by Daniel Diehl
The intertwined vines on the crest work are all open work—the area between the carvings has been cut away. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to shape the edges of these vines without first cutting them free of the surrounding wood. This will require extra caution when carving them so as not to break the delicate tracery.
The carving on the side panels is not pierced through the wood. All the carving is in relief as deep as possible, considering that there is carving on both sides of the panel and the wood is only ¾ inch thick. The relative depth of the carvings is shown by the degree of darkness in the shading on the drawing; the darker the shading, the deeper the area is to be carved. All the carving work is done with small, spoon-shaped gouges.
Priming the Wood
Sand the carved wooden pieces until they are very smooth. This will prepare them for application of the painted finish. Apply two coats of gesso to all surfaces before assembly, then sand them again with extremely fine sandpaper. When finished and sanded, the gesso should provide a surface nearly as smooth as if the piece were cast in a mold.
Assembly
The pieces are now assembled with cut nails. Drill pilot holes for the nails so that the wood does not split. The heads of the nails should be countersunk slightly. Begin by nailing the side panels into place on the back panel using 1½-inch cut nails. Next, position the shelf board into place between the side panels, and nail it into place using the same size nails, nailing first through the side panels into the ends of the shelf, and then through the top of the shelf and downward into the back board. Finally, with the sconce lying on its back, position the crest board into place according to the drawings. Drill pilot holes and nail the crest board onto the shelf board and end panels with 1-inch cut nails.
Finish
Fill the nail holes with putty, plaster of paris (the most similar to medieval gesso), or a mixture of sawdust and glue, used in medieval days as nail hole filler. Sand and gesso the filled holes.
The original piece was probably painted with an egg tempera (see page 8), but any flat oil-based paint will work. All the carving and the incised cut that separates the wedge-shaped column from the plane of the side panel are painted a deep red-brown. Paint this color first so that the green paint and gold leaf can be applied up to the edge of the brown, which is easier than working the other way around. The decorative base block is painted the same red-brown as the carvings. Paint the entire face of the back board a rich ocher color, and the inside and outside faces of the side panels a soft moss green. Apply gold leaf to the face of the wedge-shaped column up to the point where it joins into the carving.
The entire crest board is painted with the same red-brown as the carvings on the side panels, and the underside of the shelf board appears to have been painted black. It is possible, how ever, that this area has been discolored from centuries of candle flames and may originally have been painted redbrown as well.
Mirror
The brass mirror on this piece is almost certainly a replacement. The original may have been made of brass or bronze. For ease of working and cost effectiveness, make the mirror of brass .020 inch in thickness. All metal rolled this thin has a certain hardness, called temper, obtained through the manufacturing process. To make the brass easily workable, place it on a cookie tray and put it into a 400-degree oven for two to two and a half hours. When you remove the brass from the oven, leave it on the cookie tray and let it air-cool; do not immerse it in water to speed the cooling.
The mirror will be shaped from the back by pressing the metal into a mold. Carve the mold or turn it on a lathe so that it forms the shape of the mirror, as shown in the cross section, in reverse. Essentially, the mold should be a shallow bowl that is the negative of the shape of the mirror. The central portion of the mirror is slightly convex, the center being about ¼ inch higher than the outer edge. The decorative ring around the outer edge is ½ inch high and ¾ inch wide.
When the mold has been made, cut a circular piece of brass .020 inch thick and 14 inches in diameter. The thinner the brass stock, the easier it will stretch into the mold, but it should not be so thin that it tears during the working process or when it is trimmed around the edges. Locate the center of this disk and drill a small hole at the center point. Tack the mirror through this hole to the center point of the mold. Do not pull the brass tight against the mold, but only tight enough to draw it down slightly at the center.
