wood-finishes-msg - 2/1/15
Period and SCA wood finishes. Stains. Applied finishes.
NOTE: See also the files: wood-msg, painting-msg, glues-msg, polishing-msg, wood-bending-msg, wood-utensils-msg, woodworking-msg, beeswax-msg.
************************************************************************
NOTICE -
This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.
This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org
I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter.
The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors.
Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s).
Thank you,
Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous
Stefan at florilegium.org
************************************************************************
From: flieg at garnet.berkeley.EDU (Flieg Hollander)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Pavilion/tent poles
Date: 20 Dec 1994 12:48:01 -0500
Frederick of Holland here -=-
Folo said:
>>For finishing poles, I would suggest a good paint (not a stain)
>>and then linseed oil (boiled; unboiled never dries) and pumice
>>rubbed in. Take a look at various paints on the market for
>>historical homes: they try to match early American paint colors,
>>which are probably going to be the nearest you can get to
>>earlier period paints as well (if this is an incorrect assumption,
>>I hope someone who knows will post additional information). It
>>appears that paint was more commonly used than stains because
>>the folks of the time were trying to hide, not accent, the cheap
>>woods they often used.
As Master Malcom MacPherson (Laurel -- specialty:furniture) reminded us in
a recent class, the "cheap wood" was _oak_, and weather-proofing oak is far
less necessary than it is for other woods. The most period form of sealing
is apparently no sealing at all.
That being said, few of us can afford oak pavilion poles, and sealing fir
that is going to be out in the weather is only sound practice.
I use tung oil, which is a modern concoction, but totally innocuous in
that it just looks like the wood has been darkened slightly by age. Boiled
linseed oil is good, too. Both of these should be renewed periodically. On
the more permanent side, varnishes are period and so are lacquers. Both are
getting harder and harder to find, due to the concern over solvents.
>>However, personally, I just assume that I'm gonna replace poles
>>--gradually, not all at the same time--over the course of a few
>>years.
Yep. I'm lucky. I have a mill not three miles from here which stocks
1 1/2" rod (thicker than clothes rod) in all the fashionable lengths (up to
15') at a reasonable price per foot ( <$1 ). And they let me pick out the
ones with the straightest grain when I tell them I'm using it for a "tent
pole".
* * * Frederick of Holland, MSCA, OP, etc.
*** *** *** flieg at garnet.berkeley.edu
_|___|___|_
|===========|
(((Flieg Hollander, Chem. Dept., U.C. Berkeley)))
From: jklessig at slip.net
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Period Wood Stains
Date: Thu, 05 Jun 1997 06:10:20 GMT
bronwynmgn at aol.com (Bronwynmgn) wrote:
>ua923 at freenet.Victoria.BC.CA (Mark Shier) writes:
>> Your best bet for a period wood stain that is food safe and alcohol
>> resistant is walnut oil. Theophilus (11C) uses it for oiling bone carvings.
>> It is a traditionjal frnch wood finish.
>> I am using walnut oil to finish a batch of Sutton Hoo style beakers.
>> Wood finishes are a problem for reenactors- there is very little known from
>> period.
>Are there any period finishes to waterproof the wood somewhat? My lord
>and I are looking at making some camp furniture out of oak and would like
>to finish it in as period a manner as possible. Would oak need a
>waterproof finish, or only softer woods such as pine? I would guess that
>one alternative might be beeswax well rubbed in, but it's only a guess.
>Bronwyn
The walnut oil finish will water proof wood to some extent (depending
on how many coats you apply) walnut oil (which should be pure, with
aout antioxident additives or preservatives) is a "drying" oil. What
this means is that it reacts (slowly) with the oxygen in air to form a
polomerized film. Tung oil, and linseed oil are also drying oils, and
may work faster.
Oak in particular can be a problem, it is a porous wood
(red oak is so bad that it will not hold water) To seal it well you
have to fill these pores with finish, which takes for ever.
As for bees wax, I use it when I am turning goblets or bowls on the
lathe. But the method I use for applying it (using the friction caused
by the lathe turning to melt the wax into the wood, smells great) will
not work for furniture.
Chandra
From: rnewmyer at epix.net (Robert Newmyer)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Period Wood Stains
Date: Thu, 5 Jun 1997 11:30:17 -0400
Organization: R. Newmyer Consulting
We have been using Danish oil finishes on our rope bed, trestle table,
chairs and pavilion poles. The finish on the trestle table held up well
at last PENNSIC. We've used the Danish oil on pine, poplar and alder.
Especially liked the "English Oak" finish on our rope bed. Danish oil is
another drying oil finish. Does anyone know the ingredients used? I
believe Danish oil is based on linseed or tung oil, which had it's origin
in a nut found in China (May not be period)
BTW, you can buy walnut oil in supermarkets in the salad oil section.
Griffith
From: j klessig <jklessig at slip.net>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Period Wood Stains
Date: Fri, 06 Jun 1997 08:53:51 -0700
Robert Newmyer wrote:
> We have been using Danish oil finishes on our rope bed, trestle table,
> chairs and pavilion poles. The finish on the trestle table held up well
> at last PENNSIC. We've used the Danish oil on pine, poplar and alder.
> Especially liked the "English Oak" finish on our rope bed. Danish oil is
> another drying oil finish. Does anyone know the ingredients used? I
> believe Danish oil is based on linseed or tung oil, which had it's origin
> in a nut found in China (May not be period)
>
> BTW, you can buy walnut oil in supermarkets in the salad oil section.
I believe modern (like watco) danish oils are a mixture of tung like oils
and disolved polymer resins.
I would not use walnut oil from the supermarket unless you are sure it
has NO preservatives. The preservatives prevent the precise reaction you
want for a finish. "organic" or health food stores are more likely to
have pure oil.
Linseed oil (flax seed) is quite period. Tung oil I do not know
From: Dan Bollinger at Clay Critters <danr at critters.mdn.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Period Wood Stains
Date: Fri, 06 Jun 1997 15:04:03 -0700
Robert Newmyer wrote:
> We've used the Danish oil on pine, poplar and alder.
> Especially liked the "English Oak" finish on our rope bed. Danish oil is
> another drying oil finish. Does anyone know the ingredients used? I
> believe Danish oil is based on linseed or tung oil, which had it's origin
These types of finishes are half-oil and half-varnish, it has dryers
added. Varnishes do appear early, I don't know when.
An earlier hard finish is shellac. "French Polishing" is done with
shellac and oil mixture.
As someone else said, beeswax is very old. Probably into antiquity.
An interesting and possible early stain for oak is "fuming." Place the
oak in tight container (I use a garbage bag) into which also sits a
shallow pan containing ammonia. The ammonia fumes turn the tannic acid
in the oak a very warm, rich brown. Ammonia would have been available
from urine as bacteria changed it into ammonia.
Green Man Dan
From: gerekr at aol.com (Gerekr)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Period Wood Stains
Date: 6 Jun 1997 22:10:38 GMT
I've used beeswax mixed with turpentine. It doesn't smell very nice until
the turpentine evaporates, but works well. They were using it in the
seventeenth century, but I don't know if it was documented earlier than
that. I wouldn't use in for food related objects.
Meistari Gerekr
From: millsbn at mcmail.cis.McMaster.CA (Bruce Mills)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Period Wood Stains
Date: 7 Jun 1997 20:54:13 -0400
Organization: McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Dan Bollinger at Clay Critters <danr at critters.mdn.com> wrote:
>An interesting and possible early stain for oak is "fuming." Place the
>oak in tight container (I use a garbage bag) into which also sits a
>shallow pan containing ammonia. The ammonia fumes turn the tannic acid
>in the oak a very warm, rich brown. Ammonia would have been available
>from urine as bacteria changed it into ammonia.
You can also soak rusty iron in vinegar and apply the resulting solution to oak to turn it black; the iron reacts with the tannin, the same process used to make some inks.
Akimoya
Ealdormere
From: "merlyn" <merlyn at jps.net>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Period Wood Stains
Date: 10 Jun 1997 19:31:16 GMT
Robert Newmyer <rnewmyer at epix.net> wrote:
> We have been using Danish oil finishes on our rope bed, trestle table,
> chairs and pavilion poles.
> BTW, you can buy walnut oil in supermarkets in the salad oil section.
>
> Griffith
> > >ua923 at freenet.Victoria.BC.CA (Mark Shier) writes:
> > >> Your best bet for a period wood stain ...
> > >is walnut oil. Theophilus (11C) uses it for oiling bone
> > >carvings.
> > >> Wood finishes are a problem for reenactors- there is very little
> > >known from
> > >>period.
> >
> > >Are there any period finishes to waterproof the wood somewhat?
> > >Bronwyn
> > The walnut oil finish will water proof wood to some extent (depending
> > on how many coats you apply) ...
> >
> > As for bees wax, I use it when I am turning goblets or bowls on the
> > lathe. But the method I use for applying it (using the friction caused
> > by the lathe turning to melt the wax into the wood, smells great) will
> > not work for furniture.
> >
> > Chandra
As a longtime woodworker, including over 20 years as professional
carpenter, cabinet maker and general contractor, I have had a lot of
reasons to explore period wood finishes. Unfortunately little has
survived. Most furniture was simply scraped smooth on completion and put
into service. The same is true for early drinking vessels and eating
utensils(including trenchers).
Waxes were sometimes used on furnishings and utensils for the rich
and the nobility, but exact methods of application are virtually unknown.
One method commonly supposed to have been used is to "paint" the liquified
wax on the object and then scrape off the excess followed by buffing with
various types of cloth from coarse to fine. This is extremely tedious and
the results are passable. Walnut oil seems to be the only reasonably well
documented treatment.
Waterproofing is slightly different. While various oils were
experimented with, the most common treatment was pitch. It was cheap,
plentiful, easy to work with (barring the liklihood of burns) and worked
very well. It's primary drawback is that it tends to remain tacky
indefinitely and residue rubs off on contact.
