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I needed some decorations...

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I needed some decorations...

Postby kirkpoore1 » 07 Jan 2021, 06:41

After today's shameful insurrection on Capitol HIll, I'm kind of keyed up. Posting something will help me sleep. So here we go.

I'm going to be repainting my small hallway bathroom later this winter, and decided I wanted some decorations for the walls. Current decoration has been there since I bought the house 17 years ago, so the wallpaper dividing strip is starting to peel and things are getting a little rough around the edges. The room has oak floors (What? In a bathroom?) and an oak cabinet under the sink, so going with oak elements will work OK.

I've accumulated a dozen or more vintage wooden bodied planes that I never use (including a few family heirlooms). I decided that displaying them would be better than having them sit in a box in the basement. But now I needed shelves, and something that would go with the woodworking bathroom theme. I decided on--misericords.

Misericords, for those who haven't run across them before, were little supports for seats used by monks during church services. Sometimes they were supposed to be standing rather than sitting, so the seats in their stalls folded up out of the way. But a lot of monks got old, and it was hard to stand up for a long time during Vespers (or even worse, Nocturns) so under the seat was a little shelf where they could park their posteriors and take the weight off of their old feet. Under these shelves, the woodworkers had often carved scenes, figures, or other decoration. There are _lots_ of these still in existence. I've seen scores of pictures and even a few in person in my visits across the pond.

So my misericords vary in side and shape, but all give me some excuse to practice some carving. Most have a woodworking subject. They're not all done yet, but I think once I attach the shelves to the carving I'll have enough. Anyway, here we go:
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A bunch laid out.
(342.58 KiB)


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Mid carving
(424.95 KiB)


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First coat of finish.
(297.12 KiB)


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Bow saw
(395.54 KiB)


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Bench, like I made last month.
(387.47 KiB)


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(458.24 KiB)


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Axe & adze
(382.53 KiB)


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(427.32 KiB)


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Completed misericords
(472.29 KiB)


I've made 11 altogether. I'm pretty happy with them, but I need to practice with bigger carvings and go more three dimensional. And I think they'll make great gifts.

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Re: I needed some decorations...

Postby Mike G » 07 Jan 2021, 08:39

Excellent, Kirk. What a good idea.

Misericords are part of the hinged seat in church (or monastery) choir stalls, and were carved in one solid piece with the seat. You can only see them when the seat is raised. I'm particularly fond of the ones at Ely cathedral, which are exuberant and somewhat naughty.

Funnily enough, I got a book on misericords (and pew ends) for christmas.
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Re: I needed some decorations...

Postby Malc2098 » 07 Jan 2021, 11:04

Nice.

They remind me of Guild symbols.
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Re: I needed some decorations...

Postby novocaine » 07 Jan 2021, 11:16

cool, nice bit of carving that although it lacks the naked ladies. :D
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Re: I needed some decorations...

Postby TrimTheKing » 07 Jan 2021, 11:21

Very nice mate.

Did I read correctly, you’re going to put your wooden planes on display, in the downstairs loo???
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Re: I needed some decorations...

Postby Andyp » 07 Jan 2021, 11:25

And why not?

Cool idea
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Re: I needed some decorations...

Postby AndyT » 07 Jan 2021, 12:07

For one horrible moment I thought you were going to say you had carved the planes into some sort of horrible etsy tat!

Now I have stopped shuddering, they look rather good!
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Re: I needed some decorations...

Postby TrimTheKing » 07 Jan 2021, 12:10

Andyp wrote:And why not?

Cool idea


No reason why not, I just wasn't clear that this what was being suggested.

Not sure I'd get away with that, nor particularly want to, but each to their own.
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Re: I needed some decorations...

Postby novocaine » 07 Jan 2021, 12:21

now I have my own little room in the house I have such wonderful decorations as (ignoring the wall of guitars) Moore and Wright Height gauge, marble surface plate, DTI stand and DTI...... you get the idea. :) it's great for video conferences, the folks I talk with are often asking what the thingy in the background is. :D
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Re: I needed some decorations...

Postby TrimTheKing » 07 Jan 2021, 12:43

Oh yeah, in my study I have all kinds of weird crap on the shelves behind me. No wooden planes though ;)
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Re: I needed some decorations...

