 5th fret. Because the instrument is being cradled in an almost upright position, there is very little stress on the neck or any other part of the guitar.

The bottom support consists of two arms, connected to a base through a three way compound miter. This allows them to be splayed out in such a way as to just receive the beginning of the curved bottom bout, at the perfect angle, into their recess.  The arms are covered in soft suede to gently caress and hug the guitar.

The upper part consists of two arms that are curved outwardly to gradually receive the neck and gently guide it into position.  The neck will then rest against an eccentric yoke that pivots in or out, allowing the perfect angle and protecting the headstock. The arms are covered in suede and the yoke is also bolstered with an extra layer to make sure the landing is always gentle.  

The width of the upper section is adjustable for differing widths of necks, but will be set up customized for the guitar it is meant to protect.

These stands are aptly named as they gently cradle your instrument. They are carved and individually fashioned from gorgeous woods and greatly beautify the cases.