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3rd June 2003

METALWORK IN FURNITURE

A report on the days event By Dr Rose Newsom, BAFRA Student

West Dean College,
West Dean,
Chichester,
West Sussex
PO18 0QZ.

This popular teaching event was a sell out and over 100 delegates poured into West Dean College set in a delicious fold of the South Downs. Many arrived the night before, walked in the 6000-acre park and enjoyed supper together at The Selsey Arms.

We started immediately networking and learning from each other. Many people had travelled from Yorkshire and Manchester involving 5-hour journeys. Two members had been delegated to come by their company.

It was fascinating to learn from Michael Barrington that West Dean is where BAFRA was born in 1979, the idea of restoration students.

Netti's professional handout featured coloured photos of all speakers and demonstrators. A paper by Peter Hatchett was a useful insertion.

The lectures were given under the chandeliers and among the tapestries of the old library some without illustration others on Power Point.

Norbert Gutowski, Director of the HND course at West Dean, gave a well-illustrated, crisp lecture using power point. He emphasised that fittings are an integral part of a piece of furniture and listed how many are required. He paid tribute to the blacksmiths, designers, carvers, moulders, chasers. finishers and gilders who made the best furniture. He showed us the restoration of a Wine Cooler where all the metal work had been stripped off and how he followed the marks for new bands and corrected the distorted lid.

Jeremy Bramah of Bramah locks recounted how Joseph Bramah, a versatile inventor, made the first locks in 1784. The need for this lock was driven by the wealthy who required to keep their estates, writing desks and jewellery safe.

The Bramah locks could not be picked or copied. The concept of Master Suites was also used where a set of locks were made and one key would open all. Then lesser keys gave access to special areas like the wine cellar, pantry and estate. Bramah locks were commonly fitted to brief cases, partners’ desks, writing slopes and vanity items.

He handed round locks and demonstrated the sliders. He explained what to do if a key is missing and suggested that it is useful to build up a collection of Bramah keys for such an emergency. The fewer slides present the more likely success.

His tips on what to do in the absence of a key: Do not turn locks with pliers, do not drill out, and do not pull out the slides. Look to see how many sliders are present and gently try an old key with matching number of sliders. If it does not open then leave it. If the lock must be opened it is best to cut the bolt. This method does not destroy the mechanism.

If it is in an Asprey Box try moving the cap left or right, north or south and the lock may spring open. Bramah Company will repair locks and cut keys. You should take out the lock, insure it and send it to them. Bramah Company also offer to try to open a lock with a half hour time limit.

In modern times Bramah makes locks for the mass market and for specialist items.

In the afternoon his handout gave a Chronological History of Bramah locks and hints on how to date a Bramah Lock by looking for the address and name stamped on the lock.

Tonni Beentjees talked about Patination in metal. Patination can be developed by applying chemicals, immersion, ammonia in a chamber, heating and chemical plus heat by torch. He gave an example of using antimony chloride with water or ammonia to produce brown. Using this one can build up the intensity of patination taking care to leave deeper colour in recesses.

In the late 19th Century Paris metalwork was a very unhealthy profession. The health of workers was endangered by arsenic, antimony and mercury. Now we try to use healthier natural recipes that can also change surfaces.

An important observation was that thin pressed brasses and hammered objects contain areas of ‘stress’. If immersed in ammonia they may fall apart. If the metal is cast then it can resist ammonia.

In the afternoon he demonstrated how to age a new brass handle with heat gun (propane and compressed air) and copper nitrate, brushing with a brass brush, dipping into Gold Finish, and many other techniques. The hands on demonstration made the subject vivid and useful.

He obtains American dipping materials from an agent on 6 Aston Quay in Dublin2. Tel:00353 671 7144 or Fax 00353 679 8198. Beware of the attractive catalogue!

Yannick Chastang.

Following the article in the MAY 2003 BAFRA Newsletter we were eager to meet this skilled young Frenchman.

In early work the brass had to be vigorously hammered to make it thin enough to work with. Joints between pieces were normal and elegantly covered with a brass mount. The requirements of the English Navy stimulated the manufacture of thin brass and in 1725 brass was rolled into long thin sheets. This was much easier to work with.