Postby droogs » 07 Jan 2021, 13:15

I love those, truly fantastic idea and well executed. The only down side I can think of starts with Mrs K.
Common practice was to create something that alluded to some innuendo about the person who would be sitting in that seat for those created outside of monasteries St Stephens at Westminster has some really good examples.
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Re: I needed some decorations...

Postby AJB Temple » 07 Jan 2021, 14:14

Interesting. I also have an old book on Misericords (found it in Oxfam bookshop) and I have a small selection of them liberated from demolished churches (though I didn't know what they were when I bought them). I don't think it is necessarily always quite correct that they were carved as part of the seat, as I have seen some that have been pegged in, though I suppose these may have been repairs or later additions.

The purpose, for those wondering, was to provide a bum rest when the seat was tipped back for the long hours of standing during services in times gone by. Sort of a standing seat if you will.

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Re: I needed some decorations...

Postby kirkpoore1 » 10 Jan 2021, 07:28

Attached the shelves to the carving on Friday night. I glued in plugs to cover the screw holes, so I need to plane these flat, then I can put finish on them. I also drilled the shelves for the mounting holes.

IMG_8188.JPG
(417.1 KiB)


I should get to planing and finishing on Sunday.

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Re: I needed some decorations...

Postby kirkpoore1 » 12 Jan 2021, 05:56

I got the shelves attached to the remaining 8 misericords over the weekend, and got a coat of finish on them tonight.
IMG_8188.JPG
(446.18 KiB)


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(375.79 KiB)

They're not as "organic" looking as real ones, and the carving isn't as deep as most. But I think they'll do the job.

They still need a couple more coats of finish. But I think I'll be repainting my bathroom this weekend.

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Re: I needed some decorations...

Postby Malc2098 » 12 Jan 2021, 10:38

Nice.
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Re: I needed some decorations...

Postby kirkpoore1 » 17 Jan 2021, 22:12

OK, the bathroom is repainted and redecorated, so it's almost complete. On to a few pictures:

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(82.24 KiB)

The panoramic shot.

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(79.28 KiB)

To the right and above the sink.

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(68.49 KiB)

Left of the sink, right side of the back wall.

IMG_8225.JPG
(76.7 KiB)

Left side of the back wall.

IMG_8226.JPG
(89.82 KiB)

Toilet wall and left of the door.

I'm having a map framed and will put it on the wall above the transitional plane. All the items will need something to hold them in place, like hot glue or putty. My washing machine is immediately above them, and the vibrations during the spin cycle will likely eventually knock the planes off of the shelves.

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Re: I needed some decorations...

Postby Malc2098 » 17 Jan 2021, 22:25

Really nice.
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Re: I needed some decorations...

Postby Mike G » 18 Jan 2021, 08:40

Looks great Kirk......but that's a whole lot of tools out of circulation! If I put a dozen planes on show in the house I would have to beg, borrow or steal some.
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Re: I needed some decorations...

Postby TrimTheKing » 18 Jan 2021, 13:44

Looks good mate. I wasn't sure before but they look really good in situ.
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Re: I needed some decorations...

Postby kirkpoore1 » 18 Jan 2021, 17:22

Mike G wrote:Looks great Kirk......but that's a whole lot of tools out of circulation! If I put a dozen planes on show in the house I would have to beg, borrow or steal some.


Mike,some of these aren't users--the coffin smoother doesn't have a proper iron, one rabbet plane needs work, and frankly I don't like transitionals. The hollow and the round are bigger than I would like, but are usable. The better rabbet plane, which has a depth stop and a moveable fence, needs an iron but I may have that in the tool box that inherited from my great-grandfather. The last plane is, I think, a sash plane. It has a really interesting profile and two irons:
IMG_E8228.JPG
(89.93 KiB)

This plane is in perfect shape--but I'm unlikely to ever make any window sash.

Any of these planes can be lifted right off the shelf and put to use (or begin restoration). And except for the hollow, the round, and the sash plane, I have iron equivalents for all of them. (I do have another wood round that I do use and is in the shop.)

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