Replicating Studley’s Alcove Arch, Part 2 – Casting the Duplicate

Once the wax model is refined to an acceptable point the time has come to make the rubber mold for casting the replica.  I simply lay the wax model down on a bed of sulfur-free plasticine clay, which is necessary to seal the back side of the model and prevent the rubber from seeping underneath when the rubber is poured in to make the mold.  If it does seep in that is not the end of the world, it just makes more work in extracting the model and refining the rubber mold.  What IS the end of the world for this process is to use any sulfur-containing modeling clay instead of the sulfur-free plasticine.  The sulfur in the modeling clay inhibits the chemical reaction in vulcanizing the rubber mold, and in the end all you have is a gooey mess that never makes the transition from liquid to solid.  Believe me, you do not want to enter this territory.

With the wax maquette set down on the plasticine, I build a dam around the space with Logo blocks or some analog.  It is a simple and cheap way to enable a near infinite multitude of sizes and shapes for making molds.

Once everything is ready to go, I mix the silicone rubber and pour it in.  For many years I have used products from Polytek; their prices are good, the product is good, but their customer service and technical help are stupendously great.  Colleagues of mine are partial to Smooth-On products, and I have seen excellent results with their products but do not have personal experience with them.

I like to pour the liquid RTV silicone in a fairly thin stream from a foot or more in height.  This breaks up almost all of the little bubbles that become included in the cup when stirring up the mixture, and bubbles are the enemy.  By pouring in this manner, starting in one corner of the mold form and letting it flow over the model of its own accord, I find virtually all bubble problems disappear.

Once I have a rubber mold I find acceptable, and this often takes several generations of models and subsequent molds, I’m ready to cast a replica.

For these arches, I found that using West System epoxy worked just fine, and I mixed a paper cup with the resin and hardener, along with a dollup of black powder pigment to replicate the ebony of the original.  I also dusted the surfaces of the mold with the same powdered pigment, to assure a “not glossy” final surface and to help reduce any surface bubbles, always an issue when casting heavy bodied resins.

For these arches I had the added element of including a pearl button in the element where Studley marked the center of the arch.  I had the best luck with this in putting a drop of the resin in the recess then placing the button, using the liquid resin to hold the button in the correct place.

Having the button move while pouring the resin is a constant problem, I can only conclude that the specific gravity of the pearl button and the casting resin are similar, causing the button to “float” a bit after the resin is poured.  Waiting a bit on the full pour after the button is placed and the resin begins to increase in viscosity helped but I am still wrestling with perfection on this one.

I take the raw casting out the following day, and smooth the back side on a flat  plate with sandpaper, and the replica is done.

I prepared a panel with several of the decorative element replicas from the Studley Tool Cabinet (this picture is just a mock-up, the best castings were not yet ready when I took it), and if you make it to the exhibit next week you will get to handle that panel.

There are still plenty of tickets for Sunday afternoon especially, I think the remaining time slots are getting full or nearly so.  If you are willing to hang around until Sunday afternoon, you might have a darned near private viewing.

See you next week.

The Light at the End of The Tunnel (and I am hoping it is not an oncoming train…)

Two weeks from today I will be in the home stretch as the final process for executing the HO Studley Tool Cabinet and Workbench Exhibit  (there are still tickets remaining here) begins at the Scottish Rite Temple of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, only twenty minutes away from the hand tool nirvana of Handworks.  The list of things “To Do” in preparation for the exhibit is getting shorter.  Off the top of my head this is the status report of what I’ve been doing over the past two years (there are undoubtedly many other components I am not remembering at the moment):

Exhibit locations and spaces scouted and evaluated – done

Exhibit space reserved – done

exhibit $pace paid for – done

exhibit graphics (wall panels, banners) selected and edited – done

exhibit graphics sent to production company – done

exhibit graphics in production – check

exhibit graphics paid for – no invoice yet

Studley collection apprai$ed – done

Studley collection appraiSal paid for – done

exhibit in$urance arranged – done

exhibit in$urance paid – done

exhibit casework designed and submitted to fabricators – done

exhibit ca$ework paid for – done

exhibit plexiglass locking vitrine designed and sent to fabricator – done

exhibit locking vitrine fabricated – done

exhibit locking vitrine fabrication paid – no invoice yet

Studley collection high securitydedicated transport locked in – check

Studley collection high security and dedicated transport paid – invoiced after the exhibit

