Quanity required

I don't do comments here, though I am responsive to email questions. How does one figure the amount of leaf for a gilding job?

First, figure the leaves needed to cover a three inch, gold, length of the molding, (overlaps), multiply by four, then multiply by the number of feet.

A 30 + 40, = 70,  3.5 inches wide, + 7, divided by 6 = 12.83 = 13 feet. If it takes five leaves to cover one 3 inch length, (overlaps), because of the depth of the molding, and 3D ornament or carving, multiply by 4 ( the no. of leaves in a foot), then the no. of leaves to cover the whole molding. 13 x 4 = 52 x 5 = 260. A little over estimation is good, though I have  done some frames where my estimating was right to the leaf, leaving me just a few for some sort of insurance. With gold, I usually figure my needs, and seldom with metal, as there is usually enough on hand, and the economics are different.  Framers all round up at some point; for me it is a half foot.

Happy gilding! I tend to water gild gold in the evening, after dinner, after a drink or so, as I am calmer and less bouncy. Machining and carving are usually done in the day; toning is a day time, frenetic dance. I can carve in the evening, but running machines is a daytime, sober, scary activity, and I have 9 and 7/8ths fingers to show for it. You can screw up at any time, so pay attention, and listen; if it doesn't "feel" right, don't, relax, look at it critically. Fingers are  ...  good!

I've been doing proposals for 19th. c. reproduction frames, thus the picture.

Frames of another ilk.

I'm working on some frames for windows; restoring double-hung sash for a 1912 "four-square" house for a small "Green" organization. These sash are about 100 years old, and are easily restorable to the same functionality of any modern window. Add a storm, and they are completely competitive with any modern glazing method. And, in 50-60 years, they can be restored again; the weights will still be there, the rope can be replaced; the glass can be replaced, paint and putty, replaceable. The way these older windows are assembled and the maturity of the technology involved is just amazing. Unlike furniture, many of the sash are not glued at the joint; just pinned, and then the glazing, points and putty hold it all together as an integral unit.

I fear that many of the newer style windows, with the spring loaded balancing mechanisms, are going to be unrepairable in the future, due to lack of parts. With a traditional sash, weights can be recast; rotted out elements can be repaired or replaced; a mature technology, and the "eyes of your house".

Clearing alleys?

In an unprecedented action, the city has sent in an end loader to clear alleys so the garbage trucks can get through. This is the alley behind my house. This has never happened before, never!

Small Blessings

At about 4:00 PM Saturday afternoon, the wind shifted slightly, from NW to N, the skies cleared, and the lake effect "snow monster" ceased here in South Bend. Total snow was 38.6 inches from late Thursday morning to Sat. afternoon. For the final 24 hour period, a new record was set, 25 inches. More snow than the famous 'Blizzard of 78", which was a systemic snow, and hit much of the mid-west.

 

Chicago, summertime.

More of the Snow Monster

 

The Studio

 

The walk to the street.

 

My mini-van?

It's about 2:30 in the afternoon, in one of the brief lulls in the ongoing snow. Lake effect snow is predicted to continue until 7:00 AM, Sunday morning, a little more than 16 hours from now. If the snow continues at the rate it has fallen for the last 20 hours, we will get our average, yearly snowfall in one 50 some hour period; approximately 80 inches. Even for South Bend, this is an unusual "Snow Monster".

At the end of December, we had a mid-winter thaw, that produced temps in the 50s, which melted all of our previous snow. We started a new snow layer on Thursday; Friday night, the monster really kicked in. Ahh, winter.

Snow Monster Redux

The snow monster drops 20-30 inches, depending on where you are in the bands, which are holding steady as in the radar shot. The monster has another 20 hours to work its magic, with snow of 1-2 inches per hour expected. The bottom is an image of what a snow squall looks like; sometimes these produce zero visibility. Now, back to trying to clear some paths.