Bean the Shop Cat is here to report that Katherine Schwarz spent a few days this week making and packing a fresh batch of soft wax, and it is now available in her Etsy store.
Aw geez…are you using me for marketing again?
Instructions for Soft Wax 2.0
Soft Wax 2.0 is a safe finish for bare wood that is incredibly easy to apply and imparts a beautiful low luster to the wood.
The finish is made by cooking raw, organic linseed oil (from the flax plant) and combining it with cosmetics-grade beeswax and a small amount of a citrus-based solvent. The result is that this finish can be applied without special safety equipment, such as a respirator. The only safety caution is to dry the rags out flat you used to apply before throwing them away. (All linseed oil generates heat as it cures, and there is a small but real chance of the rags catching fire if they are bunched up while wet.)
Soft Wax 2.0 is an ideal finish for pieces that will be touched a lot, such as chairs, turned objects and spoons. The finish does not build a film, so the wood feels like wood – not plastic. Because of this, the wax does not provide a strong barrier against water or alcohol. If you use it on countertops or a kitchen table, you will need to touch it up every once in a while. Simply add a little more Soft Wax to a deteriorated finish and the repair is done – no stripping or additional chemicals needed.
Soft Wax 2.0 is not intended to be used over a film finish (such as lacquer, shellac or varnish). It is best used on bare wood. However, you can apply it over a porous finish, such as milk paint.
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS (VERY IMPORTANT): Applying Soft Wax 2.0 is so easy if you follow the simple instructions. On bare wood, apply a thin coat of soft wax using a rag, applicator pad, 3M gray pad or steel wool. Allow the finish to soak in about 15 minutes. Then, with a clean rag or towel, wipe the entire surface until it feels dry. Do not leave any excess finish on the surface. If you do leave some behind, the wood will get gummy and sticky.
The finish will be dry enough to use in a couple hours. After a couple weeks, the oil will be fully cured. After that, you can add a second coat (or not). A second coat will add more sheen and a little more protection to the wood.
Soft Wax 2.0 is made in small batches in Kentucky. Each glass jar contains 8 oz. of soft wax, enough for at least two chairs.
The Whitesburg, Ky., Appalshop building (center) following the late July 2022 floods. Credit: Appalshop staff via Smithsonian Magazine
The early title leader for my upcoming book about Appalachian chairmakers was “Backwoods Chairs,” but I’m now leaning toward “Upwards into the Mountains.” The decision needs to happen soon because my book is nearing the final stages. The search is complete (thank you to those who sent me names and leads after my previous blog posts about the project [post 1, post 2]), the interviews and visits have all happened and the narrative is written. I’m currently editing, adding the photography and working through the chair builds.
As a first-time author I’ve come to recognize two things: 1) I enjoy the process of writing a book and 2) I’m slow at it. But there’s a light at the end of the tunnel at this point.
I’m working toward having the manuscript to Lost Art Press this fall.
Late last week I reached out to Eastern Kentucky chairmaker Terry Ratliff (he’s among those featured in the upcoming book) about a teaching opportunity. That was before I was aware of the severe flooding to hit communities in eastern Kentucky and southwestern Virginia. I followed up with a text to Ratliff to wish him well. He was at a local lutherie shop on the main street in Hindman, Ky., at the time, scraping the thick mud off anything salvageable in the bench room. He relayed the overwhelming mess he saw all around him.
The School of Luthiery in downtown Hindman after the floodwaters receded. Credit: Zoe Oldham
Once the waters receded the full impact and devastation became apparent. The floodwater climbed higher than any time on record in some places. In the charming mountain town of Whitesburg, Ky., near the Virginia border, the North Fork Kentucky River rose more than 20′.
For those unfamiliar with the terrain of eastern Kentucky, there are lower lying, narrow bands of land between the rocky, rugged knobs and mountains. The lower land frequently has a creek or river running through it. Heavy rains funnel into these waterways – this time more than ever before. This was deemed a “once in a millenia” storm: water over rooftops, refrigerators caught up in treetops, homes carried downriver and significant loss of life.
An environmental tragedy immediately became a human tragedy. Entire communities were slammed in the storm. The tight-knit Kentucky towns of Jackson, Neon, Hindman, Whitesburg and Hazard, among more rural other places, were hit hard.
