An 17th century plane from Alkmaar

This post is a sidestep from the medieval posts normally shown on the Saint Thomasguild blog. However, the lack of medieval planes have survived time and the fact that the plane from Alkmaar is not very well known (I did only know of this plane because Anne bought a book on archaeology in Alkmaar last month) are reason to devote this small post to it.

Archaeological excavations were carried out in the Huigbrouwerstraat 3 in Alkmaar, the Netherlands in 1995. Specifically the cesspit and chutes were dug up. The finds in one of the pits could be dated to 1625 and 1680. Most of the non-organic finds were broken earthenware and glass. One of the special finds was a more or less complete wooden plane. The description of the plane given in the published report 'Gebruikt en gebroken - vijf eeuwen bewoning op drie locaties in het oostelijk stadsdeel'  is very scarce. For instance the type of wood is not given and the measurement could only be calculated from the 1:2 line drawing.

Photo of the 17th century Alkmaar plane from the report 'Gebruikt en gebroken'. 

You can see clearly the wooden cross-pin and the low-angle for the blade.

The plane is small and has a length of approximately 16 cm, a height and width of 7 cm. The toat is slightly higher at 8 cm. The toat is cut directly out of the plane block and forms one piece with it. From the opening in the plane it can be deduced that the blade had a width of 4 cm and was set at a low angle around 35 degrees. The blade was secured by a wooden crosspin (still present) and wedge - an outdated method at that time, superseded by the grooved wedge. One side of the plane has been repaired using iron nails. The actual blade was present at the time of excavation, but removed due to heavy corrosion during the conservation process.

Line drawing of the 17th century Alkmaar plane from the report. 

The size bar has been added by me.

The Dutch plane from Nova Zembla

In the report, a comparison of the Alkmaar plane is made with another Dutch plane from an earlier century: the block plane of the Nova Zembla expedition of Willem Barentz (1596), which was left behind on the polar island and excavated in the late 19th century. The planes are however only comparable in size. The construction is very different, as well as their intended use, as the blades are set at quite different angles. 

 Dragging wood on sleds to the place where the 'Behouden Huys' (Safe House) is built from 17 September 1596. In the background the Behouden Huys is under construction, left the jammed ship can be seen. Engraving opposite page 67 of the book 'Warhafftige Relation. Der dreyen newen unerhörten seltzamen Schiffart so die Holländischen und Seeländischen Schiff....Anno 1594, 1595 und 1596 verricht' . Printed by Levinus Hulsius, Nuremberg, Germany, 1598. Image freely available from online collection of Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

The Barentz plane is very precisely dated between 1590-1596 and measures 16 cm (length) × 10.5 cm (height including toat) × 5.6 cm (width). The plane and toat are made of beech. The (top) opening for the plane blade is 4.5 cm wide by 10.2 cm. The octagonal toat is attached to the plane block by  a wooden dowel. The plane blade is set at an angle of 45 degrees and secured by a grooved wedge. Two plane blades which are slightly tapered towards the end are associated with this plane.

A detail of the engraving shown above, shows a carpenter cutting mortises. Behind him on the ground are an axe and a plane strikingly similar to the one found at the site of the Behouden Huys. The engraving is of 1598, the actual plane of 1596 - only two years difference. 

The block plane of 1596 found on the site of the Behouden Huys at Nova Zembla, Russia. 

Image freely available from online collection of Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, the Netherlands. 

The two plane blades associated with the Barentz plane. Both blades are 4 cm wide and weigh 121 gram. The length of the left blade is 14 cm, the one on the right 14 .6 cm. Both images freely available from online collection of Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

The Barentz plane with one of the plane blades.

Another comparison can be made with the 17th century planes found on the ship Vasa, which sank in 1628. The construction of this ship was overseen by Dutch shipbuilders, and some planes have similarities to later Dutch planes. I do however have no detailed information of these planes, except for the photos I took and were published in an earlier blogpost.

