I started woodturning as a hobby some years ago and enjoy it in my spare time. I have always been interested in making and modifying my own stuff whether it be Fishing Rods or Golf Clubs etc.

I enjoy making unusual pieces and my latest items are hand-made wooden rings on stainless steel cores. I use woods such as ancient Irish bog oak, Bethlehem olive-wood and some exotic hardwoods. I also make rings from recycled from old Whiskey Barrels. These barrels are over a hundred years old, originally used in Kentucky for bourbon and then used in Middleton for ageing Whiskey.

I also make Cigar Box Guitars from recycled wood and boxes. These instruments are based on traditional instruments from the American ‘deep-south’; Alabama, Mississippi, The Carolinas and Louisiana. Their origin dates from the 1840’s, there being a resurgence again during the great depression in the 1930’s. The instruments were home made, typically from a broom handle and some wires from the porch screen door. Blues music owes a lot to these poor (often slave) people. Times were hard and sitting on the porch playing the blues was a common passtime.

I make these and other items from my workshops in St. Margarets Co. Dublin and Ardmore Co. Waterford. My logo is based on a line drawing of the Round Tower and Cathedral in Ardmore.