There’s also an impact on the cultural centers within the mountains. The Hindman Settlement School and the Troublesome Creek Stringed Instrument Company are digging out, working to salvage as much as possible. At Appalshop, an Appalachian cultural archive and media center in downtown Whitesburg, a crew works to recover soiled materials before they deteriorate. Those in the community collect what’s floated away.
Clean-up efforts at Appalshop. Credit: Justin Skeens
From an article in Smithsonian Magazine: “‘Some of the film from Appalshop was all through the streets and everything,’ Austin Caudill, a Whitesburg resident, tells the Lexington Herald-Leader’s Billl Estep and Austin Horn. ‘We could lose not just businesses but history.’”
Why mention this here?
Because below I share my travels to Whitesburg in April, 2021, to photograph and study Chester Cornett’s “Appalshop chair.” And because the affected communities are home to a group of eastern Kentucky chairmakers, both past and present. The floods impact Terry Ratliff’s community (while also hitting those of the late Sherman Wooton (Hyden) and Chester Cornett (Perry County). And because within Appalachia, more than any other place I’ve lived or visited, the strands of craft, community, people and place are all tightly woven together.
But most importantly, these communities need immediate resources to aid in stabilization, recovery and rebuilding. There are opportunities to help.
Now to the unicorn that is the “Appalshop Chair,” created by the visionary chairmaker Chester Cornett (visionary: as in some of his chairs came to him in visions and dreams), crafted during the recording of the 1981 Appalshop film “Hand Carved.” Appalshop then purchased the chair. It resides in their archives. I do not know its condition after the flood.
Cornett working on a low bench, in a photo from the Appalshop archives.
It was unusually cold for April, with flurries in the afternoon. No leaves on the trees just yet. The North Fork Kentucky River ran low and quiet beside Appalshop’s building.
I traveled to Whitesburg to visit Cornett’s chair. I’d wanted to see it in person since reading Michael Owen Jones’s book “Craftsman of the Cumberlands.” In it, Jones shares a photograph of the 13-slat double-rocker, making mention that this was the last chair Cornett built, meaning this was the culmination of Cornett’s fabled and prolific chairmaking career, the pinnacle of his skills and final iteration of his making choices. I hoped to study it myself and photograph it for my book.
The Appalshop chair from the back.
The archivist met me at our arranged time. Wearing white gloves, she brought the rocker out of storage. My first impression was how solid and substantial the piece looks in person. Each chair part was shaped with the drawknife before being scraped smooth. Cornett added an extra-special touch to this piece before applying his mystery concoction of finishing oils. He stayed up all night before final filming to add a little “old-timeyness” to the chair by scorching it with a Coleman campfire burner to create a mottled effect. The initial impression by those who witnessed the chair the following day was best described as “aghast.” The scorching has mellowed over time. It’s most noticeable on the back slats.
Filmmakers Herb Smith and Elizabeth Barrett with Cornett’s Appalshop Chair.
I was delighted when Elizabeth Barrett and Herb Smith joined us to talk about their time working with Cornett. They are the filmmakers behind “Hand Carved,” and continue to work with Appalshop 30+ years later. It was their skill and insight that brought about the film. Near the end of the recording process, they realized the chair was something special – something Appalshop should own and preserve. They found the money to make it happen (not the easiest thing to do; creative rural organizations are not known for deep pockets) and it’s lived within Appalshop ever since.
While the chair has always resided with Appalshop, it has not lived a life of ease. Terry Ratliff shared that, years back, he was asked to repair the piece. A summer intern’s dog gnawed on one of the rockers. A rung had worked loose. The chair was a fixture in the staff meetings and was available for everyday rocking. Ratliff, who holds Cornett in high esteem and knows the specialness of the piece, suggested the chair receive a more protected status.
Functionally, the double rocker is not a comfortable chair. The sitter must spread their legs or sit cross-legged to avoid the middle posts. The front rungs rake against the sitter’s calves if they’re not careful.
The underside of the Appalshop Chair.