If you need more information most manufacturers of oil finishes have
published material on the history of their products, covering both
manufacture and use.
Etienne Xavier Bondurant du Blacquemoor
"Qvid me anxius sum?"
From: ALBAN at delphi.COM
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: waxed wood
Date: 5 Jun 1997 23:37:15 -0400
Bronwyn asked:
>Are there any period finishes to waterproof the wood somewhat? My
>lord and I are looking at making some camp furniture out of oak and
>would like to finish it in as period a manner as possible. Would oak
>need a waterproof finish, or only softer woods such as pine? I would
>guess that one alternative might be beeswax well rubbed in, but it's
>only a guess.
I've used boiled linseed oil on my tent poles; and the three tables I use
to display my wares at Pennsic are also, if I remember correctly,
thoroughly coated with linseed oil. The tables have lasted through,
umm, about 4 Pennsics, so far, and the tent poles through seven or
eight, no problem, and none of the tables or poles have needed to be re-
rubbed.
Admittedly, they're also not out in the rain: close, but not actually out.
Since (again, if I remember correctly) linseed oil is made from flax, and
since flax was known in period, I believe linseed oil is also period.
Two things to remember: you'll need at least two coats if you're going to
use it on untreated wood. And you will notice a faint smell of linseed
oil for a long time; my tables still have a faint whiff of it, several years
after having it applied. (It's not a bad smell or anything; it's just a
smell.)
I've heard good things about beeswax-as-waterproofing, but haven't
tried it myself. Wax has other uses, too - candles, flux for casting metal
printing type, lubrication for a whole mess of things, coating (I think)
for vegetable and fruit canning, sealing wine bottles . . . .
Be very, very careful, though: when you apply the oil to the wood, look
out for splinters. One of the tent poles bit back, I wound up with a
couple of inches of splinter in a finger, *poof* infection crept in, and I
spent three days in the hospital, on IV antibiotics, thanks to an
incredibly huge swelling on that finger. - and all this, despite the fact
that I'd applied bandages and over-the-counter antibiotics to the wound.
Anyone else have a blooded tent? <grin>
Alban
Date: Fri, 28 Nov 1997 13:02:19 -0600
From: Sinclair <jeffdp at earthlink.net>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Not just leater
Put several rusty iron nails
>in vinegar for around two weeks. When you brush it on leather you get a nice
>grey or black based on how strong the solution is. The color only bleeds
>slightly in water. The down side is that this dying method will cause wool
>and silk fibers to degenerate faster.
>
>Noemi
The recipe of rusty metal and vinger is also used in woodworking! If you
put this solution on wood with a high tannic acid concentration, such as
oak, you will also obtain shades of grey to black. The pores will be
darker. If you want to make a wood, such as maple, grey, just 'paint' it
with tea, let it dry, and then put the solution on it. (This is called
Liquid Nightmare, by the way, and if you spray drops around you may learn
where the name comes from...
Sinclair
Subject: Re: Period Woodworking (+Reference)
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 21:51:27 -0700
From: Tim Bray/Catherine Keegan <keegan at ix.netcom.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Colin briefly jumping in:
Period sanding techniques: None, because sanding does not appear to have
been done in the Middle Ages. The process of dressing wood with a plane
yields a very smooth surface (smoother, in fact, than sandpaper will give
you), particularly if the plane is very sharp and well-tuned. I have
personally inspected a fair amount of woodwork from the 14th to 16th
centuries and "chatter-marks," left by a plane that was slightly dull or
out of tune, are typically evident, particularly on the "back" sides of an
object. The visible surfaces in "front" were most probably finished by
scraping with a sharp edge where necessary. This technique is still used
today by traditional woodworkers. Sandpaper itself is no earlier than
the 19th century.
Period finishing techniques: The most common finish was probably none at
all. Ordinary objects, such as furniture, that were used on a daily basis
would rapidly acquire a "patina" from handling. This handling would also
damage other finishes that could have been used, such as wax; a wax finish
has surprisingly little resistance to moisture and will wear off very
quickly, making it not worth the trouble (and expense, in the MA) to
apply.
Exceptions: Highly valued objects that were not intended to be handled
frequently were finished with the most expensive and therefore desirable
material available - paint. To our modern aesthetic, shaped as it is by
the Arts & Crafts Movement etc, it seems almost sacrilegious to paint over
a beautifully figured oak panel; yet that would have been the first choice
of a medieval artisan working in the "high-end" of the market.
Remember, these people would have been surrounded by wooden objects, and the
"natural" appearance of wood that we prize so highly would have seemed
"common" and vulgar to the upper classes. Instead of "finishing," think
of "decorating."
The ultimate "high-end" finish can perhaps be found in tiny remnants on
such objects as the Coronation Throne of England. The original finish, in
addition to polychrome paint (including white lead with red lettering),
included a gold foil surface on the back that was decorated by punching to
create the image of a king (possibly Edward I). At a later but still
medieval date, the throne was partially covered over by a sort of lustrous
glazing. My references do not tell me what this glazing was made from,
but it sounds sort of like coloured varnish.
Varnish made from linseed oil was known at least as early as the mid-15th
century, and possibly earlier; Cennini mentions how to make it. This was
the base for the oil paint invented (some say) by Hubert VanEyck. It was
almost certainly used to glaze over paintings on wood panels, and therefore
seems likely to have been used on decorative objects as well.
During the ReNAYsance (I pronounce it the way Blackadder did), of course,
this esthetic underwent considerable change and high-end wooden objects,
often inlaid with contrasting colors of wood, were finished with clear
varnish. Again, this varnish was based on linseed oil, prepared by a
low-temperature cooking process that partially polymerizes the oil. Modern
linseed oil will produce a very acceptable imitation finish; do not use it
on eating utensils, as it contains toxic metals to improve the curing
process.
Hope this helps! There is not, alas, a single good reference book
available for period woodworking techniques. There are several books that
touch on the subject, but none that are comprehensive. Most of the above
information is distilled from snippets describing objets d'art in museums,
museum catalogs, and archaeological references. There is one reference
that may contain more information, but I haven't been able to locate a
copy: "Furniture in England, France, and the Netherlands, 1200-1500" by
Penelope Eames. If anyone has seen this, let me know what it's like and
where you found it!
Colin de Bray
From: Tim Bray/Catherine Keegan <keegan at ix.netcom.com>
Mon, 31 Aug 1998 22:22:02 -0700
>>* Period finishing techniques (Medieval varnish?!).
>
>I've spent a fair bit of time searching for primary references to furniture
>finishing but have found very little. A few secondary sources discuss it,
>but wih the usual warnings about trusting someone else's conclusions.
>
>In John Gloag's "A Social History of Furniture Design," the author asserts
>that medieval furniture was rubbed with beeswax, or a combination of
>beeswax and turpentine. The primary decoration and preservative for
>furniture was painting, with annual repainting, particularly in the sooty
>environment of medieval houses. The practice of staining wood was not
>popularized until the 19th century.
Hmmm... SOME furniture or objects may have been rubbed with beeswax, but I
strongly doubt that it was a common practice, for reasons stated in other
posts. Painting, yes, but I haven't seen the references to back up the
claim of "annual repainting." The medieval houses that were sooty, i.e.
open-hearth hall houses, probably had very little painted decoration in
them. Painted walls and ceilings appear to have become much more common
after the 14th century, about the time chimneys became common in
upper-class dwellings. The medieval wall-paintings that I have seen did
not exhibit any obvious signs of having been repeatedly re-applied.
Stained wood is mostly a 19th century Arts & Crafts esthetic, although
Renaissance woodworkers did stain wood to create contrasting effects,
especially for inlays.
>In V.J. Taylor's "Period Furniture Projects," the author asserts that
>linseed oil for finishing appeared in the early 16th century. Shellac
>(also called "spirit varnish" or "lac"), made from the secretions of lac
>insects from India and Thailand, was known in the Middle Ages, but did not
>appear commonly until the 1650s when it began to be imported in quantity.
Actually linseed oil varnish can be reliably assigned to the 15th c.
>Spirit Varnish should not be confused with the general term "varnish,"
>which seems to have various meanings prior to 1600. In the 17th century,
>"polish" and "varnish" seem to have been used interchangeably.
>
>In Cennini's "Il Libro dell' Arte," a 15th century "craftsman's handbook,"
>he talks extensively about using varnish, but this appears to be in
>connection with paintings and frescoes. Unfortunately, he does not provide
>a recipe for varnish (at least not in my translation), so it isn't clear
>exactly what he's referring to. Though he discusses using both linseed oil
>and "varnish" for waterproofing walls, I have not found any evidence for
>its use on wooden furniture (except possibly as an undercoat before
>painting).
Bingo. I though Cennini gave a vague description of the process for
"boiling" linseed oil, but maybe I am mistaken. Linseed oil varnish was
used to prepare the "ground" and was also used to seal the surface of
gesso, which come to think of it should be included in this discussion
since it was used to decorate the surfaces of wooden objects from about
the 13th c.
>In Alberti's 15th century "On the Art of Building in 10 Books," he mentions
>preserving wood by smearing it with oil or pitch, and sealing some types of
>fir with oil so that it will hold water. He also recommends curing certain
>types of wood in sea water. By the way, this is an excellent source to see
>what period attitudes were towards different species of wood, and why they
>used some types over others. Contrary to popular myth, not everything was
>oak.
Especially not in Italy!
>The earliest primary reference I have found that specifically addresses
>applying a finish (as opposed ot a preservative) to wood is Sir Hugh Plat's
>1594 book "The Jewel House of Art and Nature," where he recommends using
>linseed oil and walnut rinds to finish new wood to match old. I have also
>read undocumented claims that iron (nails) in an acid such as vinegar was
>used to stain wood to a dull grey.
Sir Hugh was probably a nostalgia buff, possibly even a medievalist?
