Medieval and Renaissance Furniture

by Daniel Diehl

  Drip Tray

  The drip tray is made in two pieces. The bottom is simply a circle of sheet metal, and the sides are made from a band of the same sheet metal. To make the bottom of the tray, mark out a circle of sheet metal 16¾ inches in diameter. Mark another circle 1 inch smaller than the first, or 15¾ inches, inside the first circle. The smaller circle is the actual size of the bottom of the drip tray; the larger circle will provide tabs with which to attach the bottom to the sides. Cut the large circle out of the metal stock. At ½-inch intervals around the circumference of the large circle, cut V-shaped notches ½ inch deep. The innermost points of these notches should just touch the inner circle. If properly spaced, you should end up with about a hundred notches cut around the circle. Using pliers or a hammer, bend the tabs at right angles to the circle. The result should be a shallow tray 15¾ inches in diameter and ½ inch deep.

  For the sides of the drip tray, form a piece of the same sheet metal, 3¼ inches wide by 52 inches long, into a circle around the outside of the shallow tray. Where the ends overlap, clamp them together with a C-clamp. Drill a hole large enough to receive a rivet through the lapped ends of the circle. Without removing the C-clamp, slip the band of metal off the bottom of the tray. Insert a rivet into the hole and peen the end of the rivet until it is tightly in place. Now remove the C-clamp. Fit the band back over the bottom of the tray and solder the tabs on the bottom tray to the inner face of the band. Do not attempt to weld these pieces together; the heat from the torch may melt the metal.

  Now bend the top ¼ inch of the sides of the drip tray outward to a 60- or 70-degree angle by resting the outer edge against the edge of a workbench or anvil and gently hammering it outward. Do not hammer too hard or the solder joints might break. This flared edge is very uneven on the original piece, so don’t worry if it looks a little irregular.

  Inner Ring Support Legs

  Bend the three legs that support the decorative inner ring according to the dimensions provided in the drawings. Then drill two 1/8-inch holes in the short side (the foot). Rivets will be placed through these holes to attach the legs to the bottom of the drip tray. Drill another 1/8-inch hole 1 inch from the end of the long side of each leg. These holes will receive the rivets that hold the decorative ring in place.

  Inner Ring Support Brackets

  These three brackets stabilize the decorative inner ring by attaching it to the large candle holder at the center of the crown. Bend both ends of the bar stock to 90-degree angles to form feet, the foot on one end being ¾ inch long and the other 1½ inches. These feet should face in opposite directions.

  Central Candle Holder

  Form three legs from bar stock as called for on the materials list. Bend a 1¼-inch foot at one end of each leg. At the other end, bend the last 4 inches of the stock in the opposite direction from the foot, at about a 30-degree angle, to form the flaring top of the candle holder as shown in the drawings.

  Drill a 1/8-inch hole in each of the three legs of the candle holder, 1 inch below the point where it begins to flare outward. Drill another hole about 6 inches up from the bottom of the leg. To position this hole exactly, temporarily bolt together an inner ring support leg and one of the inner ring support brackets. Set these pieces next to one leg of the central candle holder so that the three pieces are positioned as they will be when the candle stand is completed. Mark the location of the rivet hole on the inside foot of the inner ring support bracket at the point where it rests against the candle holder leg. Mark each part so that you can fit the same pieces together for final assembly. Slight variations in the pieces may not allow them to be interchangeable.

  Join the three legs of the central candle holder at the base by welding them onto a washer as you did for the large leg unit. The washer should be on the inside, not the outside (bottom), of the candle holder. Heat-forge two rings of the same bar stock used to form the legs of the central candle holder. These rings should form circles just large enough to slide inside the legs of the central candle holder. When each ring fits into the candle holder, weld the ends of the ring together. Drill three holes in each ring to correspond with the holes in the legs of the candle holder. Rivet the rings into place.

  Assembly

  At this point, you are ready to undertake the first stage of the assembly of the crown. Position the three inner ring support legs around the inside edge of the drip tray at equal intervals. Mark the location of the holes in the feet onto the floor of the drip tray, remove the legs, and drill 1/8-inch holes through the floor of the drip tray as marked. Rivet the inner ring support legs into place.

  Inner Ring

  This decorative ring is made in much the same manner as the sides of the drip tray. The material is slightly heavier because it carries the weight of twelve decorative loops, but the construction technique is the same. Bend the metal into a circle that fits inside the inner ring support legs. Where the ends of the ring overlap, clamp them with a C-clamp.

  Remove the ring from inside the legs, drill, and rivet it together. Then remove the C-clamp and flare out the top ¼ inch of the ring as you did the side of the drip tray. Set it into position inside the inner ring support legs. Position the riveted joint in the ring so that it is located equidistant between two of the support legs. Mark the location of the rivet holes in the support legs, remove the decorative ring, and drill the holes.

  Decorative Loops

  The twelve loops around the decorative ring appear to be purely ornamental in nature. They are made from strips of the same metal as the decorative ring into which they are mounted (see materials list). To shape these loops, cut away enough material from each end of the strips to leave a pin of metal 1 inch long and no more than ¼ inch wide at the point where it joins the body of the strip of metal (see detail A).

