A Look At The Methods
And Process Of
Historically Framing An
18th-Century
Lower English
Tapestry
A Step
Back In Time
T
By Baer Charlton, CPF
he good vicar’s
wife had just left,
and William the
framer picked up
the phone to order
a chop of frame
number 7345-H94, with an inner
liner mount chop 27-9187464 (or was
that his postal code?) and had them
ship the frames straight away by Chivalric Express. The year was 1797.
OK, so I’ve taken a little liberty
with the story, but today, many think
of a frame in terms of chop or length
instead of a frame that starts as a log
and is worked by hand long and hard
before it is called a moulding. The
mitered corner with a rabbit or rebate planed into the moulding has
been with us since the 1400s when we
stopped gluing moulding to the face
of a board. But how did that all get
done? And without V-nails no less.
So, to walk through the steps of
making a frame, we will step into the
shop at the point where a log has been
massed or sawn square, such as 3"
thick by 4" wide and a random length,
into “timbers.” What was once a log
has been sawn to general sizes that
are conducive to many frame shapes
and sizes and then air-dried for three
or more years. When they are needed,
the long timbers are re-cut to smaller
easily workable sizes of the necessary
lengths, creating a “billet” of wood.
The “sawyer” then passed the billet
to the “moulder,” whose job it was
to create the shape of the moulding.
In the case of this frame, two frames
are needed: an inner “liner-mount”
and the “reformed Scotia” outer main
frame.
The liner-mount works much like
a modern mat, with ancillary decoration that is added to help tell the story
of the artwork being framed. In this
Editor’s Note: Due to the enormity of this project, we’ve broken it into two parts.
Stay tuned for the second installment in the April issue in which Baer Charlton,
CPF, reviews the handling of the tapestry and the actual framing process.
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Making
The Moulding
A look at how Baer Charlton
framed a more than 200year-old English tapestry
using the same hand tools as
an 18th-century framer
▲ Once the profile is determined, billets,
or pieces of log just slightly longer than
needed for each leg of the frame, are
chosen and then shaped and sized with
hand saws and planes. The grain follows
the profile of the moulding cartoon drawn
(traced around a pattern) on each end of
the billet; this alignment will ensure uniform
movement with all four sides of the frame.
➞
DECOR March 2008
Making
The Moulding
➞
▲ A “Plow plane” (the blade plows
a narrow furrow just the same as
a farmer’s plow) is used to cut the
underside of the rabbit and establish
the width of the rabbit. “Plow planes”
were used mostly in frame making
to establish uniform depths of cuts
as the moulding was shaped.
➞
▲ Once the rabbit is planed, a
matching back “face” is established.
These will be the working “foot” or
area that will be clamped as the real
work takes place. A squared foot is
also important for the “binding” or
joining processes that will be carved
into the frame to hold it together.
➞
▲ Once again, the plow plane
establishes the depth of the gentle
cove that will be on the back of the
moulding. This “cove” helps visually
“lighten” the “rail” or upper edge of
the frame to make it appear lighter
or airier than it really is. The sloped
and blacked “foot” will provide a
shadow behind the frame instead of
a massive frame going all the way to
the wall (much like the Germans did).
10
DECOR March 2008
A Step Back In Time
case, the liner-mount is incised with
the English Ivy pattern that is symbolic of the Christ legend, while the
frame’s “Hidden Cat” stencil pays
homage to the region’s strong Celtic
heritage.
Once the simple liner-mount is
massed to a flat face and the miters
are sawn and shaved until they close
tight, hot hide glue is then applied to
all eight ends, and the frame is placed
together on a flat surface. Spanning
across the miters, iron pinch dogs are
hammered into the face of the moulding, driving the corners closed. The
frame is then allowed to rest for a day
or two.
After removing the dogs, a sliding
dovetail is placed across the foot of
the moulding spanning the joint and
scribed. Then the side of the frame
is scribed for the depth of the cut. A
back saw is used to cut the “cheek”
(side) cuts of the “dado” (trough) that
crosses the joint. The waste is chiseled
out, and the dovetail is fitted until a
firm fit is achieved, glued in place and
pegged through the holes from the
pinch dogs.
For the main frame, the “billet” is
rough planed flat on two sides that are
perpendicular to each other. This is a
critical step because once the two sides
are square, then the final thicknesses
can be scribed and planed square; all
of the billets should match when laid
side by side on the bench.
Once the billets are trued and
match, the “cartoon” of the profile is
transcribed onto the eight ends of the
billets. These “cartoons” will be the
guidelines for milling out the shapes
with the different planes.
All steps are done on each and every
billet in sequence so consistency is
maintained. With each depth set by
the plow plane, the dimensions are
checked against the other three billets
for a match before progressing to the
next step.