>My own conclusion is that if you want something approximating a period
>furniture finish, you can:
>Leave it raw (probably the most common, but not the mark of "fine furniture").
>Paint it (which I usually can't bring myself to do, even when I should).
>Use linseed oil, beeswax, turpentine, or some combination of the three.
The first two are certainly period and will give you the most authentic
appearance. The last can be used to give you a sort of "antique" look,
like perhaps a 15th century piece owned by a 16th century gentleman.
...............
>We have something of a problem in the SCA in that we are used to bare
wood, (Not painted, at any rate) which in period was rare indeed. But
some furniture was not painted.
Actually, it's the other way around. Look at MS illuminations, and the
backgrounds of paintings; most of the wooden objects are "wood-coloured"
i.e. not painted. Paint was expensive and specialized, therefore was
applied to highlight the more expensive objects. Bare wood was so
common that it was "vulgar," that's why the richer classes painted their
stuff!
>> I sometimes use linseed/turpentine mix. But to get a good finish
requires multiple applications, and works fairly poorly for table
tops. Some people don't like the smell, as it redolent. Beeswax is
particurly good for turned things. I have not found any period
finish that is easy to apply and that holds up well. Most of the
formulas I have found are 18/19th centuary.
There's a reason for that...
Note that beeswax was also very expensive in period, and as it makes a
very poor finish, was unlikely to have been widely used on furniture.
Colin de Bray
From: Tom Rettie <tom at his.com> Mon, 31 Aug 1998 22:27:47 -0500
At 6:31 PM -0300 8/31/98, Gren Fredbosson wrote:
>I'd like to know about the following:
>* Period sanding techniques;
Good my lord,
None that I've found, at least comparable to modern sanding. But a sharp
plane and/or a scraper will give you a more period effect.
>* Period finishing techniques (Medieval varnish?!).
I've spent a fair bit of time searching for primary references to furniture
finishing but have found very little. A few secondary sources discuss
it, but wih the usual warnings about trusting someone else's conclusions.
In John Gloag's "A Social History of Furniture Design," the author asserts
that medieval furniture was rubbed with beeswax, or a combination of
beeswax and turpentine. The primary decoration and preservative for
furniture was painting, with annual repainting, particularly in the sooty
environment of medieval houses. The practice of staining wood was not
popularized until the 19th century.
In V.J. Taylor's "Period Furniture Projects," the author asserts that
linseed oil for finishing appeared in the early 16th century. Shellac
(also called "spirit varnish" or "lac"), made from the secretions of lac
insects from India and Thailand, was known in the Middle Ages, but did
not appear commonly until the 1650s when it began to be imported in
quantity.
Spirit Varnish should not be confused with the general term "varnish,"
which seems to have various meanings prior to 1600. In the 17th century,
"polish" and "varnish" seem to have been used interchangeably.
In Cennini's "Il Libro dell' Arte," a 15th century "craftsman's handbook,"
he talks extensively about using varnish, but this appears to be in
connection with paintings and frescoes. Unfortunately, he does not provide
a recipe for varnish (at least not in my translation), so it isn't clear
exactly what he's referring to. Though he discusses using both linseed oil
and "varnish" for waterproofing walls, I have not found any evidence for
its use on wooden furniture (except possibly as an undercoat before
painting).
In Alberti's 15th century "On the Art of Building in 10 Books," he mentions
preserving wood by smearing it with oil or pitch, and sealing some types of
fir with oil so that it will hold water. He also recommends curing certain
types of wood in sea water. By the way, this is an excellent source to see
what period attitudes were towards different species of wood, and why they
used some types over others. Contrary to popular myth, not everything
was oak.
The earliest primary reference I have found that specifically addresses
applying a finish (as opposed ot a preservative) to wood is Sir Hugh Plat's
1594 book "The Jewel House of Art and Nature," where he recommends using
linseed oil and walnut rinds to finish new wood to match old. I have also
read undocumented claims that iron (nails) in an acid such as vinegar
was used to stain wood to a dull grey.
My own conclusion is that if you want something approximating a period
furniture finish, you can:
Leave it raw (probably the most common, but not the mark of "fine furniture").
Paint it (which I usually can't bring myself to do, even when I should).
Use linseed oil, beeswax, turpentine, or some combination of the three.
Findlaech mac Alasdair
Date: Wed, 08 Sep 1999 21:59:06 -0400
From: Carol Thomas <scbooks at neca.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Woodwork question
>What sort of woodburning might one find in period? My guess is
>that is was more of a "branding" sort of thing rather than what is
>modernly considered "wood burning," but I could be wildly wrong.
>Can anyone direct me to good sources of period wood
>working/decorating/protecting?
I didn't keep a reference for this, but I read somewhere that
blackwork-style geometric patterns were found burned onto the rafters of
one Tudor or Elizabethan house, as decoration.
The author believed it had been done with a hot fireplace poker.
Maybe an embroiderer who ran out of silk and got really, really bored?
Carllein
Date: Thu, 09 Sep 1999 22:44:05 -0400
From: "Peter B. Steiner" <petersdiner at yahoo.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Woodworking Question
> Medieval "varnishing" isn't what we think of varnish today (the hard, shiny
> lac-based stuff). Lac comes from the Far East and didn't come into common use
> until the Far East trade developed. Medieval "varnish" probably referred to
> linseed or other types of oil (walnut?) that will oxidize to a hard finish,
> beeswax, or other preparations such as those used by artists to prepare wood
> panels for painting. In some references, "varnish" seems to have been used
> synonymously with "polish."
> Fin
Lac resin was known in Period...though as you surmise it was probably not in common use for furniture. Many other resins were known and widely used however....among them Colophony (the sort of pine rosin which violinists apply to their bows), Amber, and Mastic. The latter remains one of the most durable, flexible varnishes known. Mastic is, to this day, the preferred varnish for below-waterline use on wooden boats. It is far superior to both Dammar and the synthetic alternatives for use as an oil-painting varnish. Unfortunately, the bush that produces Mastic grows only on a single island (Chios) in the Mediterranean....and it is now prohibitively expensive. 100g (3.5 ounces) of dry Mastic resin costs $22.50 through the only art-supply house I know of which still carries it. Quality surrenders to the Dollar
(Ducat?) once again.
-Peter-
Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 14:29:48 EDT
From: <DianaFiona at aol.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Woodworking Question
petersdiner at yahoo.com writes:
<< Amber, and Mastic. The latter remains one of the most durable, flexible varnishes known. Mastic is, to this day, the preferred varnish for below-waterline use on wooden boats. It is far superior to both Dammar and the synthetic alternatives for use as an oil-painting varnish. Unfortunately, the bush that produces Mastic grows only on a single island (Chios) in the Mediterranean....and it is now prohibitively expensive. 100g (3.5 ounces) of dry Mastic resin costs $22.50 through the only art-supply house I know of which still carries it. Quality surrenders to the Dollar (Ducat?) once again.
-Peter-
>>
Hummmm, for what it's worth, mastic is also used as a seasoning in Middle
Eastern cooking, and can be found in small quantities in places that sell
that sort of ethnic food. Might be easier to find, if you only wanted a bit
to experiment with......
Ldy Diana
Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 18:03:06 -0500
From: Tom Rettie <tom at his.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Woodworking Question
>Lac resin was known in Period...though as you surmise it was probably not
>in common use for furniture. Many other resins were known and widely used
>however....among them Colophony (the sort of pine rosin which violinists
>apply to their >bows), Amber, and Mastic. The latter remains one of the
>most durable, flexible varnishes known.
Good Peter et al,
Thanks for the info. The best source I've found in period on preparation
is Cennini's book, but I'm a little baffled by what he means by varnish.
He provides a recipe for preparing linseed oil, but clearly in his context
varnish is something different. I assume that as a painter, he would be
using varnish as a treatment for a painted or gilded surface, while the
actual wood panel would be prepared with gesso or something similar. It's
possible my copy is abridged, because he says he gives a recipe for
varnish, but I can't find it. I think I need to hang out with the painters
for a while....
Unfortunately, there's blessed little in the way of period documentation on
how furniture surfaces were finished, and very few original surfaces
survive. It was not uncommon in cities for the carving and painting of
furniture to be done by specialists, so it may be reasonable to assume that
the process for painting wooden furniture was similar as for painting on
wooden panels, in which case Cennini and others provide some insight.
But if you didn't paint it? I did find an Elizabethan fix-it manual that
explained how to use linseed oil and walnut rinds to stain new wood to
match old wood when doing repairs. Unfortunately, it's in the Folger
Library and getting access is really, really difficult. There are also
some references to preserving timbers by using oil or pitch (though pitch
would be a bit unpleasant for a chair). My working finish is linseed oil
and beeswax (I'm not a painter, though I should learn). It's easy to
obtain and really simple to apply.
I did peruse a copy of Dan Diehl's new book on medieval furniture and saw
that he's now advocating using olive oil. Does olive oil harden? I'd
think that it would go rancid. Unfortunately, as usual he doesn't document
his sources. Anyone ever hear of olive oil used for surfaces outside the
kitchen?
Fortunately for us late-period types, fabric was a very popular decorating
motif -- when in doubt, throw a cloth over it.
Fin
Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 21:42:19 -0400
From: "Peter B. Steiner" <petersdiner at yahoo.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Woodworking Question
I suspect that in Period the word "varnish" was used interchangeably with the
word "finish", both as a noun and as a verb. (In addition to which there were
complications imposed by differing languages, masters attempting to keep trade
secrets from one another, difficulty in obtaining some of the ingredients used
in particular varnishes, and ambiguity in the meaning of the names of
particular ingredients.) The oil painter meant one thing by "varnish", the
woodworker originally meant quite another.....
The woodworker can make use of some finishes which would damage (or have little
effect on) an oil painter's work. (Application of -any sort- of finish or
varnish can cause irreversible damage to some types of painting.....a fact
driven home by hundreds of destructive "restorations" and "preservations" of
paintings which were attempted by 18th and 19th Century curators. Varnish
containing oil, wax and/or resin has no legitimate use on paintings done in
historical water-based media.) (That statement may or may not be accurate in
regards to Acrylics and Alkyd paints......I simply don't know enough about
either of those media to offer an opinion.)
