;Johnny uses extremely unconventional procedures and techniques to create museum quality pieces. Most people feel if he takes this much pride in building just his shop furniture then anything he makes for them will turnout fine.
;Johnny is known to be quite a showman. It is no secret that most woodworkers do not like Johnny's shop, shop furniture or Johnny himself for that matter. After all, Johnny, his shop and shop furniture are controversial and one of a kind.
;Don't be startled; some of the most admired, compelling and inspiring wood pieces that are exhibited in museums and galleries were created in far less space and with far less tools than Mr. Morlan has!;It is no secret that for 23 years Johnny's shop studio was 405 square foot or smaller in size, {new shop studio is 750 square foot}. All of his tools are average priced. Even with the shops the size they were, he still built small wine, humidor and stereo cabinets. Johnny takes great pleasure in showing and teaching hobbyist woodworkers that have a one-car garage or basement work area how to produce heirloom pieces with an minimal investment cost. ;
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He keeps about 500 board foot of lumber in the shop, the rest has always been stored in a small shed. Up until a few months ago, his radial arm saw cabinet/table was the largest cabinet/table he had {30" wide x 96" long}. Since he moved in to his 750 square foot shop, he has built a 4 foot x 8 foot work table. When completely finished with all the doors, shelves, partitions and being fully loaded, it will probably weigh over 1000 pounds. It will have an awfully large amount of storage space, over 90 cubic foot. ;
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In his shop, everything has its place. Lots of cabinet space to store all his hand tools, hand power tools, stationary & hand power tool accessories and homemade jigs. ;
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Eventually as his free time permits he will fully enclose the office area which is approximately 12 foot x 12 foot. With that end of the shop having 15 foot ceilings, he will end up with another 144 square foot of floor space over the office. ;
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He designed and built all the cabinets, benches, tables and jigs in his shop. The jigs take the danger out of most of the procedures, operations and steps that Johnny utilizes in the building process of his creations. Some of the aforementioned items were built as much as 23 years ago. They were all built with economical materials that anyone can obtain, such as 2x4 studs, construction grade lumber, CDX plywood, particle board, MDF board, standard and tempered masonite. He has painted these items with a durable paint as it is easier to keep everything looking neat and clean and is cosmetically easier to repair. ;
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As stated previously, all of his tools are average priced; however to keep the sharpening down to a bare minimum his saw blades, planer blades and router bits are {C4 or C5} grade carbide. His woodturning tools are APS series steel rated 2060 and other hand cutting tools are {Rockwell Hardness Scale 60-70} high-speed tool steel. Johnny also sharpens the blades, hand cutting tools, etcetera when needed as some are ground at special angles for maximum efficiency and to help him in producing quality easier. ;
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Dust is controlled with a Shop vacuum and simple dust port attachments that either came with the machines or were designed and built by him. Safety precautions are also taken by utilization of a high quality respirator mask, ear plugs and safety glasses. ;
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There are a lot of motivational and philosophical proverbs hanging on the walls of his studio. He lives and teaches them. He loves teaching people who like and are interested in woodworking the true {art} of woodworking! ;
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You see Johnny lives and teaches that the size of a persons shop, the finest tools that money can buy and the best raw materials that one starts with do not most of the time produce quality, fine craftsmanship or help in creating or making wooden items. What does though, is passion {not love}, heart, soul, ingenuity and a lot of homemade jigs. ;
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Johnny has taught his oldest son Jeremy the true art of woodworking! At the age of 16, his Quilted Maple Jewelry Box {below} was awarded a First Place Trophy and Blue Ribbons. ;
The black and red inlays are made from Gabon Ebony and Satine {Bloodwood}. The inside of the lid has a mirror inlaid into it. The box bottom and removable tray bottom are lined with Black Crushed Velvet. Some of his other pieces have also earned Trophies and Blue Ribbons, for their craftsmanship.
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