Make a forming tool from a piece of 1-inch-diameter wooden dowel or a 1-inch-square piece of wood about the length of a pencil. Sand one end so that it is rounded into a half circle. Beginning at the outer edge of the face of the mirror, inside the decorative outer ring, gently rub the brass into place against the surface of the mold with the forming tool. Hold the brass in place with one hand so that it does not simply turn under the pressure. The brass is thin enough that it will slowly stretch into place and take the form of the mold. As the metal pulls into shape, it will become loose on the tack at the center. As it loosens, tap the tack down against the back, never so much that it pulls the metal, but just enough for a slight pressure. When the face of the mirror has been pulled completely into place, the tack should be tight against the face of the mold.
When the face of the mirror has been formed, follow the same procedure to shape the decorative ring around the outer edge. This will require making two more forming tools from smaller dowels, one ¾ inch and one ½ inch in diameter. As the mirror takes shape, the extra metal around the outside of the mold will twist and wrinkle. As long as the wrinkles do not extend into the mirror itself, do not be concerned.
When the entire mirror has been shaped, carefully remove the tack at the center and take the mirror out of the mold. Carefully trim off the wrinkled metal around the outside edge with a small pair of metal shears. To polish the mirror, gently press it, faceup, into a bed of sand deep enough that the sand fills the back of the mirror. This will provide support so that you can polish the thin metal without danger of denting it. Polish the face with a brass cleaner. After two or three applications, the mirror should have a soft sheen.
Position the mirror in place on the back board. It is fastened into the back board at eight points around the outer edge of the brass ring: at the top, bottom, left, and right of the mirror, and at four points halfway between these. The nails must not be placed within ½ inch of the seam between the upper and lower back boards. Drill pilot holes slightly smaller than the diameter of a 1-inch forged nail. Nail the edge of the brass mirror into the back board at a 45-degree angle. A fine nail set should allow you to drive the nail snug against the mirror without denting the brass. The large brass tack at the center of the mirror has a head ¾ inch in diameter and can be simulated with an oversized upholstery tack.
Corner Decorations
The decorative painting work in the triangular areas at the four corners of the back panel are thought to be later additions to this piece, so their inclusion is purely a matter of taste. The designs on these panels are heraldic coats of arms, but they are so deteriorated that copying them exactly would be nearly impossible. They are painted in reverse on glass panels, but because their age is unknown, it is uncertain whether they are executed in egg tempera or oil paint. Egg tempera will adhere fairly well to clean glass, but if you wish to use oil paint, check at an art store for a material that you spray onto the glass before painting so that the paint will adhere properly.
Have a professional glass cutter cut pieces of glass to fit into the triangular areas at the corners of the sconce. Because the triangular areas are probably not quite symmetrical, be certain that you know which pane fits into which area, and which is the front and rear face of each pane.
On paper, sketch heraldic designs, based on (or derived from) the surviving designs shown in the drawings, to fit the triangular glass panes. The painting process will be easier if the sketches are rendered in full color. Then lay a pane of glass face-side down on top of the color sketch and paint the design directly onto the back of the
glass. Be sure to paint on the side of the pane that will lie against the back board, not the surface that will be exposed. To paint in reverse, you must first paint any fine line details, allow them to dry, then paint the large color areas over top of them. The process may sound confusing, but a little practice will make it clear. When finished, the work is turned over and viewed through the glass.
When the paint is dry, put the panes in place one at a time and drive tiny wire nails into the sides of the triangular frame to hold them in place. One nail per side should be sufficient. Then run a narrow bead of glazier’s putty around the edges of each pane, following the directions on the can. If you do not feel confident about doing this, have the glazier who cut the glass panes mount the panels and apply the putty. Do not risk breaking the painted glass panels. In a week or two, the glazier’s putty will harden. Paint over the white putty with the same redocher paint used on the rest of the face.
Candle Cup Arm
The main arm of the candle holder is a replacement and does not fit quite properly through the bracket plate, which is a rectangular piece of 1/16-inch gauge metal cut to size as shown in the drawings. At the center of this plate, drill a 3/8-inch hole. As indicated in the drawings, drill four more holes near the corners of the plate just large enough to accept forged nails. Drill pilot holes into the back panel, then attach this plate to the face of the back panel with four large-headed, forged nails.