Oil alone is a good working finish for some furniture. It would never harden
to any great degree...but it would protect against moisture; and it would soak
deeply enough into porous wood that no residue would be left on the surface.
(Obviously as a woodworker you already know these things.....Danish Oil is
probably the best contemporary example of this type of finish.) Oil is also
employed in traditional woodworking as a lubricant during the application of
abrasives (pumic and rottenstone.) The oil remains in the wood as a finish
even after the abrasive has been removed. Obviously none of these things (oil
penetrating the surface...abrasives changing the completed surface) would be
desireable in the process of protecting any painting.
Varnish, as the term is applied to oil painting, is not intended to penetrate
the surface. For that reason oil painters' varnishes always contain resin
dissolved in some volatile compound such as rectified spirits of turpentine or
alcohol or some other similar substance which will completely evaporate -
leaving only the resin behind. Also, preferably, it should be possible to
remove a varnish used on an oil painting without damaging the surface of the
paint. This is because all resins, even the very best, yellow over time - and
need to be replaced.
Shall we complicate matters further? Glair (beaten egg white) can be used to
"varnish" some paintings. Resin-based varnishes eventually came to be used on
furniture.....and because of their durability(?) or convenience (?) or ease of
application (?) we now use them on wood almost to the exclusion of oil-only
finishes. The yellowing of the resin, which is such a problem on oil
paintings, is often desireable on a resin-varnished wood surface.
I've raised a lot more questions than I've answered. Sorry. <grin>
I'll check my copy of "Il Libro 'Dell Arte" tonight to see if it contains a
copy of Cennini's varnish recipe.
Something tells me that a full exploration of this subject has a great deal to
teach us! This one is going to be fun! :-)
-Peter Gwer Rychen-
Barony of The Rhyderrich Hael
Aethelmearc
Date: Sun, 12 Sep 1999 12:58:40 -0500
From: Tom Rettie <tom at his.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Woodworking Question
>I have another, related woodworking question: could I create a simple
>finish to a wood piece by rubbing the wood with beeswax? I have a
>drawing of my device on a wood block, nd I was going to paint it, but I'm
>reluctant to slap shiny finish over it all - it seems "shiny and unreal."
> Would simple beeswax be acceptable?
Good Caro,
If you're talking about unpainted wood, then beeswax is probably
appropriate. A traditional mixture (though one I've not been able to
document to period) is beeswax and mineral spirits (or turpentine). Warm
the wax gently until it is soft. REMOVE FROM THE HEAT SOURCE. Add mineral
spirits in small quantities until the whole mixture is the consistency of
soft butter. Some variations on this also add linseed oil.
I did a six-board chest a while back with a pure beeswax finish (applying
warm wax with lots and lots of rubbing). It's a nice effect, but the
finish will show water spots easily (easily fixed with a little touchup).
The mixture with mineral spirits is easier to apply and penetrates better.
You can also use turpentine, but I'm told that real turpentine is more
likely to contain pine resins that may give you a less pleasant finish.
I can give you a relevant quote from Gloag, John. A Social History of
Furniture Design, from B.C. 1300 to A.D. 1960. Bonanza Books, New York,
1966. LOC 66-20207.
Gloag is a relatively good source on general furniture history, but I take
some of his claims with a grain of salt, as he doesn't provide sources for
his conclusions. For example on page 22:
"When the oak chests and chairs, cupboards and bedsteads illustrated in
this book were new, they shone like gold, for they were polished with
beeswax, which warmed and deepened their naturally light hue."
Now this may well be true, but he doesn't say how he knows that new
furniture was finished in beeswax, so you have to make your own judgement.
So far I haven't found period references that indicate beeswax, but I'm
still looking.
If you're looking for a finish to put over a painted surface, you probably
don't want beeswax (see the recent discussion on varnishes and resins --
that's more what you're looking for).
Fin
Date: Sun, 12 Sep 1999 16:01:36 EDT
From: <Rese913654 at aol.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Woodworking Question
Another excellent and period finish is linseed oil.
IL Danach the Woodcarver
Bordermarch
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 21:00:23 -0400
From: Carol Thomas <scbooks at neca.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Was it something I said?
> There seem to be many people in this group who are knowledgeable about how
> wood was worked. Being new, I am wondering where to start regarding wood
> staining. Would someone recommend references about stains?
>
> Ivar Nielsen
But I read something today in a new book, _Medieval Furniture_.
"Much of the furniture produced during the Middle Ages was ornately painted
in bright colors with designs and figures; the concept of a clear finish of
the type applied to most furniture today was completely unknown. The
beauty of natural wood, however, was appreciated." He goes on to talk
about sanding and oiling. So the reason that you didn't have an answer on
medieval stains may be that they are mostly modern.
He does mention a stain for oak only, saying that it is a period recipe.
"Submerge well rusted iron in equal parts water and vinegar.
...iron..better than steel.. In one to two months the vinegar and water
solution will absorb...[color]." Filter and test on a scrap. The color
varies. When dry, oil it.
Carllein
From: "Ld. Fergus de Botha" <cbooth at U.Arizona.EDU>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Midieval Varnish
Date: Wed, 15 Sep 1999 16:23:47 -0700
Organization: The University of Arizona
> There's also all the various oil finishes, which, if not period, would
> produce a softer, satiny, non-polyurethane effect.
> I would *guess* that the linseed oil finishes are period, but I don't
> know for certain.
> --
> Cynthia du Pre Argent
Me sainted Papa finished a mussle-loader pistol using muck. He would go
out in the garage and rub his hands on the cool engine. He would the go to
the garden and stick his fingers deep in the mud. He would ask me to hand
him the stock and would spend the next few hours telling stories and
rubbing his filthy hands all over that piece of unfinished wood. Sweat,
spit, more dirt, beer, blood, whatever he could find he would rub into
that stock. After a few weeks of this abuse he took a damp cloth and
cleaned it off.
The pores of the wood stood out in black and it was the most amazing shade
of golden brown I had ever seen. The same color of french toast perfectly
cooked and fresh out of the pan.
When people asked him what he used he said, "Elbow Grease".
Ld. Fergus de Botha
House Agni Vajra
Barony of Tir Ysgithr
Kingdom of Atenveldt
"For Odin! For Asgard!"
--Cookie Monster, 1973
From: "Ken Koll aka Lord Valdis of Gotland" <lvaldis at mail.cvn.net>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Midieval Varnish
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 01:33:29 -0400
Patriarch wrote:
> Stupid question, I know. But I was making a walking stick and I have
> yet to ask anyone about this, so I'll ask it here. What did they use in
> the middle ages as a sealant/protectant for wood so it wouldn't rot?
> I'm thinking the glossy coat of regular modern wood varnish might get me
> some scornful gazes. Anybody ever dealt with this?
An easy period remedy is linseed oil, peanut oil, lemon oil.....try to
think...there are a few more. These can all be bought at Wal Mart. One
period method that is easily documented and readily at hand is ear wax, this
is from Theophilus On Divers Arts...dont ask me, I just read the book.
Linseed oil is also documented in there. Oils are your best bet, they are
easily available, inexpensive and on a walking stick you will be doing
various applications as it ages, a varnish makes a nasty texture if put on
in too many layers over time. Have fun.
Lord Valdis of Gotland
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 00:15:43 -0500
From: ddfr at best.com (David Friedman)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Midieval Varnish
"Ken Koll aka Lord Valdis of Gotland" <lvaldis at mail.cvn.net> wrote:
> An easy period remedy is linseed oil, peanut oil, lemon oil.....try to
> think...there are a few more. These can all be bought at Wal Mart. One
> period method that is easily documented and readily at hand is ear wax, this
> is from Theophilus On Divers Arts...dont ask me, I just read the book.
> Linseed oil is also documented in there. Oils are your best bet, they are
> easily available, inexpensive and on a walking stick you will be doing
> various applications as it ages, a varnish makes a nasty texture if put on
> in too many layers over time. Have fun.
Peanuts come from the new world, and peanut oil, as best I recall, was
extracted by George Washington Carver quite a long time after our period.
David/Cariadoc
From: "Esther Heller" <munged at kodak.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Midieval Varnish
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 11:25:25 -0400
Organization: Eastman Kodak Company
Patriarch wrote:
>Stupid question, I know. But I was making a walking stick and I have
>yet to ask anyone about this, so I'll ask it here. What did they use in
>the middle ages as a sealant/protectant for wood so it wouldn't rot?
>I'm thinking the glossy coat of regular modern wood varnish might get me
>some scornful gazes. Anybody ever dealt with this?
>
>-Scott
It isn't clear to me that they used what we would consider varnish
for most of period.
First of all, varnish does not keep a walking stick from rotting.
If it has dried out since being cut from the tree and you keep it
in a reasonably dry place most of the time, it won't rot. The things
that rot are items like boats and roof shingles and fenceposts, all
of which have in common spending a lot of time wet.
Secondly I haven't reread Theophilus recently, but IIRC he only
knows about _raw_ linseed oil because he comments on how slow
it is to dry. I think Cenini know about boiling down linseed
oil so that it dries quicker. Be cautious of modern "boiled"
linseed oil, it has poisenous metallic dryer in it instead of
being "boiled" (for the perennial how do I finish my goblet
thread!)
You could use beeswax, but I don't know that they did except for
possibly really high-end furniture, the stuff was expensive and
in demand for candles.
Shellac comes from a bug in India, might have been available in later
period.
For a period walking stick until sometime in the age of exploration
I would smooth it with a card scraper and use no finish. The later
folks started playing with finishes, but I don't have any serious
documentation before 1700-ish (Moxon, first woodworking book in English,
Roubou in French and the Encyclopediasts are same or later dates).