It was not made for comfort; it was made for attention and to earn a decent price for the labor needed to make it. During my visit, someone at Appalshop shared a memory of Cornett carrying his chairs to Hazard on a Friday, setting up beside a busy road to sell them, and him still being there – with his chairs – into Sunday afternoon. He made beautiful, traditional chairs but there was little local market for them. This pressure pushed him toward new ideas, in hopes of recognition and higher income. If people didn’t want his gorgeous traditional rockers, maybe a double rocker would catch their attention. Though it didn’t work exactly as Cornett intended, he began making more fantastical chairs which garnered him increased recognition (including in Jones’ book), though it did not fully alleviate his financial situation.
Photos from the Appalshop archives of Cornett’s chairs. At center is Cornett working on a double rocker.
A few details: The Appalshop double-rocker is 47″ tall overall, with the seat at 17″ from the floor; it’s 18″ deep overall at the seat (not including the rockers). It’s made of sweet gum, with (likely) hickory rungs and a hickory bark seat. The writing on the slats:
Chester
Hand Carved
For the fiming
The Appleshop
Moviey Caled
Check the Chiremaker
Direxed buy
Heirb Smith
Elizabeth Barret
President Applshop
Pine Mountin Wood
Mad I.N. N. OV. A, DEC 1977
With Our Lords Help
Scholars debate whether Cornett was an artist or a traditional craftsperson. Being the last of his illustrious career, this chair would fall on the “art” side of Cornett’s creative timeline. But that debate doesn’t interest me all that much.
The left arm.
I’m drawn in by the form, the silhouette that appears compact, well-proportioned and balanced when glancing at the rocker from across the room. It’s hefty but not grotesque. Confusing maybe, but I’ve visited the form enough times to enjoy its uniqueness. Move closer to it and the intricate, tightly woven seat becomes apparent, along with scraped surfaces and the octagonal posts and rungs that became a defining characteristic of Cornett’s work. But I’m most drawn to the carved pegs and the drawknife work – details that are only noticeable on close examination, and that elevate the rocker because of the skill and the time involved and the commitment of the maker. These details are noticeably irregular, because Cornett was human and handwork is not perfect.
With Chester’s chairs, there is incredible beauty found in the imperfections.
Learning to carve the acanthus leaf is – for carvers – like a pianist learning a Chopin étude, a young oil painter studying the genius of Rembrandt or an aspiring furniture maker learning to cut dovetails by hand.
For carvers, especially those who focus on Classical Western ornament, there comes a time they will inevitably encounter the acanthus leaf, learn it, master it and finally incorporate it into their own designs.
“Carving the Acanthus Leaf” is a deep exploration into this iconic leaf, which has been a cornerstone of Western ornamentation for thousands of years. May, a professional carver and instructor, starts her book at the beginning. She covers carving tools and sharpening with the efficiency of someone who has taught for years. Then she plunges the reader directly into the work. Below is chapter 7, which teaches you step by step how to carve an acanthus leaf in a rosette.
Various styles of rosettes have been used since the Roman Empire as decorative accents and are often used as appliqués (applied to a surface) to adorn furniture and architectural features.
FIG. 7.2 Cast metal rosette, Aiken-Rhett House Museum, Charleston, S.C.
Here are some of the design elements for rosettes:
• They are symmetrical and can be circular, oval, square or rectangular. • There is a small bead in the center that is either plain or carved. • In oval or rectangular designs, this center bead is also oval. • Square or round rosettes that are symmetrical can be turned on a lathe before carving to establish the basic profile. • There are typically four primary leaves evenly positioned around the rosette. • The leaves start at the center bead and flow outward toward the edge, with the tips of the leaves defining the outer edges. • For square or rectangular rosettes, the tips of the leaves end at each corner. • The midribs or center stems get narrower as they reach the ends of the leaves. • They often have small, secondary leaves that are between and appear to be positioned under each primary leaf. This example does not contain these secondary leaves.
FIG. 7.3 Deeply carved rosette in cherry on a antique wardrobe, George Davis Antiques & Interiors, Savannah, Ga.
FIG. 7.4 Painted wood detail on a fireplace surround, Humphrey Sommers house, 128 Tradd St., Charleston, S.C., 1769-70. Photo by permission of Dr. Telfair and Hope Parker.
FIG. 7.5 Corner of antique table, carved in wood and gilt, Arthur Smith Antiques, Savannah, Ga.
HOW TO DRAW THE LEAF This design has similar structural elements to other leaves, but some details, such as positioning the eyes, will need to be visually located without guidelines.