The Thomasteppich project

As the Saint Thomasguild, we have the ambitious plan to recreate a Thomasteppich after the 14th century original in kloster Wienhausen, Germany, in klosterstich. Our plan is to make a smaller version, 1.20 m by 2.40 instead of the 2 m by 4 m of the original. It is still a daunting task to undertake by Anne and Katinka. Yesterday we have started with the transfer of the scenes of the Thomasteppich on the linen cloth. We will use three rows, one for each row of scenes. Finally the rows will be sewn together as well the outer border. Whereas the life of St. Thomas will be unchanged to the original, the outer border will be changed to something more appropriate to our trade - woodworking - and city - Nimweghen. Also the text will slightly change from old German to old Dutch, which are in fact very similar languages.  

 First, the basic lines are set on the linen with a ruler and pencil

 Bram is busy drawing Saint Thomas.

The tree on the first scene of the tapestry.

Saint Thomas of the first scene.

At the moment we are still looking for the correct wool to use for the embroidery. We have tried the Appleton 2-thread embroidery wool, but this was found to thin for our use. DMC wool is much thicker but it is only available in strands of a few metres while we need hundreds of meters for the tapestry. If anyone can recommend a specific brand or type of wool suitable for our tapestry, we would be very happy.

On the left of the eastern wall  of the Palazzo Schifanoia (Ferrara, Italy) the Triumph of Minerva has been painted by Francesco Cossa, 1476-1484. On the right side of the fresco a woman is busy with an embroidery frame on simple trestles accompanied by other women doing needlework and weaving.

As woodworkers we will of course make the embroidery frames and trestles ourselves. They will likely look like the frame held by the embroidering lady on the Italian fresco shown above.

The medieval toolchest: the marking gauge or skantyllion

The marking gauge is a very useful tool in woodworking, which is used to scratch a parallel line spaced from a fixed margin. A gauge consists of four elements: a wooden block (the fence) with a hole in centre, a square stem which slides though the hole in the fence. At one end of the stem is a pin or knife point inserted for marking. And finally, a wedge with which the sliding stem can be fixed to a set length. Also gauges having two sliding stems exist; these are known as mortise gauges.

A mortise gauge with two sliding stems is found on the right side of the workbench. 

Image 'Der Schreiner' from the Standebuch by Jost Amman. Woodcut 1568.

We do know that the medieval woodworker used the gauge, but no surviving examples exist, nor any images of gauges before 1500. However, a book illumination by Jean Bourdichon at the end of the 15th century shows an unclear tool. It could be interpreted as a mallet, but with some imagination this could also be a marking gauge. Perhaps this is only wishful thinking from me … The title page of the book ‘The childhood of Jesus’ by Hieronymus Wierix (1550), however, shows a clear example of a gauge lying on the workbench, although the position of the wedge is not visible. From the same period is a surviving example from the Mary Rose wreck. The gauge is made of ash, while the wedge is of oak. Here the wedge goes parallel with the sliding stick.

The last tool on the wall on the right could be interpreted as a gauge. 

Jean Bourdichon 'Les quatre états de la société - L'artisan ou le travail', end of the 15th century.

A gauge can be seen lying on the workbench. 

Title page of the Childhood of Jesus by Hieronymous Wierix, 16th century.

As mentioned above, written sources mention the gauge in which it is known as the ‘scantillion’ pr ‘skantyllion’. Roy Underhill quotes in the Woodwright’s workbook a sentence from 1300: ‘And do we well and make a tower. With square and scantillion so even, that he may reache higher than heaven’. The scantillion also appears in the 'Debate of the Carpenters tools', an anonymous fifteenth century rhyme (Bodleian Library, Ashmole 61; reproduced in the Woodwright’s workbook):

Sof, ser, seyd the skantyllion, (Soft, sir, said the scantillion)
I trow your thrift be wele ny done; (I think your luck be nearly done)
Euer to crewel thou arte in word; (Ever so cruel thou art in word)
And yet thou arte not worth a tord! (and yet thou art not worth a turd!)
For all the gode that thou gete myght, (for all the good that thou get might)
He wyll spend it on a nyght. (He will spend it in one night)

 

The gauge from the Mary Rose wreck, line drawing and photo. Images from the book 'Before the mast: life and death aboard the Mary Rose by Julie Gardiner, Michael J. Allen and Mary Anne Alburger. The length of the stem is 216 mm long and circa 20 mm square with holes for a scribing pin at the ends. The fence measures 107 x 71 mm. On the stem are X-markings at  1 1/16 inch (30 mm) and 2 inch (52 mm) indicating common measurement settings. There are also two parallel lines scribes at the side of the pin holes, which may be used to locate the spot to place a replacement pin. According to the authors the gauge was for right handed use.

