Monday 11 May 2020

Continuing On (Galloping Madly Off in All Directions)



Two old wooden buckets have been repurposed for the wooden shoe factory, known from now on as the "Klompenmakerij". They have split willow banding, rather than metal hoops; this was commonly used by people with very little spending cash. The effect is painted, of course. The table and bench are done now, they are stained and antiqued. When it comes to painting some of the wooden shoes - however long these projects are going to take - I'll do it on this little table to get some good paint splashes.

The bench was from a series of kits I made up some years ago, when I taught a senior's mixed media group; it is identical to the little blue bench with cream flowers, without the front aprons. OK, I'll admit it; I sanded the edges to look worn, before testing it with the aprons. It looks more like a quick factory bench now. Somewhere, I have a pre-stained, aged piece of bench top, about twice as long, that I'll give legs and braces to. It will also go into the wooden shoe factory.

On the table is a heavy maul - a wooden hammer, kind of like Thor's Hammer. Next to it is one of the specialized knives used in wooden shoe making. The blade was cut from thin sheet aluminum and then nailed (and super-glued!) to the wooden handle. (Two tiny nails went flying before one stayed put; they are still missing.) On the bench is another specialized tool, also made of aluminum sheet, with the blade set into the handle. And in the buckets are two wooden knife handles, and some more specialized blades for tools; however, I was supposed to make these from wire beaten into shape. Guess I'll try that tomorrow, if it warm and dry outside.

I found the very tiny knob for the bow saw, while on the floor on my knees looking for a 3 mm high and 3 mm diameter brass tube (part of the propane tank I have to make). I wrecked a knife blade cutting that thing, so I think I need to invest in a tiny hacksaw. Maybe I'll find that bit of brass tube when the next teeny thing goes flying off my work surface!



The barrow for Boutique Pulchinella is now done (although I still have to give the "iron" tire a coat of satin varnish), ready to haul stuff around the boutique. Considering I had no instructions, only a photo, I think it came out quite well! These days, we would call this a dolly and it would have a rather different shape....

6 comments:

  1. You continue to be so productive and everything is turning out beautifully! Each time between vacuuming I get on my hands and knees on the floor under my craft table. I don't usually find the last thing I lost, but I do usually find the thing I lost the time before! I know they are just having their fun with me!!!

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  2. The little tools are all so fascinating - I am curious as to how they were used. Is 'Klompen' Dutch for those traditional wooden clogs?
    I am pretty certain that finding lost little bits on the floor is just one of the fun additions to this hobby.
    Anna X

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    1. The range of specialized tools is amazing, Anna. I am hoping to make those in the tutorial I am working with, and have already discovered images of some others on the internet. I am still learning!

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  3. A real klompenmakerij! what a great project. I wish you to have a lot of fun with that! I love the detail of the split willow bandings around the buckets. When iron banding became affordable willow banding became the cheaper choice. But before the nineteenth century it was the common material used for bandings on buckets, tubs, barrels and such.

    @ Anna; yes a klomp is a clog or a clog is a klomp. depending on ones perspective. Both are names for wooden shoes. :-)

    And finding your blog I find a post about my blog. :-) It is indeed a small world. And reading about you missing copies of DHN in your april post, I can help you retrieve copies of that magazine without having to sell your right arm!

    Just follow this link: https://dhnnu.powweb.com/edities.html
    They have placed all the copies of the magazine with tutorials and all on their site up to the december issue of 2017. So all the Rembrandthuis tutorials are now available and for free. So you can read up on all those issues at your leasure. I was very happy when i found this out, because I only started making and collecting mini's in 2017 And they were already finishing the last rooms on that project. The first 15 copies of the magazine are not available so the first tutorials about Palace het Loo are not available unfortunately. But there is so much more to discover. I spend over a week going through all of them and collecting workshops to make on a later date. :-)

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  4. Hallo, Huibrecht! Ik heb #1,(geen Het Loo,jammer!) 64, 67, 84, 86,137 en 138 van DHN. Ga zeker kijken of ik, o.a., de andere afleveringen van "De Stoel van Iris" kan vinden. Ik ben gek op het werk van Iris Arentz.

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  5. Wow! You've really gotten a lot done!

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