  Bend the pins at right angles to the strip of metal so that both pins point in the same direction. Then bend the strips of metal into rings. You can heat the metal slightly to make the process easier, but this is not necessary, as the metal is lightweight enough that it should bend easily with pliers and a hammer. Don’t worry if the loops are not perfectly round; the loops on the original piece are far from perfect.

  Small Candle Holders

  The frame of the three small candle holders are made from a single piece of flat stock. The spearhead-shaped decorative device at the top of the candle holder is easiest to make before the frame is bent to shape. Following the dimensions in the drawings, cut the point to shape with a jeweler’s saw or band saw, or simply file it to shape. The original piece seems to have been made by a combination of heat forging and cutting the hot metal with a chisel.

  When the decorative work has been completed, measure 11 inches from each end of the stock and mark the location of the base of the candle holder. Bend the holders into their bracket shape, working as close to the lines as possible to ensure that the two sides of the frame are equal in height.

  Form the 1¼-inch support ring for the candle holder following the procedure for making the rings in the central candle holder. Then drill the ring and bracket for rivets, insert the rivets, and assemble the piece. Drill an additional 1/8-inch hole through the center of the base of the bracket so that it can be riveted to the drip tray.

  Crown Assembly

  Begin assembly of the crown by attaching the candle holders to the bottom of the drip tray. They should be positioned between the decorative ring and the side of the drip tray, at points equidistant between the inner ring support legs. When you have located this point for each of the three candle holders, drill a 1/8-inch rivet hole through the bottom of the drip tray. The easiest way to rivet the candle holder to the drip tray is to drop the rivet downward through the candle holder and then through the hole in the floor of the drip tray. Drop a steel rod through the candle holder until it rests against the head of the rivet, and then peen the rivet into place from the bottom of the drip tray.

  The next step is to attach the decorative loops to the inner ring. To locate the
points at which the loops are to be attached, temporarily set the ring into position on the support legs. The point at which the ring is lapped and riveted should be located behind one of the three candle holders. Mark locations for four decorative loops between each of the three candle holders. Then remove the inner ring from its frame and drill holes in the ring large enough to accommodate the pins on the backs of the loops. Both pins on a loop should go through a single hole. Insert the pins on each loop into a hole and gently spread the ends outward until they rest against the inner face of the inner ring.

  Now attach the inner ring support brackets to the central candle holder, which has not yet been installed in the crown. Place the heads of the rivets on the inside of the candle holder and peen the rivets over against the outer face of the support bracket. Next, place the inner ring inside the inner ring support legs. Place the central candle holder, which has the inner ring support brackets attached to it, inside the inner ring. Align the three rivet holes in the inner ring with the holes in the support legs and the support brackets. The decorative ring should now be sandwiched between the support legs and support brackets. Place the rivets so that the heads face the central candle holder and the peened end is exposed to view.

  Attaching the Crown

  Drill a 3/16-inch hole through the drip tray directly in line with the hole in the washer at the base of the central candle holder. Set the drip tray into the drip tray arms. The ½-inch-long pin protruding from the head of the shaft should pass through the holes in the drip tray frame, the drip tray, and the washer at the base of the central candle holder.

  Drill four holes through the sides of the drip tray in line with the holes in the drip tray arms. Insert rivets into these holes so that the heads face the inside of the drip tray and the peened ends are exposed. Peen the end of the pin that sticks up through the central candle holder by resting the end of a steel rod against it and tapping the rod with a hammer. You may heat the pin with your torch to make it easier to peen, but be careful not to melt a hole in the thin metal of the drip tray.

  Decorative Work

  Now make the decorative ornamentation at the middle of the central shaft and at the point where the shaft joins the legs. Form the curls with the use of a mandrel as described on page 9.

  The large curling ornaments on top of the legs are made from the same bar stock used for the legs. Shape the decorative curls first, then curve the body of this piece in the same way that the legs were formed. Use either the legs themselves or the wooden pattern against which the legs were shaped to achieve the correct curve. The small ornamental curls at the base of the shaft and the doublecurled ornament in the center of the shaft are shaped the same way as the leg decorations.

  Clamp the completed ornamental pieces into place at the locations shown in the drawings, and spot-weld them onto the legs and the central shaft. File away any excess weld to provide a smooth seam where the ornaments meet the structure of the candle stand.

  Finish

  The original candle stand is made of wrought iron and has a uniform black surface. A similar finish can be obtained with old-fashioned stove polish or flat black spray paint. The drip tray originally would have contained a bed of sand about ½ inch deep to catch the dripping tallow or wax from the candles.

  PROJECT 33

  Mirrored Wall Sconce

  Mirrored Wall Sconce, German, fifteenth century. Oak, iron, bronze, glass, and egg tempera paint decoration, 223/8 x 20 x 53/8 inches. The Cloisters Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photo by Mark P. Donnelly.