exhibit didactics designed and fabricated – 90% there

Studley workbench replica fabricated – done

custom fitted dollie for Studley workbench base – fabricated

exhibit theatrical backdrop$ and lighting secured – scheduled

exhibit theatrical backdrops and lighting paid for – no invoice yet

exhibit tickets designed (different designs for each day) – done

exhibit ticket$ printed and paid for – done

exhibit installation crew recruited – done

exhibit docents recruited – done

book manuscript proofs sent to docents – done

exhibit deinstallation crew recruited – done

packing everything I need to take with me – NOT done (yet)

Today I am wrapping up the last “big” thing, which is to finish applying the padding to the “A” frame style cart on which I can secure the exquisite mahogany-over-oak bench top from the original Studley workbench.

After this it is just a matter of wrapping up a multitude little things, getting packed, and then heading towards Cedar Rapids for the opening on May 15.

I hope to see you there.

With Studley, the Sculptural Details Are Sublime

You might be getting tired of HO Studley posts, but it is all I am working o these days so it’s pretty much all I have to talk about.  It will all be over soon.

On my final visit to the Studley tool cabinet last October, with the owner’s permission I made a number of silicone rubber molds from the details Studley created and integrated into his masterpiece.  My access to the elements was not perfect, it was an intact artifact hanging on the wall after all, so I chose two part silicone molding putty from Hobby Lobby.  In the past I have used food grade molding putty by the bucketful, but for this project I needed just a bit and the hobby store package was just fine.

Using it is simple, just take equal parts of the two putties and knead them together until the color is uniform.  Then, in the next 15-20 seconds press the wad against the surface you are trying to mold, sit back, and remove a finished and cured mold in a few minutes.

Given the spatial logistics of taking impressions from the tool cabinet, the molds were not perfect but they were useful.  Once I got into the swing of producing the elements for the exhibit  “The Henry O. Studley Tool Cabinet and Workbench” (tickets still  available) I made some first generation beeswax castings from those molds just to see what was needed to come up with something exhibit worthy.

It’s fair to say that all of the castings in the upcoming exhibit were the result of several generations of molds and castings, with many hours spent in refining the representations of the elements under the microscope.  On a project with more available time I might spend a week per element, but in this case I was lucky to carve out a day per element.

Much like picture from the Mars Rover, the whole is often a composite assembled from the disparate pieces.  Even so, these are not perfect but they will allow the exhibit visitors to get a better sense of what Studley made to embellish his masterpiece.

In the end, using the molds for casting some pigmented West System epoxy  and some mother-of-pearl I got results that will convey the grandeur of these elements up-close-and-personal for the exhibit patrons as this panel will be sitting on the replica workbench for touching and examining closely.

As time allows I will detail the process of refining specific elements, with observations about both moldmaking and casting materials useful to the decorative artisan.

Sample Board Partying – French Wax Polishing

Probably the simplest beautiful finish from a technological point of view is the French molten wax polish, which has but a few individual components yet yeilds a beautiful, lustrous presentation surface.

The first thing is a block of clean beeswax.  I render my own from raw wax straight from the beekeepers after the honey is harvested.

Next comes a source of heat to melt the wax onto the surface of the wood.  Historically something like a roofer’s soldering iron was used, these days I use an electric tacking iron.

I move the hot iron over the surface, spreading and melting the wax onto and into the surface until it is fully saturated.

Once the molten wax has been imbibed fully into the wood surface it is left to cool,

and once fully hardened it is scraped with a simple metal, wood, or bone scraper.  If the scraper has a nice clean edge (no burr!), the resulting surface can be mirror-like.  A little buffing with a piece of soft cloth like worn flannel or fine wool and you are done.  This might even be enhanced with some spit  polish.

The result is a high-sheen, non-toxic and easily repairable surface that is pretty robust against abrasion but utterly defenseless against heat or oily materials.  I’m working on some formulations to  make this finish a lot tougher, but it is increasingly one with which I am toying, and as I move forward with designing and fabrication parquetry panels, you can believe it is something I will employ.

