Woodworkers Institute

GMC Publications have a free forum called the Woodworkers Institute which also includes loads of articles that have featured in past magazines and plenty more. So check it out and pass the link on!

www.woodworkersinstitute.com

High Wycombe Chair Museum

Wycombe is renowned for it's furniture industry, particularly it's chairs. The best place to learn about this incredible history is at the High Wycombe Chair Museum. They have a wonderful exhibition on the development of the chair making industry through the ages, including the famous Chiltern Bodgers. There is a wide variety of chairs on display but I would thoroughly suggest asking to have a look at the chair store. 
 The museum also has a lovely garden to sit and take tea...I can frequently be found there in my university breaks!


www.wycombe.gov.uk/museum/ - I recommend looking at the events calendar as there are always exciting activities that cater for all ages!


http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wycombe-Museum/344160557160


Wycombe Museum, 
Priory Avenue, 
High Wycombe, 
Bucks, 
HP13 6PX

Monday to Saturday: 10am to 5pm
Sunday: 2pm to 5pm
Bank holidays: closed

...And admission is free!

Reading Recommendations

Reading Material:
English Windsor Chairs - Ivan G Sparkes
The Story of Furniture - Gordon Russell & Jaques Groag (This is a children's book but it includes some very useful and clear illustrations.)
Dictionary of Woodworking Tools - R. A. Salaman
Wood Identification & Use - Terry Porter

DVD Recommendation:
Wycombe in Film - A series of historical footage on High Wycombe and the Chiltern Bodgers.

Available at: www.wycombe.gov.uk/council-services/leisure-and-culture/wycombe-museum/shop.aspx

A Trip Down Memory Lane

I have just come across a little memento from the past. I had completely forgotten about this.

Daddy Bailey just uncovered this photograph...

Related Article

My sister sent me an article from Heritage Today magazine(a publication of English Heritage) about investigations into the prevention of marquetry decay at Kenwood House. 

The Boat Project

For VMC at university, we were asked to research the visual and material culture of the London 2012 Olympics. We had to identify an object that was relevant to our course and create a short presentation on it.

My group decided to look at The Boat Project and because the concept received such positive feedback from the entire class, I felt I would share it on here.

I thoroughly recommended having a look at the website as it has some really fascinating information and videos such as the actual boat building. www.theboatproject.com

Our Presentation:

·      The Boat Project is the winning commission for Artists Taking The Lead in the South East, as part of the Cultural Olympiad.

·      The project is a collaboration between Lone Twin -the contemporary performance practitioners Gregg Whelan and Gary Winters, boat builder and Olympic silver medallist Mark Covell and yacht designer Simon Rogers.

·      The Boat Project is seen as a living archive of people’s stories and lives.

·      It is to be a 30ft day sailer created with donated wooden objects that hold a personal significance to people and communities.

·      The boat will be launched in May 2012 and undertake a maiden voyage along the South East, stopping at four locations. At each of these locations a festival of arts will take place in celebration. Afterwards the boat will be gifted back to the region as a permanent public resource.

Finishes and Animal Glue Tests

Sample board of wood finishes - 

1. Bare wood after sanding

2. Sanding sealer

3. Neutral grain filler and sanding sealer

4. Neutral grain filler and clear french polish

5. Neutral grain filler and garnet french polish

Sample of french polishing (oil free) on an Ash kitchen worktop -
The worktop was sanded down then french polished with a rubber.
This process was repeated a number of times.
The worktop was then spirited using a meths rubber.

Sample of Burr Walnut veneered onto MDF groundwork -
Pearl hide glue was the chosen adhesive.
The pearls were left in water overnight to expand and were then heated in a water jacket.
The glue was applied to both the veneer and MDF using a brush.
The sample was then rubbed down using a veneer hammer and then wiped down with a damp cloth.

Restoration Project - Antique Chair

This chair lacked a seat and had been damaged in a series of places, including one of the back legs having been completely split apart. This had been held together by a bracket made from a copper printing plate.

Each section of the chair was marked up with masking tape to make reassembly simple. The chair was then taken apart.

To repair the split chair leg, two headless wire nails were inserted between both sections.

Cracks in the seat frame were filled using PU glue and clamped until dry.

All the joints were cleaned and the chair was fitted back together. Wedges were used to fill in sections that had become loose.

The veneer banding in the back of the chair had to be heated using a heat gun to smooth down any lumps that were created over time.

Pieces of Satin wood veneer were fitted into the missing sections of the banding. These were sanded down and filler was put into the gaps in the black banding. The thin black and yellow banding had to be painted back in using a very fine brush.

The plugs from the back of the chair were put back in whilst filler and paint disguised the previous crack.

Repairs were gone over with pale french polish and then with garnet polish. The whole chair had to be waxed down with Liberon Black Bison wax and fine wire wool.

The upholstery was put over a wooden board and glued using spray on contact adhesive. This was then clamped to the chair until dry.

Restoration Project - Miniature reproduction navigation instrument

The metal of this navigation instrument had eroded after being weathered for a long period of time, this needed to be cleaned up.

The instrument was placed in a plastic container (to avoid a chemical reaction) that was filled with brick masonry cleaning compound. - Safety equipment was required.
The instrument was left in the compound until clean.

The instrument was washed then polished with rag and fine metal polish.

Restoration Project - Coal bucket

On this coal bucket, several of the planks had come loose.

A swatch of wood was used as an applicator for inserting PU glue into gaps between the planks.

 One plank was marked up with masking tape to signify the start and finish of the gluing routine.

The planks were clamped and excess glue was removed after it had expanded rather than wiping it off whilst still wet.

 The wood of the bucket was then waxed down using Black Liberon Bison Wax and wire wool.

 The brass was polished using wire wool.