Please, Please, Please!- and I'm not talking about James Brown
Recently I read somewhere that the bannisters, or split spindles in old chairs were glued up, turned and then split apart. Please! This is nonsense if you think on it for a few seconds. If you were working in a poorly heated shop making chair parts, thousands of which were made for the export chair business in Boston, for example, would you plane down two pieces of wood, paper them together with expensive imported paper, clamp them up, wait for them to dry, turn them and then split them apart and then clean the glue up so you could get a perfect half of a turning, which, by the way, doesn't exist on any early chair or chest spindle I've ever seen? And forget about the story that there was a thin piece of wood between the two halves that was saved for a pattern. How many patterns do you think a TURNER who turns thousands of identical spindles needs? OR- Would you turn the spindle and cut it in half with a saw, then clean up the saw kerfs with a few swipes of a plane while holding it in a simple cradle on the bench? Time elapsed- 10 minutes. Don't let anyone promote this stupid myth about glueing half spindles anymore-Please!
Next- They didn't use nails in the "old days", they used wooden pegs. Please! They used nails in places I'd never use nails- like kneeblocks on chairs and moldings and to hold the writing surface of a desk to the gallery base. I think one reason they used nails so much was as clamps to hold until the glue dried, but they did use lots of nails. Nails were a cottage industry and lots of people had them.
Next- They put square pegs in round holes because they hold better. Please! Did you ever look at any old pinned mortise and tenon joints? And how many used square pins? Maybe 10 percent. The rest are round or octagonal or something in between, because unless you really know what you're doing, you'll split the wood with a square pin. These joints hold together because they're draw pinned and GLUED. Yes, they used glue, lots of it- death of another myth.
Next- OK, this one's a freebie: That overhang at the front of 17th century houses was so the people upstairs could open a trapdoor and pour boiling oil on the Indians when the they attacked. Just like the houses in London, where there was, as we all know, a terrible Indian-attack problem. Well, maybe it was for those polite Indians who knock before they light the house on fire, or throw the arrows at you for lack of a bow. Please!
But I digress-Al
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Comment by Robert Champagne on May 31, 2010 at 8:50pm -
How about the one where the birdcage tea table is used as a bible stand, and in the old days they would spin the top around as fast as they could, like roulette, and whoever the bible ended up in front of had to read from it. We have a wonderful local house museum near us that will happily demonstrate for you on an actual antique. Give me a minute to think and I'll cove up with about twenty more...
Rob
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Comment by al breed on May 28, 2010 at 5:22am
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Tim-Beef mahogany! Now that's something you don't see everyday.
I'll be scheduling some classes this fall as soon as I find out the status of my building, which may get closed for some renovations. The fall is the best here-Al
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Comment by James Timothy Thomas on May 27, 2010 at 7:44pm -
Ah! I thought it was the Captain that brought the spindles.The old Yankee captains were very frugal.Now the brits that is another story as long as it was the Captain.Your right about some other type not being able, except maybe the Admiral.Have you ever seen some of the carvings that some common seamen made out of their meal?They would take salt beef that had been in the cask forever and carve different stuff.I've seen some of those,the stuff looks like mahogany.Anyway I too look forward to comin down east.Your place looks really cool.Do you have classes in the fall?I used to get blown away there in the fall.Truely beautiful.Hey have a great Memorial Day! Tim
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Comment by al breed on May 26, 2010 at 6:15pm
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Tim- I know there were some great ship's carpenters- I like to hear what you know about that. I just can't picture a captain watching some guy carry a bunch of stair spindle blanks, about 75 in this case, on board to be built on the captain's time- I suppose it's possible....Looking forward to having you come up sometime. Thanks for reading the blog-Al
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Comment by James Timothy Thomas on May 26, 2010 at 3:53pm
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Hey Mr Breed, I wouldn't be surprised if some fancy spindle work was done on board.You didn't mention when this happened.As a big fan of boats especially wooden boats (I spent two years working on wooden boats in Maine back in the seventies) and a big time reader of eighteenth century nautical lore I do know that many captains back then had phenominal carpenters on board and they damn near could make anything.I wouldn't know about later.I have explored your web site and I enjoy reading your stuff as well as looking at your photo's. I will be up there for a class next year sometime.Probably the first things first class.I know a lot but have this fear I may have missed something.Plus I really want to pick your brain about use of old planes and certain methods.Thanks for the good time. Tim Thomas
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Comment by al breed on May 24, 2010 at 1:18pm
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Cal-That's a good one. I bet there are a lot more out there. Someone told me once that the fancy turned stair spindles in their house were made by the owner while he was at sea.....-Al
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Comment by Calvin Hobbs on May 24, 2010 at 9:26am -
Al, what about the one I always hear, that furniture was made so much smaller back then because people were shorter! I don't think many of these people have tried to put their socks in the top drawer of a Charleston double chest....Enjoyed your post. Cal
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