tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4996432166551690323.post744688969469531216..comments2024-03-25T22:03:50.066+01:00Comments on St. Thomas guild - medieval woodworking, furniture and other crafts: The game of Astronomical TablesMarijnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05839707199186597043noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4996432166551690323.post-32528394759582209112013-09-07T13:38:05.040+02:002013-09-07T13:38:05.040+02:00Hi Marijn,
The figurehead will probably take at l...Hi Marijn,<br /><br />The figurehead will probably take at least a couple of months. A lot will depend on the oak, as it is not fully seasoned yet. It is currently in three blocks, from which I'll rough out the design in three parts first. The oak will be easier to carve the rough figure in when it's still a bit unseasoned and hopefully the three blocks will be much easier to move around than one big block!<br />I plan to hollow the figurehead out, so that the oak can season more evenly. Once the roughed out blocks have seasoned for a bit longer, they will be glued together (probably using a modern glue such as Balcotan) and the final carving done.<br /><br />I'll use modern tools (chainsaw, Arbortech, galahad) for a lot of the big work removing the waste timber, as the project is quite large and I do have other work on. However, the final finish will be using a Gransfors Bruks Swedish carving axe and gouges, to give a finish closer to the one that a medieval shipwright would achieve. It would be great to use an adze as well but, to be honest, I'm not confident enough with using one to be confident of getting the right finish!<br />Finally, the figurehead will be painted, to make it stand out a bit on the ship and also to protect it from the seawater.<br /><br />As for the eagle feathers, I was just trying to see what effect you want - whether they are incised in (like a pattern) or standing out in three dimensions. I'm not sure what the final effect that you're looking for is, and both finishes could use different tools. <br /><br />My first thought was to use a V tool to cut the grooves marking out the feathers. However, I haven't seen any evidence of tools like this being in use before the 19th century and they are certainly too complex for early toolsmiths to have made. They could make your sella curulis look a bit 'out of time'. One style of tool that they certainly had then, which would be useful for cutting the feathers, is a fishtail skew.<br /><br />I'd suggest that a fishtail skewed gouge with a very shallow sweep or a fishtail skew chisel could be used to chase the cuts that you want, to make the shapes of the feathers. One cut and then another running next to it, to make a groove. It would work far better if the cutting edge was sharpened with a curve along it (check out the Ray gonzalez hooked skew chisel made by Ashley Iles and you will see the kind of shape that I'm trying to describe). Early carvers would certainly have had tools like this. There are some hanging on the wall behind 'John Thorp of Plymouth' in the entry about inventories on your site, dated 31st March 2013. You could use stabbing cuts with a shallow sweep gouge (not a skewed one) to make the two sides of grooves that form the patterning of the feather barbs.<br /><br />Phew! I hope that this all makes sense Marijn, it's quite hard to describe in words what would take a couple of seconds to draw out with a pencil and paper! Good luck with the carving on the chair and I really enjoy reading the Guild's blog, thank you for posting on it.<br /><br />All the best,<br />AlistairAlistairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16375556738066106681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4996432166551690323.post-54540615279182736052013-09-03T17:45:50.374+02:002013-09-03T17:45:50.374+02:00Thank you for the interesting blogpost on the pole...Thank you for the interesting blogpost on the pole lathe in Carisbrooke Castle. And I am curious about the figurehead of the ship as well. How long does it take to carve such a piece? I am busy with carving the (eagle)heads for the sella curulis. However I am still figuring out an easy method to carve the feathers. Any suggestions?Marijnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05839707199186597043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4996432166551690323.post-16712721811297802722013-08-31T13:42:35.991+02:002013-08-31T13:42:35.991+02:00Whilst visiting Carisbrooke Castle in the Isle of ...Whilst visiting Carisbrooke Castle in the Isle of Wight recently, I went into the museum there and saw an ivory gaming piece, which was described as being used in a game called 'tables' (perhaps the same as this one?). It was found at the castle itself and dated to Norman times. You might like to see an image of it and there is one on my blog at:<br />http://carvingswithstories.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/bowl-turning-on-pole-lathe-at.html<br />There are also images on this post of a replica medieval pole lathe for bowl turning, as well as other medieval-aged finds in the museum.<br /><br />Thanks very much for publishing this very interesting blog. At the moment, I'm working on a medieval-style oak ship's figurehead that will be fitted on the prow of the 'Matthew'. This is a replica of the ship in which John Cabot (or Giovanni Caboto!) sailed to discover what is now the eastern seaboard of Canada. The replica ship is now moored in Bristol harbour in England. <br /><br />As part of the project, I'm planning on having a couple of carving gouges made as recreations of those that would have been used by medieval shipwrights or carpenters. The research and images that you have posted have been very helpful in working out designs for them- thank you! If you would like to see a little of the research into the design of the figurehead itself, it is posted here:<br />http://carvingswithstories.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/white-greyhound-of-richmond-vs-talbot.html<br /><br />...and an image of the replica ship itself (with me swinging around off the prow getting measurements) is here:<br />http://carvingswithstories.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/final-measurements-for-matthew.html<br /><br />All the best,<br />AlistairAlistairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16375556738066106681noreply@blogger.com