I would be curious what documentation you have for anything other
than a sapling with the branches lopped off? Stuff like walking
sticks weren't heirlooms, they were rough and ready and easily
burned when you made another one.
Otelia eoh at kodak dot com
who has made a Windsor chair (~1750) with Michael Dunbar and various
other hand tool woodworking pursuits
From: "Esther Heller" <munged at kodak.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Midieval Varnish
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 13:24:37 -0400
Organization: Eastman Kodak Company
Chris K. Hepburn wrote:
>When did they start using melted amber (gasp choke) as a varnish?
>
>I seem to recall hearing they melted down quanities of it in the 1800's to
>finish furniture. Is this a solely Victorian phenomenon?
>
>Chris, AB
If you really want details check the North American woodworking magazines
for the past year or so. The varnish was not _just_ melted amber, but
copal ("young" amber), kauri (some ancient gum from down under?) and
similar were ingredients in older varnish recipes. There was at least
one major article in the past year or so but I don't recall where and
don't subscribe to all the magazines. If you are curious the place to
start is Fine Woodworking on Finishing (a collection of article reprints
from the early years of FWW) or anything by George Frank. Some of the
FWW articles point you to the late 18th-early 19th original sources, Frank
was the end of the later Victorian traditional training.
If you are _really_ curious join the oldtools hand woodworking listserv
(FAQ at http://www.mcs.net/~brendler/oldtools/OTFAQ.htm ) and ask.
They are at least vaguely aware of the SCA, although most of the people
who do the serious study are 100+ years OOP for us. Given the earliest
how-to book in English is Moxon circa 1700 (haven't gotten far enough
to know if he does finishes, he is the standard source for tools) and
a lot more furniture in North America is post 1700 most of the study
and interest is OOP. But the tools don't change much from 1700 to post
US Civil war, and I think a lot of the technique goes back centuries.
The Mastermyr find has instantly recognisable drawknives and a scorp,
you can only do certain things with those tools..... and there are
some _experts_ on how to use the tools on oldtools.
Otelia
eoh at kodak dot com
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 22:28:42 -0500
From: Tom Rettie <tom at his.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Stains (was Was it something I said?)
> There seem to be many people in this group who are knowledgeable
> about how wood was worked. Being new, I am wondering where to
> start regarding wood staining. Would someone recommend references
> about stains?
Staining does not appear to have been commonly practiced on wood, but it
was on cloth (for hanging, banners, etc.). The trades of Painters and
Stainers were allied, and in London they combined in 1502 into the
Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers.
The idea of staining wood, esp. to make it appear to be some other type of
wood, isn't common in the Middle Ages. When medieval furniture was
colored, it was usually painted, either monochrome (all one color) or
polychrome (multi-color). For middling-quality furniture, painting may
have been used to hide when a mix of different wood types were used.
Something like staining appears in the sepia-black ink used for pen and
brush work in 16th and 17th centuries, but these are designs, not all-over
color.
Otherwise, oil finishes appear to have been used (linseed, nut, poppy,
etc.). Also beeswax. On some types of wood, oil will have a darkening
effect, and will make the grain more pronounced.
I commend to you a book by Victor Chinnery called "Oak Furniture, the
British Tradition." Don't let the title mislead you, this book includes
the most complete scholarly discussions I've found of surface decoration,
joinery, wood types, etc., much of it applicable before his primary
timeframe of the 16th adn 17th centuries. The notes above are from this
book.
I have found a recipe in an Elizabethan manual on how to stain new wood so
that it will match old wood -- such as when you are fixing a window casing.
The recipe uses linseed oil and walnut rinds.
Later, Carllein wrote:
>"Much of the furniture produced during the Middle Ages was ornately painted
>in bright colors with designs and figures; the concept of a clear finish of
>the type applied to most furniture today was completely unknown. The
>beauty of natural wood, however, was appreciated." He goes on to talk
>about sanding and oiling. So the reason that you didn't have an answer on
>medieval stains may be that they are mostly modern.
Good Carllein,
While your conclusion is probably correct, beware of that book as a source.
The author makes a lot of unsupported and undocumented claims, and his
knowledge of woodworking is, well, less than complete. For example, he
makes the claim that "The process of aging and curing wood was unknown...",
which is entirely false. There are several period references that discuss
how long wood should be seasoned, and surviving contracts that specify that
the wood is to be seasoned. It's entirely true that much work was done
with unseasoned wood, at least initially, but understanding the seasoning
process was vital to building a piece that didn't split or fall apart.
Likewise, his discussion of "doweling" seems to completely misunderstand
the technique of drawboring (pegging a mortise and tenon joint so that it
will stay tight without glue). He also seems to believe that pine and fir
are the same thing. Forgive me if I sound particularly critical of this
work, but I know that a number of people pointed out technical and
historical inaccuracies to the author after the release of his first book,
yet they are repeated in the second. You'll find much more accurate and
complete information on all of the above in Chinnery's book (which is
available through Barnes and Noble, though it isn't cheap).
I hope this is of some use to you. Please write me if you have more questions.
Fin
From: Me at my.desk.com (my name)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Midieval Varnish
Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 08:59:27 GMT
Patriarch <jm123 at uswest.net> wrote:
>Stupid question, I know. But I was making a walking stick and I have
>yet to ask anyone about this, so I'll ask it here. What did they use in
>the middle ages as a sealant/protectant for wood so it wouldn't rot?
It's not a period method, but will give very good period looking
results . . . (mainly promted to share because you wanted some
moisture resistance).
Scrape your walking stick smooth as possible, like smooth satin. (or
sand it to 400 grit, using sandpaper.)
Then (here comes the elbow grease part) apply Lin-Speed (r) "oil,"
which is a mixture of "boiled" linseed oil and varnish.
Wipe away *all* traces of dust with a tack rag.
Dip two fingers into the Lin-Speed, then start rubbing it into the
wood. Spread the liquid as far as you can then begin rubbing it in
until your fingers are warm from the friction then dip again and
repeat on an ajucent area until the entire walking stick is finished.
Set aside and let "dry" for at least a day (and for your fingertips to
recover ;).
Rub out finish with 000 or 0000 fine steel (finishing) wool.
Repet the entire process *at* least* 10 to 15 times or or until
satisfied with the depth and look of the finish.
I learned this from an old time gunsmith who literally *hated* plastic
looking finishes and who did a *lot* of work on *very* expensive
antique and antique reproduction firearms. (Some in the $10,000+ price
range.) He's departed now so I don't feel bad about sharing his
"secret finish."
The finish will be water *resistant* but not proof, e.g. water will
bead on it but will eventually soak through if left on the surface.
To improve the water reisitance, after you've finished your Lin-Speed
finish, give it a couple of coats of really rubbed out beeswax.
The finish is also not oxygen proof so the color of the wood under the
finish will darken and mellow with age very nicely.
When finished, the color of the wood will be a couple of shades darker
to the amber side and have a wonderful satiny finish that warms to the
touch.
Note: This works best on dense hardwoods with close grain structure,
like walnut. On woods with an open grain, first apply then rub out
(with 600 sandpaper or steel finishing wool) a *good* laquer sanding
sealer like Behlens.
Lin-Speed can be purchased from any *good* sporting goods store or
gunsmith.
Don't use this on surfaces that will come into contact with food or
drink because of accelerants.
It's not so differant from a late-period finish using boiled oils,
just more water resistant and quicker. As someone else noted, a plain
boiled oil finish takes a very long time to polymerize (not dry).
Yours in Service to The Kingdom and The Society
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
William of the West Merlands
Shire of Cloondara, Kingdom of the West
-----------------------
From: "Ellen Anglin" <anglin at mi.verio.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Midieval Varnish
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 13:53:37 -0700
Organization: Verio
Chris K. Hepburn <chepburn at calcna.ab.ca> wrote:
> When did they start using melted amber (gasp choke) as a varnish?
>
> I seem to recall hearing they melted down quanities of it in the 1800's to
> finish furniture. Is this a solely Victorian phenomenon?
>
> Chris, AB
No need to gasp and choke- Lots of amber powder is produced whenever amber
is cut, polished and shaped- not to mention the large quantities of grainy -
non-gem quality stuff that surrounds much of the good stuff- all this dross
is great for incense or for varnishes, etc.
By the by- another period substance used in varnish is propolis- it
dissolves easily in alcohol, and I know it was one of the components used in
the varnish on Stradivarius violins.
If anyone wants some hive scrapings, drop me a line- I save some of the goop
next time I am scraping equipment if anyone wants to experiment.
Ellen Greenhand
From: "James Fisher" <DamianM*nospam* at pacbell.net>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Midieval Varnish
Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 11:26:05 -0700
For what it's worth I thought I'd share my method for getting a Period
looking finish to figured woods.
Please note that this method produces a high grain contrast and will
artificially darken your wood.
Take your project and sand by hand with the grain (when possible) to a 320
grit finish.
Get yourself a scraper (I use a small putty knife that has been sharpened
and left with a pronounced burr) and scrape the entire project smooth. This
has the effect of opening the grain and smoothing off the light 320 grit
scratches. Keep a medium stone handy to re-raise the burr occaisionally and
stroke only the opposite side of the burr. Keep in mind that this process
may take HOURS to accomplish and be very careful not to gouge or cut into
your project by using the scraper like a chisel or letting it slip sideways
while scraping.
The next step invovles the use of a light acidic solution and heat. You can
use several different types of Iron oxide bearing solutions for this but I
have 2 favorite mixtures. The first is plain Ferric Chloride (you can get
this at radio shack, sold as board etchant) diluted 4 parts to 1 with water.