Our toolchest holds one home-made and several antique marking gauges, of which two are shown. The antique one is made of ash, like the Mary Rose gauge, the other is made of walnut. The ash one has the wedge going parallel through the block. The pin (a new added forged nail) has been whetted to a single sided knife edge. The walnut gauge is made by us (using an article from Fine woodworking magazine) with a wedge parallel to the sliding stick. The pin for this one is whetted to a point.

The antique marking gauge: Stem length 29.5 cm, 17 mm square, 

fence 7.5 x 7 x 2 cm, wedge length 11.6 cm.

Like a sided axe, the pin is whetted with a bevel on one side only.  

The stem and fence fixed with the wedge.

The walnut marking gauge: stem 30.3 cm, 2 cm square;

 fence 8 x 7 x3.5 cm; wedge length 10.3 cm.

The wedge of the marking gauge parallel with the stem.

The medieval toolchest: compass, calliper and divider

'God took the golden compass circumscribing the universe'. Though this quote comes from 1667, the image fitting this quote very well is from medieval times. The compass is used by architects, masons, navigators, and several woodworking trades. The compass is considered important to the medieval joiner and is often depicted on the guild signs together with the square, the axe and the plane. Compasses are also called dividers.

God as architect of the universe. Bible Moralise, Codex Vindobonensis 2554 (French, ca. 1250), in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna, Austria. The compass has a thin arm fixed to the right leg and sliding through the left leg, providing more stability.

Monk at work as a joiner. Side of a choir stall from the cloister in  Pöhlde, Germany, dated around 1280. Nowadays in the Niedersächsisches Landesmuseum, Hannover, Germany. You can see a selection of woodworking tools depicted including a compass with a sliding arm. Other tools are a square, chisels and gouges, mallet, plane and workbench. Image from www.damals.de.

Carpenters are inspected by the grandmaster of the order of St. John in Rhodes. Miniature detail from MS Lat. 6067 by guillaume caoursin, 1480. Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. On  the ground are several tools including a compass, chisel, square and mallet.

15th century seal of the carpenters guild of St. Truiden, Belgium.

Compasses for coopers are large and made of two wooden legs with iron pins, while compasses for joiners are generally smaller and completely made of metal (iron and/or brass). The legs of a compass are stiffly hinged with a rivet. Compasses are used to scratch circular forms on wood (for instance gothic arches), but also to transfer exact measurements, or to divide lengths in equal parts. Sizes for (excavated) metal compasses are in the range 9-18 cm (Boijmans van Beuningen and 'Ironwork in medieval Britain - an archeological study by I.A. Goodall, ISBN 978-1-907975-455). 

 An iron compass dating from around 1450.

Three medieval compasses made of brass and iron from the collection in museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, the Netherlands . Left:  Compass no. F 6454 (KN&V) dated 1400-1500. Size 13.1 x 3.4 x 0.8 cm. Middle:  Compass no. F 6449 (KN&V) dated 1500-1600. Size  17.6 x 1.5 cm. Right: Compass no. F 6455 (KN&V) dated 1400-1500. Size 9.5 cm.

The compasses of the Thomasguild are antique ones, bought at tool collectors shops.

Our two compasses, made of iron. One has a supporting arm.

Callipers

Callipers are a special form of compass that occur in two versions, inside and outside callipers. They are used to measure the exact size of a form by placing it between the legs. Outside callipers measure the outside diameter of an item (e.g. the thickness of a stick), while the inside calliper is used to measure the diameter in an item (e.g. the inside of a cup). The callipers are indispensable tools for the turner, used continually to measure the turned item as the work progressed. I have not seen many images of medieval callipers, however a Roman marble relief shows both an incomplete lathe and callipers. An early renaissance book illustration shows many different compasses and a calliper.