The miter cut is sawn, and then
tuned with a hand plane. Once the
miters are tight, hide glue is painted
onto mating faces and rubbed together
until they start to get very sticky. The
glued frame is pinch dogged so that
nothing disturbs the joints. Later, the
corners are pegged, cross-pegged and
bound with dovetails and Dutchmen
bowties.
Much like a nail, a wooden peg is
driven a few inches through one side
and into the other. Then a smaller
hole is drilled from the other side of
the frame, and a smaller dowel pierces
through the first larger dowel. The
excesses of the dowels are then sawed
flush with the frame. Once all corners
are pegged, the frame is turned over,
and a sliding dovetail is sawed into the
outer half of the foot of the frame. The
inner half is reserved for the formal
bowtie.
The bowties or Dutchmen are blocks
of similar wood as the frame’s that are
half the depth of the rebate. Their
outline is scribed on the “foot” of the
frame and then carefully chiseled out
to receive almost all of the Dutchman.
The Dutchman is fitted into the hole
and carefully checked for a snug fit.
Once that is achieved, the Dutchman
is glued into the hole, and the excess is
shaved off with a chisel.
The final step on the raw wood frame
is to shape the foot for the shadow line
if a stepped foot is used. Also, any still
protruding or “proud” pegs or dovetails are shaved to match. Then the
framemaker hands the frame to the
“Gesso man.”
Gesso is a mix of rabbit-skin glue,
whiting (talc or stone dust) and mordant or urea (urine for some, vinegar
for others) to discourage bugs and prevent mold and rot. This was all mixed
slowly in a double boiler and then
several layers were painted on while
hot or warm. When “dry,” the gessoer
would pass the frame to the “reparé”
(pronounced rep-par-a), which means
to cut or recut. The reparé would then
“surface” the frame to smooth where it
needed to be smooth, and if there were
carvings, he would recut the gesso to
gain back the fine edge of definition or
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A Step Back In Time
detail.
Then, it’s back to the Gessoer for the
application of the clay bole. The bole
provided the depth of color that is reflected in the metal leaf applied over
it. The fine and powdery clay is slowly
mixed into a warming batch of rabbit-skin glue. In America, we are used
to seeing a lot of “red” bole, but in Europe, tans, and ochre were more common colors. The tinctures of blues and
purples were achieved through mineral
colorings such as lapis and basalts. The
layers of bole are about as thin as water
and dry quickly. The Guilder will have
control from this time on.
It would be assumed that the “framer”
or master would direct or do the fitting.
We know about the “making” of frames,
but as for the fitting, you would think
that it was a mere afterthought in the
complexities of the ateliers of the 1790s,
whereas today, it is just the opposite.
Making The Moulding
➞
▲ A “round” or “bull-nosed”
plane follows the plowed dado
and makes the final shape.
➞
▲ In this case, a Plow-plane dado
establishes a guide for a small plane to
run down the last of the waste before
establishing the final level and shape
of the “Scotia” or scoop. Each of the
four rails or legs is uniform because
of the use of the Plow plane and its
guide rail to determine where and how
deep the dado is plowed. Therefore,
the final profiles will match and show
little difference in their joining.
➞
▲ A slight “refreshing” of the depth
starts the last step of the planning. A
set of calipers or points can be used
to check the depth or thickness from
the bottom of the dado to the foot of
the moulding or to simply lay the legs
end-to-end and look for any variance
of the depths from leg to leg.
12
DECOR March 2008
▲ A “Low-angle skew” plane makes
fast work of the last of the waste
in the bowl of the scoop as well as
rounding over the top of the rail. The
step in the middle of the face is a visual
break that adds visual interest as
well as a handy place to separate the
varied steps of shaping the profile.
▲ The final curve of the scoop
is planed with a “Round”
plane. This uniformity of shape
translates well when the field is
leafed and highly burnished.
➞
▲ Removing the mass of “waste”
is done very delicately with a chisel
and small mallet. Note that a depth
dado has been plowed to almost the
detail. This is a protection against the
chance of the wood splitting out into
the profile. This step looks massive
and crude, but is actually one of the
more delicately accurate processes
in the making of moulding; there is
no “guiding” rail or stop to guard
against a misguided chisel hit with
too much “forte” (to loud or hard).
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Making The Moulding
➞
▲ The dado is then cleaned out and
shaved with a razor-sharp chisel to
accept the dovetail. The outside wall of
the dado is 90 degrees to the floor, where
the inside wall (being shaved) is about
85 degrees, making it tighter on the top
and thus capturing the dovetail. There
are no measurements; this is all done
one dovetail at a time and by eye and fit.
▲ The “receiving hole” is then
carved out. This is all chisel work
done with much care and no “forte”
but instead with a lot of patience.