Make the candle cup arm from the 8¾-inch piece of 3/8-inch square stock. Form the offsets in the arm by clamping the stock in a vise, heating with a torch, and bending the heated metal with a hammer. The bends in the arm are not a full 90 degrees and are more for decoration than to serve any function. The elongated loop at the front end of the arm is beaten to a tapered edge over the last 1½ inches of the length of the arm. Work the stock into a taper before you bend it into the loop. The taper can be worked by heating the metal and slowly hammering it out on an anvil or in the vise. Work the metal a little at a time so that you achieve a nice, smooth taper. As you beat the metal thinner, it will become wider. When you have achieved a gentle taper, from the original thickness of the stock to a fine edge over a length of 1½ inches, cool the metal and then grind or file away the excess width.
Drill a 1/8-inch hole ¼ inch deep in the candle cup arm, ¼ inch behind the point where it begins to taper. Heat the metal and, using the mandrel, bend the elongated loop onto the tapered end of the candle cup arm. The pin that connects the candle holder and candle cup to the candle cup arm is made from a 1-inch-long piece of 3/8-inch round stock. Use a lathe or file to reduce the last ¼ inch of stock at both ends of the pin to a diameter of 1/8 inch.
Candle Cup
The decorative candle cup is essentially to catch dripping wax as it falls from the candle. The cup is made from a piece of .020 gauge metal 1½ inches high and 6¾ inches long. Trace the fleur-de-lis design along one edge of the metal. Cut out the design with very sharp metal shears or, preferably, jeweler’s shears, and use pin files to file the edges smooth. To keep from bending the metal, it must be held in a vise very close to the area being worked. This will require frequent turning and repositioning of the metal. If the metal becomes slightly bent during the working process, it can be gently hammered flat again.
When the design has been cut out, gently roll the stock into a cylinder 2 inches in diameter. This should allow an overlap of approximately ½ inch. Clamp the cylinder together, drill two 1/8-inch holes along the overlapped seam, and insert small rivets into the holes, with the heads on the inside of the cylinder. Peen the rivets into place and remove the clamp.
The top of this cylinder must now be flared outward. The flaring process must be done with a mold form in the same way that the mirror was worked into a mold. Into a 2-inch-thick block of wood, lathe-turn a cup-shaped mold with the same dimensions and curved sides as the exterior surface of the candle cup, as shown in the drawing. Set the metal cylinder into the mold, decorative edge toward the bottom. Using a ¾-inch dowel rod as a tool, slowly work the sides of the cylinder into the form of the mold by rubbing the dowel rod back and forth around the inner surface of the cylinder. The metal will slowly stretch to the form of the mold.
Cut a disk 2¾ inches in diameter from a piece of metal the same weight as the sides of the candle cup. Inside this disk, draw another circle 2¼ inches in diameter. At ¼-inch intervals, cut V-shaped notches around the outer edge of the circle. Cut the notches to the depth of the inner circle. Remove the cutouts, then bend the remaining tabs at right angles to the metal circle to form a shallow tray, 2¼ inches across and ¼ inch deep. At the center of this tray, drill a hole 1/8 inch in diameter. Check that the end of the candle cup pin fits through this hole.
Gently press the metal tray inside the candle cup. When it fits snugly, solder it in place. With a pair of sharp metal shears, remove one of the fleurde-lis ornaments from the candle cup to the level of the newly installed bottom. This will allow the cup to fit over the bracket arm.