Chance Encounters, Camaraderie, and Blinding Insights (or, How To Make A High Angled Smoother In 30 Seconds)

While many artisans are content to work alone, as I am almost all of the time (an mp3 player loaded with podcast lectures and such is about all the social interaction I need during my work day), there are those magical interludes of fellowship around the workbench with a like-minded soul.  Such is the case with my pal Tom, whom I first met by chance at a flea market ten years ago (he was selling, I was thinking about buying). That led to hundreds of Wednesday nights in his first-rate shop where a multitude of tools were sharpened or made, mountains of shavings were made then swept out into the yard, and on occasion, the world’s problems were solved.

Tom even accompanied me frequently on working weekends to the barn, where what we were working on WAS the barn.

Tom visited recently, and is often the case, he tossed out an offhand comment that was a thunderbolt.

While he was making some tapered octagonal legs for a dressing table I had been wrestling with my HO Studley workbench top replica for the upcoming exhibit of the workbench and the accompanying tool cabinet.  The grain of the bench surface, African  “mahogany,” was just being, in the words of my ever foul-mouthed 98 year old mom, “A real stinker.”

Rob in Lawrence KS had offered his helpful observations, namely that I could use a high angled smoother tuned to a fever pitch.  When I mentioned this to Tom with the regretful statement that I did not own such a tool, and that I was going to set things up to make one for myself, he casually remarked that there was a simple way of making a high angled smoother that might serve my purpose.  When I tried it, I had to smack my forehead.  Hard.  The solution was both brilliantly insightful and mindlessly simple and best of all, easy.  Coordinated problem solving like this is what woodworking fellowship is all about.

The solution? why, flipping the blade, of course!

I first tried it on a tiny coffin smoother that I had, which was set up to cut at 49 degrees, but when the blade was flipped the new cutting angle was a bit too steep at 74 degrees.  Yeah, a bit too steep.

I then looked through my collection of bench planes to see which of them might be a good candidate for this modification.  I had a nice little coffin plane with a very shallow angle on the blade bevel.  It is set up to cut at about 45 degrees, and simply by flipping the blade over I got a 62-degree cutting angle.  Not the perfect setup, but way better than I had before.

The new orientation turns the plane from a double iron bevel-down tool into essentially a single iron bevel-up plane.  Yes indeed, I transformed one of my bench planes into a pretty nice high angle smoother in less than 30 seconds.  For zero dollars.

A couple minutes to touch up the blade on my 12000 water stone and the tool began its work.  It wasn’t pulling off long, gossamer wisps, but did I mention I was planing African “mahogany,” a/k/a braided broom straw?

The result in the lower right corner of the image speaks for itself.  Following the smoothing with a bit of scraping yielded an outcome that was acceptable, especially since after the exhibit I will be surfacing the bench top with a toothing plane.  I remain committed to avoiding African “mahogany” in perpetuity, but for this one problem the result is in the right direction.

Smacks to the Forehead and A Lump in the Throat

Yes, I am “all Studley exhibit, all the time” for the next month, but that tedium (?) was punctuated by a banner week at the Post Office box.

First came the brilliant Chairmaker’s Notebook from Peter Galbert.  It arrived just in time for one of my periodic days at the ophthalmologist’s office (the periodicity depends on which of my eye diseases is acting up, and how severely) during which I had time to read a good part of it carefully and browse all of it to the end.  The book is only partly about making Windsor chairs.  In truth it is really about the way to think about, and the way to do almost anything of real consequence.

I am not a Windsor chairmaker and unlikely to become one other than as an amusement, my chairmaking runs from Point A, Gragg chairs, to Point A’, making slightly different Gragg chairs.  Still, Peter’s eloquence and deep understanding, and the exasperatingly skillful manner of conveying them, made me smack my forehead repeatedly with the silent exclamation,”But of course!” while simultaneously silently muttering, “Man, I wish I had written this.”

I also received the printer’s proofs from Virtuoso, and to tell you the truth, the combination of the sumptuous imagery contained therein combined with the realization that almost five years of work are nearing the end made a sizable lump in my throat.  It has been a project of passions — sometimes love, sometimes hate — as are most such undertakings, but it it noteworthy to celebrate its conclusion.

Finally, my good friend of three decades Dr. Walter Williams just send me a signed copy of his latest book.  A collection of scores of columns, it will make for enticing bite sized bits of common sense wisdom.