The second is plain red wine vinegar boiled with steel wool to reduce volume
and left in a glass jar for 4-6 weeks. Let me stress at this point that
using gloves and safety glasses is a MUST anytime you work with even a mild
acid or base solution and that it is also a good idea not to wear clothing
you are too attached to. Also boiling vinegar over an open flame is not
advised, use a double boiler on a electric stove. You will also need a
hairdryer or heat gun. For smaller items you can brush on the solution
lightly and heat to desired darkness (be careful NOT to scortch!) or for
larger items you can use a dip tank made from PVC pipe sealed at one end
with a pipe cap firmly glued on with PVC cement. The idea here is to use
VERY light coats and moderate heat to softly darken the wood evenly. Go just
a little bit darker than what your looking for and then lightly rinse with w
ater and dry. Let it sit overnight in a dry warm place and then lightly sand
with 600 grit. Your looking to take off any raised grain lightly.
Finish the piece with many light coats of boiled linseed oil. In between
coats, let the finish set and rub smooth with steel wool untill you get the
desired depth of finish.
A similar method was used by early gunsmiths to finish thier gunstocks of
figured maple and walnut. They used AquaFortis and a red hot iron then hand
rubbed boiled linseed oil for the same effect.
Regards,
L.D.M.
From: caerleon at tfs.net
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Midieval Varnish
Date: Sat, 18 Sep 1999 03:48:48 GMT
I recall from a reading of The Artist's handbook of materials and
techniques that by the 16th. C there were a wide variety of varnishes
and shellacs available. Many of these had vegetable resins like gum
arabic and waxes in a solvent carrier.
Ternon
Date: Sun, 19 Sep 1999 15:38:13 +0100
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: Tom Holt <lemming.co at zetnet.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Midieval Varnish
The message from A C <CelticWolf at worldnet.att.net> contains these words:
> Try Tung oil.......repeated layers.
Traditional bowyer Jim Hamm's recipe for "old-time" varnish -
"Gather the pitch from pine or cedar trees from where the sap oozes
out of a damaged area on the trunk... The pitch is dried until hard,
then crushed as fine as possible with a mortar and pestle. Place the
powder in a glass container and add enough spirit to cover it... In
the old days turpentine was used, and since turpentine is distilled
from pine sap, it may be the better choice... The mixture is stirred
occasionally over a 24 hour period to dissolve the pitch, then
strained through an old T-shirt into another glass container. The
resulting varnish is a translucent amber color"
(Traditional Bowyers' Bible Vol.1, pp289-90. The TBB isn't just for
bowyers; there's loads of cool stuff about making 'period' glue and
string, working bone, horn, antler, sinew etc)
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 10:20:59 -0500
From: "Pratt, Danette" <pratt at exchange.oucom.ohiou.edu>
To: "'sca-arts'" <sca-arts at listproc.cc.ukans.edu>
Subject: furniture varnishes
http://www.natmus.min.dk/cons/lab/kirkerup/kkrp.pdf
This is an address that I thought a few of you out there may be interested.
I am not a wood worker but I remember that there was a 'big' discussion of
wood varnishes and paint not so long ago. I thought that some of you would
be interested in these articles from the National Museum of Denmark. I did
not read the articles, so someone will have to review and get back to us!
Barbara atte Dragon
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 09:16:11 -0800
From: Tim Bray <tbray at mcn.org>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: furniture varnishes
>http://www.natmus.min.dk/cons/lab/kirkerup/kkrp.pdf
>
>This is an address that I thought a few of you out their may be
>interested.
Wrong URL - yours points to an article about salt damage in a brick
church...
The article you referred to is:
http://www.natmus.min.dk/cons/furn/varnish/furnvarn.htm
>>>>
<excerpt>Transparent surface finishes on Danish furniture between 1550
and 1827
Vibe Edinger, Bodil Holstein, Birgitte Larsen
Section for furniture restoration, Conservation Department, The National
Museum of Denmark
</excerpt><<<<<<<<
But I will save you the trouble - only a brief summary is available in
English, the actual article is in Danish. Here is the summary of
findings:
>>>>
<excerpt>The main conclusions of the article are:
Lacquers were mostly made from linseed oil, oil of turpentine and
alcohol. A greater variety of varnish compositions is described in the
literature but this is not reflected in our analyses.
Wax was seldom used as a surface treatment in Denmark in the 17th and
18th centuries. This is clear in both the written sources and in the
results of the analyses.
Shellac came into common use around 1800, according to both the written
sources and the modern analytical results.
</excerpt><<<<<<<<
The finding about wax is interesting, apparently confirming my suspicion,
although the objects they studied are mostly out of our time period.
Colin
Date: Mon, 02 Oct 2000 12:01:21 -0400
From: rmhowe <MMagnusM at bellsouth.net>
Subject: Walnut Husk Stain / Stains and Finishes Book
Stains and Finishes:
Someone on MedEnc or SCA-Arts was discussing using Walnut hulls this
week. More books have defected to the Magnus Library this weekend. :)
One mentioned to me...
How to use Walnut husks for stain:
Use a glass or ceramic container, not metal or plastic as some
chemicals can react with them.
Walnut husks start out green - let them turn brown.
Take one quart of household strength ammonia.
Take one cup of walnut husks, shredded is probably better.
Put husks in ammonia, let set for several days.
Add more husks if darker is wanted.
Dilute with water if lighter is wanted.
Pour off liquid thru a strainer - cloth or filter.
Brush on with a synthetic fiber brush and let dry.
Top finish to taste. Wax, oil, etc.
Ammonia deepens the color and makes it more permanent.
Ammonia itself reacts with tannins in wood and produces a range of
brown tones.
.............
Recommended Book:
Classic Finishing Techniques by Sam Allen, Sterling Pub. Co., Inc.
NYC, 1994, ISBN 0806905123 Includes bibliographical discussion of
stains and stain books back to 1688.
Covers French Polishes, Varnishes, Oils, Waxes, Stains, Chemical Stains
and Fumed Finishes, Milk Paint preparation, Shellac, Lac, Natural Dye
Stains and Mordants, and equipment. Discusses planing, scraping, using
natural abrasives such as stones, sharkskin, sanding leathers, various
natural abrasives - sand, rottenstone, pumice, glass papers, scouring
rushes, rubbers used in french polishing, etc. Basic period covered is
mid 1600's to mid 1900's but little exists before that period in the
way of books on finishing. Covers a great deal. Discusses probable age
of some earlier finishing methods. Earlier periods are not documented
well though. Descriptions of methods of preparation and technique are
very thorough and well illustrated.
Magnus Malleus, OL, Atlantia, Great Dark Horde
* Permission to repost within the reenactor community granted on closed
subscriber based email lists, but not on newsgroups, especially the
Rialto.
Subject: Re: [MedEnc] Re: Storing Stuff
Date: Sun, 5 Nov 2000 10:46:12 -0800 (PST)
From: coffeegoddess <tigerna at yahoo.com>
To: MedievalEncampments at egroups.com
--- John LaTorre <jlatorre at midtown.net> wrote:
> By the way, you furniture junkies might be interested in my
> latest column:
> http://midtown.net/dragonwing/col0011.htm
>
> which shows plans for a period-styled wooden chest
> for storing and seating.
Why oil finish? There is a fairly simple way to get a
period, waterproof built-up type of finish for wood.
Spirit varnish! Not having more than minimal hand
tools, I haven't used it on any furniture, but it
works great on my longbows! WONDERFUL water
protection!
Go out and collect some pine sap from the bark of
trees. Grind it up very fine and drop it in rubbing
alcohol or turpentine (turpentine not period at all!),
stir it, and let it dissolve over several days,
stirring occassionally. Then strain it through cloth
rags (old T-shirt works well). Apply it with scrap
cloth, thinly! and allow to dry thoroughly in between
coats.
Tigs
Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2000 00:34:54 -0600 (CST)
From: "Jack C. Thompson" <tcl at teleport.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Drying agent for linseed oil
Since the surface is still tacky after nearly two years I suspect
that you used raw linseed oil. That may work alright for a piece
of raw wood in furniture, but not as a finish.
Raw linseed oil contains linolenic, oleic, and stearic acids which
prevent the oil from completely drying out. If you wish to use raw linseed
oil leave it out in an open container for a few days/weeks to let the
'foots' drop out. The oil will darken, but it will also dry. This happens
as the oil absorbs oxygen from the air allowing the oil to polymerize
(dry/harden).
What I would suggest is that you remove the tacky film (turpentine or
turpentine substitute) and use copal varnish. This is a hard, slightly
dark resin. Linseed oil, even if you get it to dry, will continue to
darken over time, making the ikon more and more difficult to see, and
the solvents required for removing aged linseed oil are quite toxic.
Jack
>Does anyone know of a drying agent (medieval or renaissance would be
>nice) that speeds up the drying time of linseed oil? I have an ikon that
>is still tacky after nearly 2 years drying time.
>Thanks in advance.
>
>Scot
Jack C. Thompson
Thompson Conservation Lab.
7549 N. Fenwick
Portland, Oregon 97217
USA
Date: Wed, 06 Dec 2000 16:55:36 -0500
From: rmhowe <MMagnusM at bellsouth.net>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Drying agent for linseed oil
Sounds like what you want is called Japan Dryer(s).
Essentially they are metallic salts like magnesium that
force the drying. You can buy them at any paint store.
Usually you add them to the paint ahead of time.
I'd ask for directions at the store from someone knowledgeable.
Linseed oil comes in more than one form - boiled and unboiled.
Perhaps you used the wrong one.
One thing about Linseed oil though is that it is a powerful
oxidizer, tools coated with it will rust, rags will often
self-ignite if left in a lump. A friend almost lost his shed
that way. Still it's good stuff for tool handles and easy finishing.
Magnus
Scot and Domino Eddy wrote:
> Does anyone know of a drying agent (medieval or renaissance would be
> nice) that speeds up the drying time of linseed oil? I have an ikon that
> is still tacky after nearly 2 years drying time.
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Scot
To: Norsefolk at yahoogroups.com
Date: Thu, 01 Feb 2001 22:19:40 -0600
From: jorunn at swbell.net
Subject: Re: wood finishing
Many of the furniture items in the Oseberg find were painted. I know the
chair and the bed were painted. Tomorrow I'll check to see if any of
the chests were.