Marble relief of a woodworkers shop, originally from an altar perhaps dedicated to Minerva. Tools from left to right are a frame saw, a carpenters square, a calliper, a bucksaw. A lathe may be depicted on the stand in the centre left of the relief and also before the seated figure to the right.  L. 1.38 m, H 58 cm. Capitoline Museum (Montemartini) Rome. late first century. Image from the book Roman Woodworking by R.B. Ulrich, ISBN 978-0-300-10341-0.

Among all the tools at least four compasses and one or two callipers are shown. Title illustration of the book 'Der fuernehbsten notwendigsten der ganzen Archtectur angehorichen Mathematischen und Mechanischen kunst eygentlicher bericht' by Walter H. Rivius, Nuremberg, Germany, 1547.

We use several antique callipers, both inside and outside at the Thomasguild, mainly for our turning work with the pole lathe. All our callipers are made of iron.  

Two outside callipers. The one on the right looks like the one depicted on the Roman marble. 
The one on the left like the one depicted by Rivius in 1547.

 An inside and an outside calliper.

 

The medieval toolchest: the plane (part 1.5)

This post is an addendum to the first post on medieval planes. I did mention a specific medieval Italian plane with side handles (shown in the two images below) and also my wishes to make such a plane. I have just finished the reconstruction of such a medieval plane this month, and would like to show it to you in the next set of photos. 

Above: The fresco of Campo Santo, Pisa, Italy  by Pietro di Puccio (1390) showing the plane with side handles from the bottom in the basket. 

Right: An intarsia by Agustino de Marchi dating from 1468-1477 in the choir of  the San Petronio Basilica in Bologna, Italy, showing the plane with side handles (on the chest) from above. Both images from the book by J.M. Greber, Die geschichte des hobels.

My plane is made from beech and is 29.5 cm long, 20 cm wide (with handles), 8.7 cm wide (without handles) and 7 cm high. The plane iron is made by the German mastersmith David Schütze (Wollschmiede) and is 5.2 cm wide, 13.5 cm long, and has a 6 mm thickness. The blade can protrude maximally 4 mm from the block and is set at an angle of 50 degrees. The plane has been made for roughing out (scrub plane) and as such it has a rounded iron. The side handles make it a plane that can be worked by two men, one pushing and the other pulling. Thus far I have only used it as a one-men plane, and found it working unexspectedly easy. Shavings of 1 mm thickness were no problem at all.

 The plane with shavings. The plane blade is secured by an wedge and a 10 mm thick iron pin.

 The top, side and bottom of  the plane.

Left: The back of the plane. Right: the rounded iron and the wedge together with some shavings.  

The result of testing the plane: beautiful shavings of 1 mm thickness. My other medieval Italian plane, 

in sharp contrast, produces near translucent shavings.

Medieval chests from Kloster Isenhagen

The hallway on the first floor of Kloster Isenhagen.

In this last post on the medieval furniture of the convent Isenhagen at the Luneburger moor, the chests are shown. All the medieval chests of the Luneburger convents (in particulary Wienhausen and Ebstorf, but also Lune, Medingen and Isenhagen as well as those in other musea) including the ones shown in this post, are described in detail in the books Die gotischen Truhen der Luneburger Heidekloster by K.H. Stulpnagel and Truhen, Kisten, Laden vom Mittelalter bis zum gegenwart am beispiel der Luneburger Heide by T. Albrecht. These books also contain every detail on the construction. Most of these chests are from the 13th to 15th century, and are of the hutch-type. But there are some specific differences in construction of the chests of this area that enables them to be ordered into four subtypes: the Celler type, the Braunschweiger type,  the Luneburger type and the Hannover type. All types have some common characteristics. They slightly converge  to the top, the boards more than the legs. The boards of the bottom of the chest are connected by tongue and groove, and with a groove to the side boards and legs. Most chests have small side-chests inside on the left or right side. Also a small ridge can be found near the top of the chest on which small items could be placed.

The Celler type has sturdy legs, the boards at the front  are connected with each other with dowels, and with  a haunched tenon to the legs. The lower part of the legs can be decorated with simple chipcarving or zig-zag patterns. The lid of the chest is slightly rounded and hinges on a wooden dowel or thorn at the side.  Finally, the wooden nails securing the tenons are placed at specific positions. The lock is consist usually of an iron bar at the inside. Chests of the Celler type are the earliest to appear but are not found after 1400.

