Ongoing arch commentary.

The two arch elements clamped, and the first, inner cut, being refined. I used a Sabre saw to make the cuts. Clamping the two "boards" together to cut them, caused the plastic material to melt and refuse behind the cut, though a single cut worked well.

To refine the edge, and smooth out the waviness from the hand cut, I'm using a Sureform rasp, and cabinet makers rasps and files. These are tapered, one side flat, the opposite slightly round. Final finish with a random orbit power sander. The clean edge is then used as a reference to mark the outer cut. Another "tool" used for this are a pair of Wells-Lamont mechanics gloves, going by the name "Grips", as rasps and files tend to work on the hands as well.

The finished arch elements.

Brave New World, plastic said the spider ...

I sometimes take on some "odd" jobs, both for the challenge, and the getting paid part. This one involves a material I was only vaguely aware of, plastic millwork. I've seen the plastic frames for years, thank goodness for odd painting sizes, but don't spend enough time in the regular lumber store. Recently I was asked to make an arched element for some ornamental work for a porch, and was supplied with the material; two 18 foot by 11 1/4 inch boards made of plastic, polyurethane.

Above, one of the 18 footers, halved and now being laminated into a 9 foot by 22 1/2 inch board from which to cut the arch from. Gorilla glue, after some research seemed a good choice, the deciding factor being reasonable availability. The glue joints only need to last til the arches are installed; then contractors adhesive and mechanical fasteners will hold it in place. I did try and snap my test piece; two little cutoffs glued together, by pressing down, hard, on the supported and unsupported pieces. Still together.

This image shows the layout on the boards. I did the layout prior to glue-up, so I would know where the critical areas were for clamping. The arch was drawn from a 1"  x  10'  x  1/8" piece of plywood, that I cobbled together from 2 5' strips of the plywood held together with a small third strip, about 3 inches long, super-glued to the back of the longer strips. 5 minutes, done. Capturing the 10' strip at the center, between 2 thin, clamped pieces of scrap, I could bend the strip, clamp it at the end, and draw the arc out to the center, then do the other side.

More, later, as it progresses.

Connoisseurship

Judith H. Dobrzynski on Culture, Real Clear Arts.


"To hear some people tell it, connoisseurship is a concept that has been lost by much of the art world -- or at the very least, underplayed. The Minneapolis Institute of Arts this week opens an exhibition that instead puts connoisseurship back in the spotlight."

Ms. Dobrzynski regularly  finds interesting items. Personally, I think connoisseurship is in decline, but I might just be a grumpy old man.

There is a slideshow version of the exhibition.

Other Tools

 Case Pocket Knife with modifications.

The all purpose, go anywhere, indispensable handy-dandy pocket tool. Sharpen pencils, cut the foil from wine bottles, open those pesky blister packages, clean the gunk from under finger nails.

Mini-Copperhead with pen blade and Wharncliffe blade. I've modified the pen blade with an indent at the top, and I leave the last 1/4 inch dull, for cleaning gunk from fingernails. The rest of the blade is very sharp, as is the Wharncliffe.

If one was so inclined, it can also be used as a carving tool. Wow!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch ...

A helping "hand", support for the weary. A photo tripod, with a plywood platform, with a 1/4-20 threaded insert, attached to the head. Adjustable for uneven floors, etc. Amvona tripod, from e-bay, bogen head, all for about $70.00, and I can use it for photos, too.

 

More Painterly Photos, Robert Bergman

Judith H. Dobrzynski writes about Robert Bergman on her blog, and an article at the WSJ. The portraits display a very beautiful use of color and composition. Worth looking at.

Gordon Lewis at TOP

Over at TOP, Gordon Lewis is offering prints of this image, at a very good price for a limited time. This is from his review of the Pentax K7.

The image, itself is a very "painterly" photo. Possibly the most "painterly" I've seen. That's good.

More holding stuff.

Another approach to holding stock for small hand operations, talked about here. The above photo shows the bench dog, extended, to hold the "shelf" board or raiser bar. The bar is held to the bench by the rare earth magnets, which supports the stock along its length while clamped by the left vise.

 

This photo shows the bar in place.

A second bar has been added.

The above photo shows a second bar, with countersunk holes for screwing the bar to the stock. Holding the stock this way allows a range of angles for shaping the work, unhampered by clamps or vises.