Assembly of the Candle Cup and Arm
Clamp the candle cup arm into a vise so that the 3/16-inch hole in the arm is 2 inches beyond the vise jaws. Heat the area around the hole. When the metal begins to glow slightly, set the candle cup onto the candle cup arm so that the space created by the removal of one fleur-de-lis ornament straddles the arm. Align the 1/8-inch hole in the bottom of the candle cup with the corresponding hole in the arm. Holding the candle cup pin with a pair of pliers, place one of the small ends of the pin through the 3/16-inch hole in the bottom of the candle cup and into the heated hole in the candle cup arm. If necessary, tap the pin gently into place with a hammer. When the metal cools, the pin should be permanently in place.
Candle Holder
Shape the four arms of the candle holder by heating the metal slightly and bending it with a pair of needlenose pliers. Bend the arms so that they conform to the design in the drawings. From a piece of 1/8-inch-thick metal, cut a disk 7/8 inch in diameter. In the center of the disk, drill a hole slightly more than 1/8 inch in diameter so that the disk will slip onto the top of the candle cup pin. To this disk, weld the four candle holder arms. Position the arms so that they extend ¼ inch below the disk as shown in the drawings. Then place the disk over the candle cup pin. Place a metal rod or the tip of a screwdriver onto the top of the pin, and tap on the end with a hammer to bend it over so that the candle holder is held tightly in place.
Attaching the Candle Cup
The replacement candle cup is held in place simply by having the end of the candle cup arm ground to a circular point and inserted into a hole drilled into the back board. The original candle cup was likely fastened in a more complex manner.
Hanging Straps
The iron hanging straps on the back of this piece are formed in the same way as all decorative hardware in this book. Using a hacksaw or band saw, cut away a strip ¼ inch wide and 1½ inches long from each side of one end of the strap to create a narrow tongue from which to form the loop. Heat the tongue of metal and bend it around a forming mandrel to produce a 1-inch ring. Leave the ring open ¼ inch.
From an 18-inch length of 1/8-inch round stock, form two rings 1½ inches in diameter. First form a ring at one end of the stock, using a mandrel to shape it. Allow the piece to cool, and then saw off the ring. Reheat the ring and close the circle. Repeat for the second ring.
Drill holes in the hanger at the locations indicated in the drawings. Insert a finished ring into the loop at the end of each hanging strap, and tap the loops closed. Attach the hangers to the sconce, first drilling pilot holes to prevent the side rails from splitting, then using forged nails to affix the hangers to the back edges of the side rails, taking care not to damage the paint.
PROJECT 34
Fifteenth-Century Window Frame
Window Frame, English, fifteenth century. Oak, 70 x 78 x 5½ inches. Collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Image ©Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
The ornate carving in the tref
oil headings of this late-fifteenth-century window frame is identical on both the inner and outer faces, suggesting that the window was never intended to hold glass. Such a fine window would only have been made for the house of a rich merchant, and yet there was no attempt at protecting the occupants of the home from the elements. The inside face of the frame has rabbets that were probably intended to hold wooden shutters, but this only gave the homeowners a choice between exposing themselves totally to the elements and living in near complete darkness.
The window also indicates that the ceiling height of the room from which it came was hardly grand. Even considering the loss of several inches at the bottom of the uprights and the elimination of the sill plate on which they rested, the room cannot have been much more than 6½ feet in height. None of these factors, however, detract from the impressive workmanship. This beautifully worked window frame may not serve as much of a window, but it would make an excellent room divider or screen-wall. This marvelous artifact is currently in storage in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Construction Notes
This window frame bears many scars from being built into the frame of a house. Since these details have no bearing on the use or design of the window, we do not include them in our re-creation. If you wish to use the re-created window as an actual window in an exterior wall, some provisions need to be made to accommodate glass. In this case, we recommend mounting a large, double-glazed picture window across the entire surface so that the lines and structure of the piece do not need to be altered. Whether the glass is located on the inside or outside of the frame is up to you, but because the mullions are set toward the inside face of the frame, the glass should logically be placed on the outside of the mullions. If you plan to use the window frame as an interior room screen, you need to add feet to allow the piece to be freestanding.