Gluing metal and marquetry is a major problem. Yannick uses glue made from the air bladder of sturgeon that is very flexible though less good other fish glues are useful.

His opinion on the treatment of corrosion is to think about what is best for the object. Do not use Brasso nor aluminium powder and ammonia as they leave a residue. It is best to use a finely ground charcoal powder.

He showed a microscopic image of brass crystals and wood fibres that had been distorted by a stamping press. This important slide tells us that stamped and hammered brass is weakened and tends to crack with age or in the presence of chemicals like ammonia.

In the workshop he set up a two pence coin and a piercing saw so that we could try our hand at sawing brass. If you can cut out the Queen’s head you are fit to take up marquetry!

Peter Brazier is experienced at Brass casting. He found that booklets on the subject are incomplete so he has experimented for the last 25 years, starting by creating mounts from dentists casting material. He obtained access to furniture Hampton Court Palace to make his first copies.

He notes that a straight copy is slightly smaller than the original. Finials are often missing or broken. It is cheaper to make your own replacement. He explained the process.

He taught us about pouring wax, sticky wax, injection of hot wax and soft wax that adheres to other waxes.

He advised that failures often occur and if four castors are required then one should make five. He took us through lost wax casting and the use of flasks instead of vacuum pumps.

He avoids buying expensive equipment and buys brass off cuts. The brass should be clean and any oiliness removed before use. The cheaper brass looks yellow while better quality looks red. He sometimes buys new brass from Birmingham.

ARMAC Birmingham Mark McGrail

www.armac.co.uk

The morning lectures had over run so ARMAC demonstrated their wares in the workshop after lunch. Apparently many foundries have closed due to constraints put on them by Health and Safety Commission to produce pure clean air for their workers. By investing £50,000 pounds in the foundry they are able to continue employing about 30-40 men. They use Sand casting and Lost wax casting.

They make replacement parts for clients and try to match the original finish.

He said that it is not necessary to have matching sets of handles and escutcheons. Craftsmen use their own taste to put things together. He handed out his own book on English Furniture Fittings and a short catalogue. This is a company that is well worth knowing about.

The Afternoon Demonstrations were well attended:

Michael Barrington demonstrated soldering and other metal work, including the handling of mercury in a barometer using a catheter and syringe to refill it. He also showed how to deal with the tempered steel fingers of a Swiss musical box, which were very expensive items. Perhaps the simplest and most practical demonstration was of his heat barrier mastic (available from a welder’s shop, which allowed him to hold one end of a metal rod or blade even though he was applying considerable heat from a blowtorch at the other end (see photo).

Annealing, tempering, hardening and steel tools.

Albert Plumb provided one of the most useful demonstrations of the afternoon, on the use of heat treatment to anneal, harden and temper the steel of the tools used for furniture restoration and woodcarving. Such treatment could be needed anywhere, for example if one had blunted a chisel by grinding it. He showed the different colours that a piece of annealed steel reaches – varying from dark red at 1125oG to orange at 1750oF. A full cherry red indicates 1450oF and is the temperature required for hardening, which is done by quenching the heated blade in oil or water. The hardened steel should be then heated to around 500oF (a straw – dark red colour) for tempering – so that the hardness is reduced to allow honing. A useful handout accompanied his demonstration and included a sheet on Sharpening tools for Woodcarving.

Norbert Gutowski explained how the use of the Digital Camera has allowed his department to do away with portfolios and take a modern approach. He encourages students to take frequent photos before, during and after each task. This builds up a fine sequence of images that can be shown quickly on a computer screen. These can be used to assess the student’s work and as a teaching tool for other students.

Norbert’s Students had laid out the most excellent of displays of various metal fittings. Identified, labelled and explained

At the end of the day when many had departed, a lucky few were taken upstairs to see the Restoration Workshops.

The setting was lovely, the teaching excellent and the hospitality of West Dean unequalled. Though some of us find the subject difficult, one cannot opt out of Metal Work. It is an integral part of a piece of furniture.