FIG. 7.6
STEP 1: Draw a square. This example has slightly curved edges. Draw the center circle and the mid-rib (center stem) of each leaf ending just before each corner. Notice for this design that the midrib connects from one leaf to the next. This is often done to create a continuous flow between the leaves.
FIG. 7.7
STEP 2: Draw the eyes close to the center circle. These eyes represent where two leaves overlap.
FIG. 7.8
STEP 3: Draw eight circles as shown that intersect and slightly overlap at the pointed end of the eye. These locate the edges of the overlapping lobes.
FIG. 7.9
STEP 4: Erase the parts of the circles that are no longer needed. The remaining lines should extend from the pointed end of the eyes. The dotted lines represent the edges of the lobes underneath.
FIG. 7.10
STEP 5: Erase the dotted lines. Draw the two eyes on each leaf about a third of the way up the leaf at a slight distance from the midrib.
FIG. 7.11
STEP 6: Draw circles as shown that represent the overlapping secondary lobes. The edges of these lobes should extend from the eyes drawn in STEP 5. The dotted lines represent the parts of the lobe that are underneath. Sometimes drawing the edges of the lobes first can help locate the eyes, so steps 5 and 6 can be reversed.
FIG. 7.12
STEP 7: Erase the dotted lines. Draw the pipes that start from the eyes drawn in STEP 5 and curve and flow them alongside the midrib.
FIG. 7.13
STEP 8: Draw the lines that locate the serrations as shown. These are typically positioned perpendicular to the center veins on each lobe, but in this design there are no center veins on the side lobes. Draw these lines at an angle located approximately halfway between the eyes and the tip of each lobe. Note that the center lobe has two of these guidelines that are perpendicular to the midrib. After learning how to position the serrations in the next few steps, these lines are usu-ally no longer necessary as guides.
FIG. 7.14
STEP 9: Take a deep breath. It really isn’t as complicated as it looks. Draw small circles that locate the serrations along the edges of the leaf. These lines should start at the edge of the leaf and curve down to meet the guidelines drawn FIG. 7.14 in STEP 8. The dotted lines show the correct direction of the curve. These circles are simply used to show the curvature of the serrations. Erase the parts of the circles that are not necessary. This process of drawing the circles is often not necessary after learning to understand the shape and position of these serrations.
FIG. 7.15
STEP 10: Erase all lines that are no longer needed. Complete the edges of the leaf by connecting the serration lines as shown and also complete the tips of the leaves.
FIG. 7.16
STEP 11: Erase any unnecessary lines.
FIG. 7.17
STEP 12: Draw lines starting from the inside corners of the serrations that flow down each lobe. These lines represent a high edge (or high corner) in the leaf.
FIG. 7.18 This is the finished drawing with all details.
HOW TO CARVE THE LEAF
STEP 1: Prepare the Wood. Study Chapter 2 to learn about different methods to transfer templates to wood. I used carbon paper. Transfer all the lines from the template at the beginning of this chapter and cut out the outline of the design on a band saw or scrollsaw. This will be an appliqué.
FIG. 19
STEP 2: Carve the Center Bead. With a 6mm V-chisel, make a 1/16″-deep cut along the outside edge of the center circle. Define the edge of the bead by making vertical cuts directly on the line with a #5, 8mm. With the same #5, 8mm, round over the bead to a half-sphere. Use the #5, 8mm to lower the leaf to the edge of the bead, starting 1/2″ from the edge of the bead.
FIG. 7.24
FIGS. 7.25 & 7.25
STEP 3: Round the Leaves. With a #3, 18mm, round over the tips of each leaf starting 1″ from the tip and carving down 1/4″ at the tip (to make the rosette more shaped, this can be rounded deeper). Re-draw any lines that were carved away. NOTE: STEP 1 and STEP 2 can also be done on a lathe.
FIG. 7.27
FIGS. 7.28 & 7.29
STEP 4: Carve the Midribs. With a 4mm V-chisel, make deep cuts that define the edge of the mid-ribs. These should be 1/16″ deep toward the center and fade off just before they reach the leaf tips. With a #7, 10mm, carve a slight hollow in the midrib as it comes toward the center bead.
FIG. 7.30
FIG. 7.31
STEP 5: Round the Leaf Next to the Vein. With a #4, 14mm, round over the surface of the leaf down to the edge of the midrib.