Jorunn
To: Norsefolk at yahoogroups.com
Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2001 23:11:48 -0600
From: "N.L. Foust" <shadewes at dtgnet.com>
Subject: RE: wood finishing
>Many of the furniture items in the Oseberg find were painted. I know the
>chair and the bed were painted. Tomorrow I'll check to see if any of
>the chests were.
>
>Jorunn
I have heard this in passing before - any of the pics of wood items of course did not really show any intact color or painting. Does anyone have info on what colors were used and how they were painted, IE: did they color in carved designs, paint designs on flat wood, leave parts unpainted or paint the whole thing??
We have some Viking type furniture items we are going to be working on
soon - a little color would be very cool.
Mor
To: Norsefolk at yahoogroups.com
Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2001 00:05:00 -0500
From: jamesahowell at juno.com
Subject: Re: wood finishing
From what I've been able to find, there is evidence of folks painting
wood items of the Viking era. The shields on the Gokstad boat were painted black and yellow. There is some painted on designs on one of the tent frames, either from Oseburg or Gokstad-don't remember which right off hand. There are fragements of a shield from Ballateare, Man. Now it was covered with leather first, then gessoed, then painted in a creamy white, red, and black. The history of oil paint,as I recall is traceable back to at least the 1200s, and it apparently originated in Denmark or thereabouts. Generally most of the folks that I know use milk based paint. Many of the monument stones were painted to make the designs stand out more.
- Finnr-sorry for the brevity-getting ready for University
To: Norsefolk at yahoogroups.com
Date: Fri, 02 Feb 2001 09:18:05 -0600
From: jorunn at swbell.net
Subject: RE: wood finishing
This is the English summary of the portion of _Oseberg Fundet_ that deals
with painting. There are more details in the description of each item as
well but this covers most of it.
Jorunn
"Painting (pp 233-238)
As supplementary to the descriptions of wood-carving and metal-work, a
brief accountis given of the few remains of decorative painting occuring in
the Oseberg collection. As previously mentioned, colours were often
employed to emphasize the carving, e.g. on the frame of Schetelig's sledge
(fig 83) black contour linesand rows of black dots, on Gustafson's sledge,
brown and red in connection with carved, geometrical surface designs. (fig
168). In later works from Oseberg the centre ornamental part is blackened
to increase the effect, and in the objects from Gokstad both two and three
colors are employed on the carvings. Colour is constantly used in connection with carved decoration.
Independant, painted decorations occur on the bed-boards, ends of the
tent supports, and the 'chair'. There is always a smooth surface covered
with a light uniform background, and on this is a painted figure in darker
colours. Unfortunately, the paintings were in a bad state of preservation
when found, the colour was soft and washed out, and there were only small
portions in which the drawing of the decoration could be discerned.
Neither was it possible to preserve the painting. It could not be treated
in a wet state, and inevitably had to be sacrificed when it was necessary
to preserve the wood. All efforts were thus concentrated upon securing
illustrations at the excavation and afterwards. Chemical analyses were
also made of the colours. The yellow-white ground colour on the bed-boards
was found to contain iron ochre and a little zinc white. The black lines
were of lamp-black or soot. No information is available regarding the
medium used ofr the paint. Specimens of the bedboards are depicted in
figs. 245 and 246. The ground is yellowish white, the drawings of either
black or brown-black lines and in some cases the surface inside the
figures is painted a deeper yellow. Along the neck of the animal there are
painted locks over the surface in indication of a mane, and in addition there
is a row of small triangles along the contour. On the surface, in the
midst of the animal's head, there is painted a free orniment, a richly designed
cross, fig 245, and animal motif fig. 246. The cross has undoubtedly a
paraphylactic purpose, like the drawings on the heads of the Kent
supports (Vol.I, p.328).
Only three of the heads on the Kent supports bore traces of painting, but
of these two were exactly alike. The two different designs are depicted in
figs. 247- 248. It has already been mentioned in Vol. I, that one of them
bears the figure of three united triangles, the other a combination of
three magic signs, a cross, a man's head, and a serpent. In addition, we
find rude designs of rectangles, a number of pointed tongues projecting
inwards from the edge, a border of false meander, etc. They are all
painted in brownish strokes on a light ground. As in the case of the
bed-boards immediately preceding, the object of the painting is first
and foremost to fill in the work of the wood-carver.
Only one object in the Oseberg collection has decorative painting
independent of the wood-carving. This is the 'chair' a remarkable object
which is described in Vol.I p. 67, and depicted ibid, fig 54. It is shaped
like a box with whole sides, all of which are paintedwith ornaments in
several colours on a light ground. Along the edges there are geometrical
borders, and the entire compartment is filled with close and complicated
ornament. All the painting was badly preserved. In order to give and idea
of it's character, one side is depicted in fig.249, from a sketch made
during the excavation. In spite of the defective state it is possible to
distinguish all the animal ornament, with the remarkable smooth heads and
long serpent-like bodies, composed with entrelac, the drawing executed with
manifold contour lines, series of dots and vigorous oblique stripes. The
motifs and design differed considerably from those of the ornament of the
wood-carving, and there is thus reason to believe that on the whole the
painting belonged to a different artistic circle, in the same way that
textile art had its own style and form. This, the only work which we
possess, thus gives us a glimpse of decorative painting as a special form
of art in Vestfold. The existence of painted decorations is proved, but
nothing beyond that."
Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2001 10:06:03 -0600
From: "Schuster, Robert L." <halvgrim at bigfoot.com>
Subject: RE: wood finishing
From what I've been able to find, there is evidence of folks painting
wood items of the Viking era. The shields on the Gokstad boat were
painted black and yellow. There is some painted on designs on one of the
tent frames, either from Oseburg or Gokstad-don't remember which right
off hand. There are fragements of a shield from Ballateare, Man. Now it
was covered with leather first, then gessoed, then painted in a creamy
white, red, and black.
For a little more on the Gokstad shield and its decorations, and a few other
shields as well, take a look at
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~chrisandpeter/shield/shield.html#Decoration.
contained in his footnotes:
[6] Red pigments in ancient paints seem to derive from mineral sources i.e..
red ochre (Fe2O3, as on the Jelling figurine: Marxen and Molkte 1981); or
cinnabar (HgS, as on the Illerup shield of c.200AD: Forhistoriskmuseet,
Moesgard Denmark: pers. obs. 1994). Also on the Jelling figurine were a dark
blue paint made by mixing powdered white chalk with burnt organic matter
(charcoal?), and a yellow of orpiment (As2O3) in an oil base.
as a side note if that page interests you also check out info on the
Ninth Century Shields from Tirskom Bog, Latvia at
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~chrisandpeter/shield/tirskom.html. no
finishing info but some info for those looking for info on reconstructing a
period shield.
From: Krista Wohlfeil <Krista.Wohlfeil at PictureIQ.com>
To: "'stefan at florilegium.org'" <stefan at florilegium.org>
Subject: amber
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2001 15:26:24 -0800
<snip of lots of good amber information - see amber-msg>
Amber varnish can still be bought today. The best places to find it are
in violin repair and materials shops or at high priced artists supply
stores. It's expensive, but beautiful, and worth every penny considering
the time it takes to make it. I have had a chance to work with it on wood.
If you ever seen a well done shellac, think of that, but deeper and less
"waxy" looking. The color can be dependant on the type of oil used
(typically walnut or linseed, sometimes cut with turpentine, mineral
spirits, or olive oil. Soem recipies also talk about usign lavender oil.)
and the color grade of amber. It's also harder and more resiliant than
shellac. Other resins such as copal and dragon's blood can be used with the
amber varnish to enhance the color.
This site
http://www.mauigateway.com/~donjusko/paint1881.htm
has a laundry list of paint and varnish formulas which include several different variations on the amber varnish. The big thing to remember with the processes used in the middle ages and Renaissance periods was that they used heat, something rarely done today with the availability of factory made cold process oil paint. I doubt amber varnish can be made using cold process. Also, if you
choose to attempt to make your own amber varnish you need to be extremely
careful as many of the materials can be highly volitile when heated.
Krista Wohlfeil
Kushala of the Highland Korsairs
Kingdom of An Tir
From: Andy Dingley <dingbat at codesmiths.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: SCA period paints and pigments for FURNITURE
Date: Sat, 27 Mar 2004 13:31:21 +0000
Organization: Codesmiths, UK
On Thu, 25 Mar 2004 18:40:14 GMT, "minosgallery"
<spotlightREMgraphic at hotmail.com> wrote:
>I don't know what era you are trying to adhere to, but many modern oil
>paints are still made in the exact same way as they were 400-500-- years
>ago,
For artist's paints, and by extension those used for strictly
decorative work on fine furniture, that's a fair comment. For larger
scale work though, and anything that was painted or oiled as a means
of protecting it from the weather (militaria, travelling equipment)
then the oil preparation has changed (most of it fairly recently).
Rw linseed oil doesn't work. It needs to be "boiled" if it's to cure
usefully. There are many procedures for doing this.
Gunsmiths (particularly fine English shotguns) use a low temperature
slow boiling of the oil alone. This gives a very poor drying oil, so
the application process is one of many (many !) thin coats and drying
between them.
Most boiling though consists of a couple of hours high heat, with some
metal salt added to the pot (a siccative). The expert on this is Bill
Knight, a US chemist and black powder shooter - he has a very good
booklet on the subject, which you can find through the US shooting
circuit.
Historically, the metal of choice was lead. This works really well -
it's particularly good at curing in a damp climate and it makes good
oilcloth for covering luggage. Manganese (from umber pigments) was
also used. This gives an oil with different behaviour - needs a dry
atmosphere to cure. One also expands with moisture whilst the other
contracts, so the best oils used a mixture of both siccatives to avoid
movement cracking over time.