➞
➞
▲ Cast-iron “Pinch Dogs” are
hammered into the face of the
moulding; the raked inner face of
the legs pull the glued joint together,
much like the modern V-nail. Later
the holes will be used to drive pegs
through the moulding and lock a
glued “sliding dovetail” that spans
the mitered joint, protecting against
opening as the frame joint ages.
➞
▲The dovetail finally fits snugly and is
glued in place with hide glue. The extra
sticking out later will be trimmed using
the “Back saw” and a sharp chisel.
➞
▲ The “Open Mortise” is sawn across
the frame miter to the depth of the
“sliding-dovetail” stick that will slide
into the mortise or “Battered dado.”
(“Battered” simply means there is
a slant to the vertical walls of the
“dado,” which is a rabbit that is cut
into or across the face of a board.)
▲ Once the depth of the hole is almost
as deep as the Dutchman is thick,
and the Dutchman fits “snug as a wee
child in blankets on a cold Holland
night,” then it is inserted with glue and
tapped down snug with just a small
bit standing proud of the frame back.
14
DECOR March 2008
➞
▲ A “Dutchman” or “Bowtie” or
“Butterfly” patch is carved about half
or one-third the thickness of the “foot”
of the moulding. The Dutchman is
held down crossing the mitered joint,
and the shape is outlined. Those who
use “inserts” in “routed” corners can
now see where the idea came from.
▲ Before the glue sets, the excess
is shaved off so that the Dutchman
is flush with the frame back. The
grain running the length of the
Dutchman and across the joint
stops the miter from cracking
open in later years. “Open” joins
are more indicative of frames that
postdate the advent of metal nails
that lose their holding power as the
wood shrinks away from the nail.
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Making The Moulding
➞
▲ After all the effort to make the gold
leaf look so pretty, then it is time to
grind the surface with an abrasive
called pumicestone. A small amount of
white gas or paint thinner is used as a
vehicle to wet the stone dust and make
a paste somewhat like toothpaste.
This slurry will grind through the
gold creating the appearance of age
and wear and exposing the color
of the purple bole underneath, but
it will not diminish the reflective
quality of the 22-karat gold leaf.
➞
➞
▲ Putting it all together took time.
Once the glue in the miter join had
dried, then a large hole was bored to
receive a fat peg (1). A much smaller
hole bored from the other side (2)
pierces the fat peg, thus locking the
joint at the top. This is called pegged
and cross-pegged or just crosspegging. One the top is pegged on
all four corners; the joined frame has
some strength and can now be sawn
for a sliding dovetail. (3) The dovetails
are also drilled and pegged for greater
strength. Once the glue in the pegs
and dovetails has dried and set up, the
frame is strong enough to withstand
the pounding necessary to cut the
receiving holes for the Dutchman (4).
After a few days for the frame to rest,
all of the extraneous wood is sawn, cut
or shaved and planed off, leaving the
final shape with the back ready to be
blacked and the face to be gessoed.
▲ Using a “reparé” tool (Reparé means
literally to recut the gesso, which gives
a clean, crisp design or pattern.) The
cartoon is “incised” or cut/scraped
into the gesso. The slightest scratch
will telegraph through the whisperthin clay bole and gold leaf, so great
care is taken to not mark the frame
where a mark is not wanted.
➞
▲ Diminishing the quality of the
reflectivity is the job left to a mix
of Japan colors and a lot of paint
thinner applied liberally and quickly
with a soft, droopy lacquer mop.
➞
▲ After the bole has been applied
and dried, guilder liquor is applied to
reconstitute and activate the rabbit-skin
glue in the bole and gesso. Occasionally
the liquor is applied to the inside of the
guilder, and only water is applied to the
frame; either works, just not always
as well as the other. After about four
hours, the surface is burnished with an
agate tooth where a “polish” is desired.
Here, everything is burnished except
every third ivy leaf to create a repetitive
pattern in a seemingly random romp
of leaves. This provides structure to
the chaos and is soothing to the eye.
▲ Once the layers of gesso have been
surfaced and smoothed, the Sgraffito
cartoon pattern is drawn onto the
gesso with a soft graphite pencil.
▲ With tip pushed into the face of
the background, the hand is turned
quickly causing a small polished dent.
16
DECOR March 2008
▲ Just as quickly, almost all of the
Japan mix is wiped and blotted off of
the frame then pounced with a stiff
bristle brush to even out the soft look.
The secret to finishes is not always
what is put on but what, how much
and how it is taken off. If you think you
have taken off enough, then take off
just a little bit more. As Coco Chanel
used to say, if you look in the mirror
and everything is perfect, remove
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This is repeated 5,832 times; it’s
called punch work, and it creates a
broken up background that does not
compete visually with the ivy pattern.
just one thing. Less is always more.