All in all, a good week at the post office.

The Virtual Studley Exhibit Experience

Just for fun, I want to walk you though the steps you will be taking when you attend the Henry O Studley Tool Cabinet and Workbench Exhibit next month.  Some of the details are yet to be resolved, but I have a general idea of what the experience will be like.

The first thing you are likely to do is to park in a lot either across the street from the Scottish Rite Temple, or a parking garage on the corner  of the next block (but still visible from the SRT).

Then, walk through the front door at the center of the main facade.

Once in the lobby, turn to your left.

You will see the Library, and walk into it.  We may have the tickets and books there, or they may be in the exhibit hall itself.  Stay tuned on that.

Once inside the Library, turn right and walk through the doorway.

After about six feet, turn left into the entryway for the exhibit hall.

Come on in!

The exhibit hall will be drastically different once the exhibit is installed, as there will be dramatic theatrical lighting (no overhead lights at all), a black drapery backdrop, and large graphics and didactics on the walls.

Along the center axis of the room will be the three main components of the exhibit.  First will be the replica Studley workbench festooned with a half dozen vintage vises for your entertainment pleasure, along with castings from the original decorative Studely-made details in the cabinet. This will be the “You Can Touch This” part of the exhibit.   Next will come Studley’s own personal workbench, and the culmination being the third station, that being the tool cabinet itself.   These last two stations will be the “Don’t Even Think About It” installations.

In addition, there will be a silent video playing overhead on the projector screen of me emptying and packing the cabinet, video Narayan and Chris shot during our multiple safaris to Studleyville.

I hope you agree with me that the setting is darned near perfect for honoring the legacy of Henry O. Studley, and celebrating the release of the book chronicling his life and labors.

Conserving a c.1720 Italian Tortoiseshell Mirror – Polishing and Finishing

The final steps for conserving the tortoiseshell mirror frame were to make sure all the excess glue was cleaned off and the surface was given a final gleaning and polishing with the incomparable Mel’s Wax.

As I mentioned earlier, the tortoiseshell veneer was very fragile in general, and the simple gentle tasks of cleaning and polishing caused three new areas to pop up, so I had to deal with them immediately as well, exactly as described int the previous post.

Mel’s Wax goes on effortlessly, and in the end yields a near-flawless archival protective surface.  It goes on like sunscreen lotion, then goes dull as it dries, and buffs perfectly with almost anything.  Paper towel, flannel, linen, cotton rags, anything.

As always, the very last thing was to strap the mirror to its litter, take it back to the client’s house, and hang it up.  I must say, it does look pretty good.

I will work on the second mirror once the storm of Studley calms down.

Coming Together (the Studley Benchtop Replica)

Now that Virtuoso: The Tool Cabinet and Workbench of Henry O. Studley is actually in production, one weighty anvil has been lifted from my neck.  However, another anvil still sits there for another six weeks, that being the exhibit of the Studley collection.  From now until then I am all-Studley-exhibit-all-the-time as I continue work on the exhibit components and attend to the multitude of details that have to all fall in place perfectly.

The replica workbench top continues apace.  I got the top smooth enough (more about that in a day or two) to seal it with my preferred benchtop finish of 1/2 tung oil with 1/2 mineral spirits, and about 2% japan drier.

I like this finish as it soaks into the wood deeply and provides a nice robust seal to the wood.

For the exhibit the top will be pretty smooth, but once it gets back home I will achieve my preferred top surface by cross-hatching it with a toothing plane, a technique I learned from my long-time friend and colleague, and Roubo project collaborator, Philippe Lafargue.  But for now it is nice and smooth.

I fabricated the exhibit base for the top from three 1/2″ Baltic birch plywood boxes, fitted them to fastening battens, and temporarily assembled it in order to layout all six of the vises going on it for the exhibit.

One of the beauties of this exhibit is that it may be the only time in their lives that patrons to a museum-quality exhibit will get the chance to touch and manipulate historic artifacts, namely the six vintage vises hanging from the new bench top.

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If you would like to experience the bench top in person, and oh by the way see the entire Studley Collection, there are still tickets available here.

“Virtuoso” Now Available for Pre-Publication Ordering (re-post from Lost Art Press)