FIG. 7.32
FIG. 7.33
STEP 6: Define the Overlapping Lobes. With a 3mm V-chisel, start in the middle of the eye and make a 1/16″-deep cut along the edge of all overlapping lobes.
FIGS. 7.34, 7.35 & 7.36
FIG. 7.37
STEP 7: Carve the Eyes: Study Chapter 3 to learn more about carving eyes. With a #11, 3mm veiner, make a 45° cut at the base of each eye. With a #5, 5mm, continue this cut on either side of the eye to create a teardrop shape that has a sharp, inside corner.
FIG. 7.38
FIGS. 7.39-7.40
STEP 8: Define the Overlapping Lobes. With gouges that fit the edge of the overlapping lobes (#5, 5mm and #7, 10mm), define the edges with vertical cuts directly on the line.
FIG. 7.41 & 7.42
FIG. 7.43
STEP 9: Lower the Underlying Lobes. With a #5, 8mm, lower the parts of the leaf that appear to go under the overlapping lobes and create a slight hollow cut. Make sure that the sharp edges created by this cut flow in the correct direction.
FIGS. 7.44 & 7.45
FIG. 7.46
STEP 10: Carve the Pipes. Study Chapter 3 to learn more about carving pipes. Re-draw pipes that have been carved away. With a #11, 3mm, make long, sweeping cuts along each side of the pipe, starting on either side of the eye.
FIG. 7.47
FIGS. 7.48 & 7.49
STEP 11: Round the Leaf. With a #3, 6mm, soften any sharp edges in the leaf surface that were cre-ated by carving the pipes. NOTE: Often pipes are rounded over also, but because these are so small, it would cause them to lose definition.
FIGS. 7.50, 7.51, 7.52 & 7.53
STEP 12: Hollow the Secondary Lobes. With a #7, 10mm and #7, 8mm, hollow the three secondary lobes in each overlapping lobe.
FIG. 7.54
FIGS. 7.55 & 7.56
STEP 13: Hollow the Remaining Secondary Lobes. With a #7, 8mm, hollow all remaining secondary lobes.
FIG. 7.57
FIGS. 7.58 & 7.59
STEP 14: Carve the Serration Notch Cuts. Study Chapter 3 to learn more about these defining cuts. With a #5, 8mm, make one cut defining the serration edge and a second cut at a slight angle creating a small triangular notch cut.
FIG. 7.60
STEP 15: Clean the Edges. With a #3, 6mm, make a 45° chamfer along all edges. This will create a clean, well-defined edge and will remove remaining template or pencil lines.
Where shall we put these? How about as decorative details on the upper corners of door frames? Small rosettes can be added to the corners of kitchen cabinets or accents on dressers or headboards. Then there is that wonderful architectural feature that just begs for carved details – the fireplace mantel. Be creative and either make the rosette a central design feature, or a secondary detail for a simple accent. How about custom coasters and leave a large flat area in the center for wine glasses to fit? I’ll have to think about that one over a glass of wine.
Two crochets. A.J. Roubo’s crochet from 18th-century France (below) offers little wedging action. It works fine, but is not as “grabby” as the one shown on my bench from 2005 (above).
The following two early workholding methods are excerpted from “Ingenious Mechanicks,” by Christopher Schwarz.
Workbenches with screw-driven vises are a fairly modern invention. For more than 2,000 years, woodworkers built complex and beautiful pieces of furniture using simpler benches that relied on pegs, wedges and the human body to grip the work. While it’s easy to dismiss these ancient benches as obsolete, they are – at most – misunderstood.
Schwarz has been building these ancient workbenches and putting them to work in his shop to build all manner of furniture. Absent any surviving ancient instruction manuals for these benches, Schwarz relied on hundreds of historical paintings of these benches for clues as to how they worked. Then he replicated the devices and techniques shown in the paintings to see how (or if) they worked. This book is about this journey into the past and takes the reader from Pompeii, which features the oldest image of a Western bench, to a Roman fort in Germany to inspect the oldest surviving workbench and finally to his shop in Kentucky, where he recreated three historical workbenches and dozens of early jigs.
The crochet (French for “hook”) could be described as a planing stop attached to the edge of the workbench, but that doesn’t quite capture its full utility. A good crochet is also good for securing work for dovetailing and tenoning.
