09/17/2026
🔨 HISTORIC RESTORATION SERIES — JOURNAL ENTRY #3
Sometimes You Have to Build It Before You Build It.
The corbels are finally getting close to production—but getting here took a little more design work than originally anticipated.
As the design for the new carriage house progressed, some of the corbel details needed to be refined to achieve the proper fit, proportions, and appearance for the new structure.
Rather than simply making the changes in CAD and moving straight into production, I wanted to physically test the design before committing to 24 production corbels.
So that's exactly what we did.
I went back into Autodesk Inventor to revise the designs, updated the CNC programming in VCarve Pro, and then produced two physical mockups—one large and one smaller.
Those mockups were then taken to the jobsite and temporarily installed with Hoop Construction so the team could evaluate the actual fit and appearance in the context of the new carriage house.
And this is exactly why prototyping is so valuable.
A design can look perfect on a computer screen, but seeing a physical component in its actual environment can reveal things that aren't always obvious in a digital model.
In this case, the mockup process allowed the design to be evaluated and refined before production began.
The final project will require 24 corbels in two configurations—18 for the carriage house cornice and 6 for the tower.
After the design revisions, additional engineering work, and physical testing, the corbel designs have now received final approval.
NEXT STEP: PRODUCTION.
Within the next few days, I'll be putting Accoya on the CNC and beginning the machining of the 24 production corbels.
Once the components are machined here at Oaktree Design Worx, they'll be passed along to , who will handle the assembly, final sanding, and primer before the completed components are supplied to the restoration/construction team.
This project has been a great example of how several different specialties come together:
Engineering & CNC Manufacturing
Design Worx
Assembly & Finishing
Construction & Restoration
Hoop Construction
A little more work up front can save a lot of headaches later.
Identify the potential problem.
Build the prototype.
Test the fit.
Make the changes.
Then manufacture.
And now...
IT'S TIME TO MAKE 24.
From Concept to Creation – Crafted in Wood