  Dating from the mid-fifteenth century, this wall sconce is a fine example of German Gothic-period craft and ingenuity. An iron candle arm is positioned in front of a convex bronze reflecting mirror, which reflects the candlelight throughout the room. One such sconce hung near a desk, or several located around a room, would add greatly to the amount of light provided by very few candles. In the Middle Ages, beeswax candles were quite expensive, and inexpensive tallow candles filled the air with oily smoke and an acrid odor.

  This piece was originally brightly polychromed to add to its reflective and decorative qualities. The exposed areas of the wooden face were painted ocher, the side panels deep green, and the foliate carvings a rich red-brown. The front-facing edges of the side panels were gilded. Additional decoration and reflective surface were gained by the insertion of glass panels in the four triangular spaces outside the large ring on the sconce’s face. Each of these panels is reverse-painted with a heraldic device that serves to personalize the piece while adding to its ornamentation.

  This sconce is located in the Campin Room of the Metropolitan Museum’s Cloisters in New York City. Although the piece has suffered some damage to the carvings and painted glass, and a few components are probably replacements, it is a handsome piece. The only other surviving example of such an item is in the National Museum in Nuremberg.

  Construction Notes

  The actual construction of this interesting and highly decorative piece is relatively simple. The ornate carving and brass mirror, however, add challenge to the project. Study the drawings and photograph well before beginning construction.

  Back Panel

  The back panel for this sconce is made of two boards glued together horizontally. Glue and clamp the two back boards together. Further strength will be added when the complete structure is assembled. To provide additional support to the back panel while it is being worked on, attach braces to the back side of the panel along the left and right outer edges with wood screws. The screws should not penetrate more than ½ inch into the back panel.

  From the appearance of tool marks on the face of the panel, it would seem that all the circular shapes on the face were turned on a primitive foot-powered lathe. If you have access to a lathe that will swing the nearly 26-inch diagonal measurement of this board, it is probably the most historically accurate approach to the project. If not, use a router. Make separate templates for each inner and outer cut—one template to scribe the area on which the mirror is seated, and another for the inner surface of the ring that encircles the mirror. The decorative moldings on the face of the back board are set slightly off-center. The moldings scribe an 18-inch-square area on a back board that is 18 by 18½ inches, the extra ½ inch being at the top. Allow for this in laying out the design on the face. If you plan to turn the piece on a lathe, the mounting plate should be mounted slightly below center.

  The rest of the deep carving on the face of the sconce, including the outside face of the outermost ring and the inside face of the triangular areas at the four corners of the board, was executed by hand with small, spoon-shaped gouges. For more information on this technique, see the instructions on gouge carving on page 4. If you prefer, you can continue working with the router, but if so, you need to make templates to follow, as it is incredibly difficult to cut a straight edge with a router freehand. The corners will have to be worked by hand. Make the walls of the triangular areas in the corners as straight as possible; glass panels will be cut to fit into these areas, and uneven or sloped sides will make that process more difficult.

  Side Panels

  Each side panel is made from a single piece of wood. The ornate Gothic carving in the angle of this piece is carved in relief on both the inner and outer faces. Technically, then, there is no left or right side panel; the pieces are identical on both sides.

  Although the Metropolitan Museum lists the entire sconce as being made of oak, the delicate carvings in the side panels and top crest would be challenging to carve from oak. If you are an expert and confident woodcarver and wish to carve these parts from oak, then by all means do so, but for the less experienced woodcarver, a softer wood may prove an easier challenge. The gessoed and painted finish makes identification of the wood difficult, and it would be best to select a wood that is relatively straight-grained and easy to carve but still structurally sound, such as pine, poplar, or mahogany.

  If the decorative base block on the side panels is made as a
separate piece, the general construction of the sides will be much easier. Rough the base into shape on a band saw or jigsaw, and then finish it with carving knives and files. The main shaft of the side panel is in the form of a wedge-shaped column, with the point of the wedge facing forward. This is easiest to shape by simply cutting the faces of the wedge on a table saw with the blade set at a 45-degree angle. Do not cut so far into the board that you cut into the area where you will be executing the ornamental carving. Once the face of the wedge is cut, carve the cutouts at the base of the wedge with a carving gouge or utility knife.

  Crest Board

  The decorative crest board in which the majority of carving is executed is fairly thin; take care not to break it. Incise the rounded edge along the bottom edge of this board before beginning the carving.

  Carvings

  The execution of the carvings on both side panels and crest board will be time-consuming and laborious, but the results should be well worth the effort. For stability, execute as much of the carving as possible before cutting away the excess wood around the outline, or profile, of the side panels and crest. When you do cut the profile, the board should be lying on a flat work surface, with only ½ inch or so hanging over the edge of the table at a time. More overhang than this increases the chances of breaking the delicate carvings along the grain of the wood. You can use a band saw to cut out the profile, but a coping saw or jeweler’s saw will allow greater control. For the greatest level of safety, the board should be clamped firmly in place while it is being sawn, and the position of the area being cut relative to the edge of the table should be adjusted each time the cut is extended ½ inch or so. Alternatively, you can clamp a back board in place behind the carving and simply cut through both of them so that there are no exposed areas of the carved board to be broken.