There are a couple kinds of crochets out there. Some of them are like wedges. You press the work into the opening and its V-shape helps hold the work (though you will still need a holdfast to complete the job). Old French ones, as shown in “l’Art du menuisier,” work more like a planing stop as opposed to a wedge. Their opening is square instead of V-shaped. Both forms of crochet work, but I prefer the V-shaped ones on my benches.
Good enough for dovetailing. A crochet and holdfast (or bar clamp) do a fine job of keeping the work in place for dovetailing.
I make my crochets out of a tough and springy wood, such as oak or ash. I recommend you make the hook big enough so that it can handle 8/4 stock. So, the opening should be slightly larger than 2″. Many early crochets are shown attached with nails. I prefer 6″-long carriage bolts with washers.
Using the crochet for working on the edges of boards is straightforward. Typically, you secure the work to the front of the bench with one or two holdfasts (depending on the length of the work). Then you push the end of the board into the crochet to prevent the work from shifting as you plane it.
If I have a lot of boards of similar widths to work (say for a large tabletop) I take a different approach. I use holdfasts to secure a 2×4 to the front legs of the bench that will act as a platform for my boards. Then I press the end into the crochet. Gravity and the force of the plane immobilize the work.
Crochets can also be used to affix the work so you can cut dovetails or tenons. Put the edge of the work into the crochet and affix it to the front edge of the benchtop with a holdfast (or a bar clamp across the benchtop, if you are sadly holdfast-less).
Notches & Wedges In many old paintings and drawings you’ll see benches that have no vises but instead have a large rectangular notch cut into the edge or end of the benchtop. In many cases, these notches are used as face vises. You put the work in the notch then use a wedge to immobilize it. I’ve had great – actually, quite spectacular – success using these notches for cutting tenons and shaping the work with chisels, rasps and files.
Don’t dismiss it. We were all shocked at how much holding power a wedge and a notch could provide. Tenoning and even planing the end of this 12″-wide oak board (shown above) was easy. Photos by NN
It took a little experimentation, however, to get the wedges right. As it turned out, I was making things too complicated. At first, I used oak wedges in the shape of a right triangle that I planed clean so they had an angle at the tip of about 15°. They held the work, but not reliably. So, I tried isosceles-shaped wedges with a variety of angles, looking for the magic number.
After several hours of messing with the oak wedges, I thought I was headed down the wrong path. So, I went to my scrap pile and grabbed a white pine 2×4. I sawed it to 12″ long and tapered one edge with a jack plane (I later measured the angle at 2°). Then I drove it into a notch.
It cinched down as hard as any screw-driven vise I’ve used. It worked so well I laughed out loud. If you are interested in making these notches (what do you have to lose?), here are some details. In the old images, the notches have vertical walls. Some fellow woodworkers have suggested cutting them at an angle that is sympathetic to the wedge’s angle. I haven’t found that necessary.
Left: Figure Slow going. Chopping out a notch in the end grain is more difficult than performing the same operation in the edge of the benchtop. Saw the sides of the notch. Chop halfway through, then flip the bench and chop the remainder out. Right: Quick work. With the notch on the edge, you saw the walls and pry the waste out easily with a chisel. Then clean the long grain of the notch with paring cuts.
On some benches, the notches are in the end of the benchtop. In others, they are cut into the edges. I tried both. Functionally, I couldn’t tell any difference between them. They both held just fine. Making the two kinds of notches, however, is quite different. The end grain notches take about twice as long to make because the wood is fighting you the entire time. You have to rip saw the walls of the notch then chisel out the waste like cutting out a huge dovetail. There is a lot of chopping vertically then splitting out the waste. It’s not a horrible task, but it’s much more difficult than creating a notch in the edge of the benchtop.
There you crosscut the walls (crosscutting is always easier than ripping). Then you split the waste out with a few chisel chops. Splitting wood along the grain is always easier than chopping across it.
Ready to go. With only about 10 minutes of work, you can create a face vise for any work surface. Just make some softwood wedges and get to work.
Here are the measurements for my notches. Don’t feel compelled to copy me, however. The end-grain notch is 4-1/2″ wide and 2-1/2″ long. The edge notch is 4-1/4″ long and 2″ wide. I have a variety of softwood wedges scattered about that can handle work from 1″ wide to 3″ wide.