An "explosion" drawing of a chest of the Celler type around 1300. You can see that the board converge to the top and that the lid is slightlly rounded. Image by K.H. Stulpnagel from the book Die gotischen Truhen der Luneburger Heidekloster.

The Branschweiger type shares many characteristics of the Celler type. The lid and lock for instance are of the same type. The boards are jointed with dowels or just butted. The connection of the boards to the legs can be either a simple tenon, or a haunched tenon. The lower middle boards often extend to the bottom of the legs and are usually decorated. Also the Braunschweiger type is only produced until 1400.

The Luneburger chest type has a flat lid, which is connected to the back of the chest with ring hinges. Sometime this chest type is found with a framework to the sides. These chests are also wider and measure over 1.25 m, making them appear  leaner. The middle boards are connected to each other with dowels, and to the legs with simple tenons or a haunched tenon. The Luneburger type is produced onwards till  the 16th century.

 

An "explosion" drawing of a Luneburger type chest. At the back and right side the top ridge is shown. The lid is decorated and connects to the chest with a ring hinge. Image by K.H. Stulpnagel from the book Die gotischen Truhen der Luneburger Heidekloster.

The last type, the Hannover chest type can be distinguished on the connection of the sides to the legs and the specific positions of the nails. There are no Hannover type chests in Kloster Isenhagen. All the chests from the Luneburger convents could  be dated dendrochronologically.

Characteristics of other, non-Luneburger medieval hutch type chests are that they do not converge. Most often they have strap hinges and iron bands as decoration. Also the bottom boards are commonly nailed.

Chest TR-NR 220 (ISN Ba 84) . Made of oak and dated around 1310. Height 91 cm, width 113 cm, depth 70 cm. Decorated with hardly visible cross decorations. Celler construction type. On the inside of the chest is a small side chest.

Chest TR-NR 409 (ISN Ba 83). Made of oak, dated 1375 and of Braunschweiger construction. Height 69 cm, width 85 cm, depth 53.7 cm. The chest is decorated with iron nails. On the left inside there is a small side chest. More details of this chest are shown in a previous post 'unconventional photography'.

Left photo: Chest TR-NR 410 (ISN Ba 87) is also made of oak and dated around 1379. Height 94.5 cm, width 161.5 cm, depth 77.3 cm. The chest is of the Braunschweiger construction, though this is not visible on this photo. On the right inside there is a small side chest, on the left inside a high ridge on which items can be laid. The chest has no specific decoration.

Chest TR-NR 325 (ISN Ba 85) (Right photo top and photo below) is made of oak and dated between 1500-1550. It is the very large (and heavy - around 200 kg) travelling chest of the abbess Margarete von Boldensen, which she took with her in 1540 when she was forced from the convent during reformation. Height 89.5 cm, width 220 cm, depth 75.5 cm. It has the Luneburger construction type which shown by its size, the side of the chest and the lid. This chest is also interesting because it was painted (remnants can be seen on the front) with heraldic symbols in gold. The lid of the chest is interesting as well because of the 'four-pass' decoration.

 

Truhe TR-NR 207 (ISN Ba 89). A Celler type chest dated 1294. Made of oak, height 92.5 cm, width 112.5 cm, depth 78.5 cm. The lower part of the chest is bleached due to the dampness of the floor. On the right inner side is a small side chest. The lower legs are decorated with a simple circular chip carving.

Truhe TR-NR 209 (ISN Ba 90). Oak chest of the Celler type dated around 1300. Height 89 cm, width 107 cm, and depth 72 cm. Decorated with nails and zigzag carving at the feet.  The left innerside shows a small side chest (see below right). The lid of this side chest can be used to hold the large lid open. Inside also the remains of the bar lock can be seen (below left).

 

Not all chests in Kloster Isenhagen are hutch type chests. TR-NR 111 (ISN Ba 88) is a nailed slab-ended chest dated around 1400 and made from pine wood. Height 74.5 cm, width 151 cm, depth 61 cm. The bottom is joined with a groove and tongue to the sides, but nailed at the long side. The lock is asymmetrically positioned. It is likely that 13 cm of the chest is missing and has been sawn of.