Galoots
I have been flipping through the heaps of pictures we took on our holiday,
and found a few that may be of interest here on the Porch. There have
been complaints levelled at me for the vast number of close-up shots of
joinery and carvings, as well as jeering from the audience in regards to
my methods. Apparently lying on the floor to take photos of the underside
of tables and cabinets is a source of ridicule.
But I had fun, so who cares, eh? On to the pictures!
Here's a simple one, layout lines on dovetails. This was on a short
cabinet, maybe 5 ft tall, and it had a crown molding across the top,
but not down the sides. I suspect it was made to fit into a niche
someplace.
http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5745.J
PG">http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5745.JPG
It gets more interesting. Here's a shot of the top side, where you
can see the pegs used to pin the crown in place. The bit that
intrigues me here is the cutout on the end of the stile. It would
be mildly curious, except for the fact the another reasonably
short cabinet (there were not too many of these, but there
were LOADS of really tall ones!) has the same cutout stile.
So I wonder what the cut out part of the stile is for?
pinned crown
http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5742.J
PG">http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5742.JPG
cutout stiles
http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5747.J
PG">http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5747.JPG
http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5754.J
PG">http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5754.JPG
And here's some more layout lines, this time across the top of a
set of flutes (or is that reeds?)
http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5718.J
PG">http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5718.JPG
I looked around when I saw this piece, and since no one was
looking I reached out and touched it. Ran my finger up and
down the flutes. The main part is scraped I think, as it's reasonably
straight and smooth and even. The ends are not, they have quite
obviously been carved - no routahs here! You can feel it, not sure
it you can see it.
What else have I got here... Oh, some moldings. Built up crowns
on the top of cabinets. Most of them were up against walls, so not
visible form the back, but a few wide cabinets were against narrow
sections of wall, so you could see the bits normally unseen.
http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5783.J
PG">http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5783.JPG
http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5797.J
PG">http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5797.JPG
And some repairs. Indeed, a lot of this stuff has seen better days,
and has been put out to pasture in the museum, with all of the
accumulated good intentions of previous owners. Check this
one out, looks like it has been to the repair shop a few times:
http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5733.J
PG">http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5733.JPG
And this one, with new rails, missing pegs, nails and shims:
http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5784.J
PG">http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5784.JPG
I find this kind of thing fascinating. I could spend hours interpreting
the life of battered old furniture. Actually I did. :^) Until SWMBO
unceremoniously hauled me away.
http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5588.J
PG">http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5588.JPG
http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/IMG_0368.J
PG">http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/IMG_0368.JPG
I think Peter Follansbee would love this place. So much carved
oak furniture, and done in that "close enough is good enough" style.
So much of the carving looked amazing from half way across the
room, but up close it is uneven and almost rough looking. This
one is fabulous, I love the way it catches the light, but nothing is
symmetrical or really accurate (in the modern machine-made style).
It looks great!
http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5564.J
PG">http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5564.JPG
This one here is dated 1642 and apart from a cracked panel
is in remarkable shape. The carvings are still clean and crisp
and not as dirty as some of the others (ok, not as *patinated*).
http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5561.J
PG">http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5561.JPG
Check out this one, the carvings appear to have been reworked
or amended or something. I wonder if it was the maker who did
this, or was it someone later on making a change due to some
damage? I'm thinking it was the carver who made a mistake,
and left some evidence to confound me.
http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5744.J
PG">http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5744.JPG
One more thing I noticed about the carvings is that some of them
appear to have been done after assembling the piece. Here's
one that has the carvings outside the boundaries of the panels.
You might have done this as separate pieces, but I think it would
have been easier after assembly.
http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5575.J
PG">http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5575.JPG
And this one I thought was really cool. The carvings are very
bold and deep, none of this scratching the surface business.
But look, you can see where the panel and the stile have slipped
a bit, exposing what appears to be layers of carving. I think the
carver and the joiner were different guys, or at least different jobs.
I pointed this out to one of the nearby museum staff, she was
surprised, and had never really thought about how the furniture
was made. She followed us through that gallery, listening to
me expound on the joinery techniques and the evidence that
indicated how the work was put together.
http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/IMG-201505
13-00320.jpg">http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/IMG-2
0150513-00320.jpg
So now there is one more person who might have begun to
appreciate subtle aspects of the furniture in her care, who
might look deeper than just "that's pretty" and see someone's
hand at work, creating something amazing.
And speaking of pretty, I think my 'stache is nicer ;^)
http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5547
.JPG">http://galootcentral.com/components/cpgalbums/userpics/10074/100_5547.JPG<
/a>
--
Darrell LaRue
Oakville ON
Wood Hoarder, Blade Sharpener, and Occasional Tool User
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