One more nice use for the notch comes when cutting curves with a bowsaw or coping saw. Place your work over the notch while sawing and it will vibrate less.
By A.C. Horth, from “The Woodworker,” January 16, 1905. (Thank you to Buz Buzkirk for the generous gift of two fascinating early volumes!) NB: I would not read this excerpt while eating breakfast.I might not read this excerpt at all if you are a vegetarian or vegan.
We are told that glue is made from hoofs, horns, and other animal refuse, and many of us are quite content to take this explanation as it stands. But the more inquisitive woodworker, who likes a fuller description of things, will, perhaps, find the following account of the various processes in the manufacture of that substance with which he is so familiar, interesting.
The writer, a short time ago, accompanied by a camera and note book, journeyed to Bermondsey and soon located the works of Messrs. B. Young & Co., Ltd., by the odour of decaying bones. On entering the gates of the factory, the first thing the eye encountered was heaps and heaps of bones, horns, and fleshings (the latter are odd corners of hides which are useless for making into leather).
This refuse, continually being brought in by wagons, is sorted and arranged in different heaps, the fleshings being carefully picked out for making the best glue and size, the bones and hoofs being used for making glue of inferior strength.
The most striking point about a glue factory is the absence of waste. One might say that every particle of the material which enters the factory is used up in some way and has a certain value; and, considering the fact that the glue makers utilise the refuse of the tanners, it is astonishing to an outsider to see how everything is accounted for.
We see many instances of the care which is exercised to avoid waste, before the glue is extracted from the offal. This is particularly apparent in the case of fleshings, which are overhauled and all pieces with hair or wool attached treated separately in order to detach and save these useful materials. Such hair and wool is dried, cleared, and packed into bales, to be eventually used by the blanket manufacturers, in making a cheap variety of rug.
The fleshings are placed in revolving drums and thoroughly washed with lime; the drums being fitted with racks which keep the fleshings in continual movement. The next stage carries them through the curing vats, where they are thoroughly impregnated with acid to remove the lime and render them fit for the boiling pans. Under the influence of steam, the gelatine is dissolved, leaving a very small proportion of refuse. This process is continued until there is no trace of glutinous substance in the fleshings. The liquid is run off into coolers, oblong boxes, in which the glue is allowed to set.
When the glue is set, it is divided into two cakes and placed on a table, and, by means of a wire, cut into slices, placed on a frame covered with netting, and taken to the drying sheds to harden.
We have yet only considered glue-making from fleshings; we have still the heaps of bones and horns to account for, so will now describe the process they undergo. A glance at the bones will show of scraps of dried flesh adhering to them, which are no use for making glue; yet these are by no means wasted. The bones with the attached flesh are placed in heated drums, fitted with revolving wires, which tear off the flesh, leaving the bones quite clean. This dried flesh, now in the form of dust, makes a valuable manure, and is packed into small bags.
The bones are next placed into a large cylinder, the glue is extracted under high pressure, and finally, when quite finished with, are ground up, and form another bye-product, namely bone manure, for which there is a great demand.
Continuing our tour through the works, we pass through the size room, where hundreds of small barrels are being filled with a bright golden liquid. This is size – the size for which this firm is so renowned. It comes from the fleshings, and great care is bestowed upon its manufacture to get it to a uniform strength and colour.
We next look at another room, in which the oil (which, naturally, is extracted with the glue) is refined. Here is another example of the way bye-products are utilised. Another room is devoted to the manufacture of concentrated size, which is a specially-made and strong form of glue ground up into a powder. Amateurs will find that to buy concentrated size is better than buying ordinary glue, as it keeps well in the packets, and is more convenient to use than the large cakes of glue.
We had a look at one of the large drying sheds, open on all sides, but fitted with hundreds of racks, containing cakes of glue, which, when thoroughly hardened, are washed and packed up ready for market.
In passing through the works, it was impossible to avoid noticing the great care bestowed on the manufacture of the glue in all its stages, and, considering the dirty nature of the work, the neatness of the various departments impressed us greatly. The writer is greatly indebted to the Management for their kindness in allowing him to visit the works and take the necessary photographs, which, in many cases, caused considerable inconvenience.