10th March 2003

8th ANNUAL BAFRA STUDENT CONFERENCE

by Andrew Matthews

Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College,
Queen Alexandra Road,
High Wycombe,
Buckinghamshire
HP11 2JZ.

This year we were grateful to Bucks & Chilterns College for hosting our 8th annual student conference. The college is situated in the heart of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, surrounded by ring roads and car parks, so no problems parking! Arriving rather late due to congestion on the A1 & M25 I duly registered and managed to grab coffee and biscuits before taking my seat in the lecture theatre. Dr. Jake Kaner standing in for an ailing Ian Barker, the college Dean, welcomed the 150 or so conference delegates. The Chair of the Student / Graduate Section Tony Baker then introduced the Conference Chair, Neil Trinder. Neil whose career includes working at the V & A and the Royal Household spoke briefly about the aims of the conference, titled "I Didn't Think It Was That Bad !" then introduced the first speaker of the day, Campbell Norman - Smith.

Campbell is a senior lecturer at Bucks College and those communication skills were much in evidence during this paper. The subject concerned the need for an alternative to the widespread use of modern synthetic compounds used to repair Boulle work. Campbell reasoned that very little is known about what possible detrimental effect solvents etc. in these compounds may have on pieces in the future. Aided with colour slides he detailed his six year old research project that has now led him to formulate and use a natural reversible compound. This compound, consists of melted shellac flake, yellow beeswax and a secret plasticer which unfortunately he would not reveal to the conference! However it would seem that this particular product might well be on the shelves of all good finishing supply shops quite soon. As is customary at these events questions were invited from the audience.

Bucks College MA student Rabea Gietfried-Nietland presented the second paper. Rabea`s subject, illustrated with slides, introduced the wonderfully named Boroscope and its uses specifically for upholstery work. Essentially the Boroscope is a thin circular probe attached to a SLR camera, the probe is pushed into the upholstered piece, and the internal works, and stuffing's, frame etc are revealed, visually examined and subsequently photographed through the probe. Rabea concluded her presentation with questions from the floor and an invitation for us to view the Boroscope in a restoration workshop during the lunch break. Costing in the region of £2,500 I feel it will not be a common sight in many commercial workshops!

Yuri Karpov also a Bucks College MA student next took the podium to deliver the final presentation of the morning session. Taking as his subject a mid 18th century mahogany bureau - bookcase Yuri delivered his paper on the necessity of research and practical investigation before embarking on repair work. Unfortunately the furniture in question had suffered the indignity of many `fashionable improvements` inflicted over the years. The bookcase had evidently been vastly altered in the 19th century and slides were used to illustrate this. If I understood correctly apparently only the bookcase [top section] was available when Yuri embarked on this project so he made a suitable ` marriage ` with a chest of drawers being converted to form a ` new `bureau base.

Once the last of the papers for the morning had been delivered David Hordern addressed us briefly before breaking for lunch. David, BAFRA full member and current Assessment Officer discussed the merits of being a full BAFRA member and the assessment criteria required for full membership.

During lunch break the various workshops were open with the opportunity to observe and talk to students working on a wide range of projects.

After lunch Edgar Mantz, another Bucks MA student took the podium. Edgar's paper concentrated on the inherent problems possibly associated with the restoration of "modern" furniture.

Michael Haines, Graduate Member of Border Restorations approached the conference title from the viewpoint of a restorer being called in to examine a piece of furniture. This paper was illustrated with slides of work undertaken by Michael. He explained some of the many problems encountered when a customer wishes an on-the-spot estimate and what is revealed when the piece is finally in the workshop.

Richard Charles Rycotewood College HND student presented our final paper. This paper was most appropriate to Bucks College as it concerned the making of a Windsor chair in an area famous for such furniture. In addition to slides Richard had brought along various tools, green timber, a shaving-horse and proceeded to demonstrate the making of chair component.

Neil Trinder brought the days proceedings to a close with thanks to all those involved with organizing yet another successful BAFRA Student Conference.