My name is Jim Blake and my company is The Woodshop Ltd. We are located in Edmond, Oklahoma and we are committed to producing the best possible restorations available. This commitment began when I acquired a 1936 Chris Craft model 517 Race Boat. Early in my research, I discovered there were virtually no construction details. Original drawings were not available and information on mechanical and electrical systems was nonexistent. The interior had long since disappeared and early restorations clouded many original details. Most projects start like this and these are but a few of the hurdles that I face approaching new projects.

As not only a professional woodworker, but as a fellow boat owner, I believe we are stewards of something very special. It is a privilege to have a craft worthy of restoring and with this privilege comes the responsibility to the original design and construction of the craft. The age of many boats, a lack of maintenance, and the restoration techniques used by many insures a certain doom to numerous original details. A great deal of restoration work introduces not only new materials, but also new construction completely foreign to the original design. While producing a technically superior hull, the originality of the hull is completely overlooked and original construction details are forever lost. Future work on these modern day restorations will only exasperate the problem.

With almost three decades of experience, we offer quality few can deliver. As a woodworker, I am fanatical about the craftsmanship necessary to produce a museum quality project. Production woodworking has provided the skills necessary to engineer and document original construction and to replicate details like a machinist. We are proficient in Autocad and Rhino. CAD enables us to measure a hull and once again produce accurate line and construction drawings lost for decades. This also introduces a level of precision not available in the past allowing for CNC accuracy to produce a fair hull.

Reusing old wood limits the life of a restoration and can add enormous expense to a project. Many original parts become fatigued from use, oil soaked, and split from the many fasteners they require and are no longer dependable. Using computer-generated models, we are capable of a 100% rebuild without altering the shape of the original hull design. Every detail of the original is addressed down to the galvanized nails first used to assemble the frames on the shop floor. Mechanical and electrical systems are brought back to original specifications. Interiors are researched and reconstructed to new condition.

ROLLOVER IMAGE TO SEE THE FULL POTENTIAL

While I do introduce new materials, I believe it is imperative to stay true to the original construction. Many details are overlooked by a lot of restorers. As I dismantle an original hull, I step back in time and almost work with the original builders. I look at the wood, the way it was cut and the tool marks tell me the techniques that produced the part. Numbers stamped into the parts suggest the assembly process. Writing still visible, penciled on parts, speaks to me. Original finishes, hidden for decades, are sometimes found and reproduced. During the reconstruction, I document all these observations, and replicate these details. These are very important to the history of my project.

Combining historically accurate construction and new materials with museum research and documentation at all phases of a project, we produce a boat so complete that it looks as if it rolled right off the factory floor. Our goal is not only to reproduce a total boat capable of winning competitions, but a craft that will provide years of service with very low maintenance. Coupled with a passion for accuracy, preservation and a commitment to craftsmanship, we offer the very best combination of historical accuracy and modern technology.