My sincere apologies to one and all for this long overdue update. Thing is I thought that I’d posted a lot of it but clearly not.
Working on getting the basic mould out for the main wreath was challenging. Trying to visualise where the lines should go and at what twist/angle as we move down the length of the wreath had me tearing my hair out. To help, I used coloured stickers at either end to make sure I was applying the line with the correct twist in the right direction which helped a bit.
WorkholdingWhen I was making up the trial pieces I was struggling to keep the wood secure in a normal bench vice and a bit of research brought up this vice which is superb for this sort of work. Each jaw pivots and then the whole vice pivots.
Orienting with the straight handrails
One of the things I was keen on was seeing how the wreath would line up with the two adjacent handrails. I wasted a lot of time trying to find a way of temporarily fixing these two adjacent straight handrails with two secure reference points at the ends for the wreath and also thinking that they needed to be at the finish height for the handrail. Of course, they do not. They can be as low as I want and so I made a couple of guide posts out of ply that were screwed at the right position on the stringers.
You can see them here and also the wreath slowly coming together.
It’s in there somewhere…
Here’s a few photos taken as work ‘progressed’.
That ‘box’ right of frame with ‘TOP’ on it is my home-grown dust filter. Inside is a pre-filter (still available) and the main filter (no longer available) from Axminster and intended for one of theirs …possibly a Jet. Airflow is created by a massive fan at the other end sucking in the dust. Works well.
Shaping was done using an assortment of tools ranging from spokeshaves (convex and concave), Saburrtooth discs, grinder abrasive wheels and my Mirka Ceros. And an infinite amount of patience.
If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door.