Rejection as affirmation

"Shame about the comments."
Not really. I remember talking to a religious prosyletizer--soapbox-preacher type--at the University of Maryland a number of years ago. He was being heckled relentlessly by a few students and I wanted to know if he minded. He said, "Oh no. The hecklers are where all the converts come from." His notion was that the hecklers were engaged and passionate; the people who listened silently, shrugged, and wandered away were the ones he wasn't getting through to.
I'm not saying any of the comments here amount to heckling, nor am I saying that Simon's art is something anyone needs to be--or could be--"converted" to. All I'm saying is that rejecting art is a valid way of engaging with it, as far as I'm concerned.

This is from TOP, by Mike Johnson; a comment in the comments section. The idea of any publicity or comment is good, is sort of a cliche of Hollywood, though I had never thought of negative comments about art in this way; as an actual engagement with the art.

An interesting comment, thought provoking for me. Requires more thought.

Shellac

Shellac is an ancient , natural material; one for which I have found no substitute.  Here, the Wickipedia article, mostly accurate.

I use the white, pigmented shellac, as a base for coloring gessoed frames (an explanation of the process) prior to leafing. I mix my own using dry pigments, usually earth colors, such as Indian Red, Burnt Sienna, Yellow Ochre. Ivory Black (Bone Black) No recipes, as the color will vary with the job at hand. The various colors become an undercoat, tinting the leaf somewhat, and something to be rubbed through to for an "antique" effect. The clear and amber shades are used to seal the undercoat, and as a sealant and colorant for the leaf.

I use a "flatting" powder to soften the gloss, especially when sealing matte karet gold. It enhances the matte effect. Whiting may also be used to flatten the sealant, though it requires some care in the application. I use spray guns for gesso and shellac, except for the colored coats. Brushing gets all the recessive areas, then I spray a seal coat. When brush applying shellac, the addition of a small amount of high quality turpentine will slow the drying.

Depending on the finish for the frame, I will use , clear, blonde, amber, or button lac, or any of these with dyes added to alter the final finish. The clear and amber are available ready to apply, the others require soaking the flakes. I mostly use the Zinsser, as soaking and filtering, etc. is more expensive, and time consuming.

My choice of spray guns is the small touch up type spray gun.  This is an HVLP gun, with very little overspray, made by Binks, with a 8 oz. container. Small, easy to maneuver in and around a frame, and as opposed to the gravity type gun, with the paint container above the gun, comfortable to use. Double action, meaning more spray the more the lever is pressed, I generally set mine to a round pattern rather than a fan pattern. Fortunately, I own two of these, as Binks doesn't seem to make them any more. Very versatile gun, as I use them for thin sealants and very viscous gesso. All of my air tools are fitted with quick release connectors.

Real wood working.

Not my usual, namby-pamby wood working. Real, manly sort of wood working, with noisy chain saws and splitting mauls and wedges. The Workmate is holding a "jig" for cutting logs to size for my fireplace. The tree is an old, dead maple from our yard.

The tree service taking down the dead maple. The gentleman sitting at the curb is putting on his spiked linesmans boots, to climb and top out a tree across the street.

Going up the tree.

Scratch Stock

 Using the scratch stock, as mentioned here.

Mine is from Lee Valley Tools. They come with some preground cutters, but the idea is to make your own. Using small grinders, files, etc., it's possible to make almost any small molding element required. The "scraping" part is hard, as it's mostly "grunt" labor, though compared to the time spent setting up, jigging, fencing, etc. not much beyond the use of power tools. Power tools are great, but sometimes, doing it by hand is just quicker and easier.

The stock, some cutters, and a stick of molding.

Here, I talk about holding the stick of molding, the other key element in woodworking. The stick above still needs the waste around the beads removed, then a small cove molded at the front, rabbetted, all which will be done with the shaper with power feeder.

Enlarging rabbets

Enlarging a rabbet by hand, no "electric Beaver".  I clamped a straight edge, and scored the line where I wanted to remove the waste. Then using a paring type chisel I removed the waste almost to the bottom. As I got close, I removed the straight edge, cutting freehand. About an eighth inch from the bottom, I use a rabbet or bullnose plane to clean up and finish.