The quantity of lead is small - about 1/4% to 1/2%. Compared to lead
paints, where lead was a piment (20% - 30%) this is a tiny amount.
Modern boiled linseed oils are fairly commonplace in hardware stores,
but they have two process differences from the old recipes.
"Boiling" is now just a process of warming the oil slightly to make
it less viscous and stirring in a pre-cooked chemical additive. These
"Japan driers" began in the Georgian period - cabinetmaker's workshops
were now urban and boiling up the drier mixtures is a long and very
smelly process. Although cabinetmakers would still mix their own oils,
they'd buy in the driers.
The metal has been replaced by cobalt - or cobalt and manganese. These
are nowhere near as good as lead or lead-manganese driers, but they do
avoid the toxicity hazard of lead. Of course, in recent years we've
become much more concerned about cobalt !
If you care about oil recipes and authenticity (I can bore for hours
on the subject) then there's much to be said for making your own
formulations from raw linseed. An easier route might be the range of
"Tried and True" varnishes and oils, available from Lee Valley
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.asp?SID=&ccurrency=2&page=45105&category=1,190,42942
"Paint" is an 18th century invention (I'd date it from Pontypool japan).
Recipe and some biblio suggestions are at:
http://paranoia-towers.com/alchemy/pontypool.htm
Before this date there were artist's paints (decorative, varied, and
not hard wearing) and also oil and varnish finishes for exterior use.
There just wasn't anything around like the modern paint that was
stored ready-made and ready-for-use in a vessel, was hard-wearing or
waterproof, and was also opaque or colourful. - you couldn't even get
two out of three.
>. The only thing you don't find is blues from lapiz lazulis
Lapis is certainly around - although the price is amusing. Given its
period rarity though, I don't think it's unreasonable to use it for a
detail like a Marian cloak on a reliquary.
Maybe not for a reproduction of the Duc de Berry though !
http://humanities.uchicago.edu/images/heures/september.jpg
From: Andy Dingley <dingbat at codesmiths.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: SCA period paints and pigments for FURNITURE
Date: Tue, 30 Mar 2004 00:18:39 +0100
Organization: Codesmiths, UK
PS - If you care about this stuff, Marianne Webb's Lacquer book
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0750644125/codesmiths
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0750644125/codesmiths-20
is well worth it - mainly Eastern, but very good coverage of Western
practice since the mid-17th too.
From: Andy Dingley <dingbat at codesmiths.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: SCA period paints and pigments for FURNITURE
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2004 20:42:50 +0100
Organization: Codesmiths, UK
On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 08:01:20 GMT, Zebee Johnstone <zebee at zip.com.au>
wrote:
>What's the difference in the end result from say an indoor clear satin
>varnish?
Depends on what your "varnish" contains.
If it's a modern store-bought varnish, chances are that it's chock
full of polyurethane resins. Any half decent woodworker can spot this
from across a room. Poly varnishes all have a "plastic" look to them,
even the good ones.
For SCA-period work, any sort of varnish is inappropriate, and pretty
crassly so. I'm continually surprised by some of the web sites out
there on SCA-style furniture where someone has gone to a lot of
trouble over researching styles and details, then made a complete
bollocks of the end result by using an entirely inappropriate finish
(or even worse, dark blue paint !)
OTOH, poly varnishes do have hard-wearing and water-resistant
qualities. I admit that I do use the gel ones - so long as it's no
more than two coats, then the effect isn't too obvious:
http://codesmiths.com/shed/furniture/gothic_chair.htm
If you're doing any sort of 17th century or earlier woodworking, look
into oil finishes. Commercial finishing oils are quick and easy to
use, and they give a _much_ nicer effect than any varnish.
If you want shiny, use shellac (www.shellac.net).
17th & 18th century spirit varnishes are possible to recreate, but
they're a real swine to work with. They're very bad-tempered things,
they really need to be made fresh shortly before use, they're finicky
about application temperature and they're highly skill dependent.
From: Andy Dingley <dingbat at codesmiths.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: SCA period paints and pigments for FURNITURE
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2004 23:28:52 +0100
Organization: Codesmiths, UK
On Mon, 29 Mar 2004 20:16:07 -0000, herveus at radix.net (Michael
Houghton) wrote:
>>If you want shiny, use shellac (www.shellac.net).
>
>When did shellac start being used as a wood finish?
Now there's a question !
Shellac is very old (unknown date) in the middle East and India. It's
rare in the far East, as urushiol (a plant product) was used instead
(the classic Chinese or Japanese lacquers).
In the West, it basically dates from the beginnings of trade with the
East. This is itself a vague date, so its introduction seems to have
been gradual rather than sudden. At first, shellac was used as a
dyestuff rather than as a resin - there's a 19th century reference
that claims it was imported into Spain in 1220.
Shellac certainly wasn't widespread in the West at this time though,
even if it had appeared in rare cases. The usual finishes would be
spirit varnishes (plant resins in alcohol) or oil varnishes (plant
resins in essential plant oils, such as oil of spike or turpentine).
The first resins were probably amber (Northern Europe), or mastic
(Mediterranean). Gum benjamin was used since Biblical times and there
was also a trade in Moroccan sandarac or copal and anime from the Gulf
area. Zanzibar also supplied dragon's blood, a red dyestuff from the
rattan palm (I still use this stuff).
The real beginnings of shellac as a resin for finishes began at much
the same time as Eastern lacquer objects started to appear in the
West. Urushiol resin doesn't store and can't be applied in the Western
climate, so even today it's effectively unavailable. Finished objects
were traded though.
By the mid 17th, shellac was firmly established. The first
mass-printed textbooks on wood finishing appear around this date and
treat it as an established product. Stalker and Parker's 1688
"Treatise on Japanning and Varnishing" is perhaps the best known.
The idea of "japanning", meaning "An opaque paint for wood, distinct
from oils or spirit varnishes, and used to emulate the imported
lacquer ware from Japan (sic)" also dates from this period.
By the mid-18th century, japanning had spread to leather and papier
mache. Leather bottles had long been finished with black tar for
waterproofing, but that was applied hot.
Japanning didn't work on metals though, and it wasn't until the 1780's
that a usable stove-enamelled black japan for metals (the newly
fashionable tinned iron) was developed (Pontypool japan).
>How was it applied?
Brush. The use of "French Polishing" and a rubber (cloth pad) is much
later - mid 18th century, around the French court.
>Modern shellac is dissolved in alcohol. When did alcohol start
>being produced as an industrial chemical
Ancient, certainly Roman. Usually described as "spirits of wine", and
basically similar to a toxic brandy. The earliest reliable ref is in
Aristotle.
Early distillation wasn't drinkable - the difference between ethanol
and methanol wasn't appreciated, or if it was, they appreciated the
toxic effect but not how to avoid it ! Roman-era (around 100AD)
there seems to have been use of industrial distilled alcohol and
there's some possibility that by 300-400AD the Romano-British culture
was distilling mead for drinking.
In the early medieval period, maybe 900AD, distillation seems to have
begun again with alchemists and herbalists, probably as an import
from Arab cultures.
By 1644 (an infamous year), a Scottish parliament taxes whisky !
From: Andy Dingley <dingbat at codesmiths.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: SCA period paints and pigments for FURNITURE
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2004 20:46:29 +0100
Organization: Codesmiths, UK
On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 07:11:31 GMT, "Ishka Bibble" <spam at nospam.com>
wrote:
>It seems that when linseed oil fully cures
Linseed oil will never _fully_ cure. A highly boiled oil will cure
about 80% in a month or two (depending on conditions), then another
10% over several years. Around 10% of it just never cures. This is a
good thing in its way, for it remains flexible, especially on
oilcloths.
One of your big problems with linseed oil under heavy wear is with
adhesion. It's quite easy (especially on oilcloth) to produce a
coating that's stronger than it is sticky - the stuff can start to
delaminate and peel off.
If you really care about good surface wear, use tung oil as a base
instead of linseed and look at Danish oil recipes (oil + varnish).
From: Andy Dingley <dingbat at codesmiths.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: SCA period paints and pigments for FURNITURE
Date: Tue, 30 Mar 2004 20:31:06 +0100
Organization: Codesmiths, UK
On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 15:55:11 -0000, herveus at radix.net (Michael
Houghton) wrote:
>Urushiol? I'm not familiar with that sense of the word. The sense I
>*am* familiar with is "what makes poison ivy so special".
Yes, they're related. Contact dermatitis is a problem with
lacquerwork.
>Can you give any references to help educate us?
Either the Marianne Webb book, or the refs down the bottom of this
page:
http://paranoia-towers.com/alchemy/pontypool.htm
Those are _the_ classic 17th & 18th century source texts for wood
finishing. There's also odd stuff in alchemical literature - shellac
also make a useful glue (still used today on fountain pens) and
general purpose sealer for all sorts of hermetic uses.
From the late 18th century onwards we see a plethora of cabinetmaker's
and varnish-maker's recipe books, particularly the beginnings of them
in America. If you check Dover press' catalogue, they offer several of
them as reprints. From the arrival of shellac to the invention of
coal tar chemistry there was little real innovation in everyday
woodworking finishes (asphaltum enamel japans and the technique of
french polishing being the major ones) and so the recipes (if not the
texts) remain fairly consistent.
The 1220 ref for shellac comes from Merrifield's 1849 "Original
Treatises on the Art of Painting", but I don't have a copy of that to
hand (there's a Dover reprint)
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0486404404/codesmiths-20>
<http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0486404404/codesmiths>
Damn good book, but more useful for painters than cabinetmakers, so I
don't have my own copy.
Again, Bill Knight's pamphlet "Staining and Finishing for
Muzzleloading Gun Builders" is an excellent piece of research on the
chemistry of oil finishing.
>Again, references, please.
If you're that fussy over history, then get the Marianne Webb book,
despite its cost. I've a longer review of it on the Amazon UK site.
>I'm not convinced that shellac resin, as a wood finish, is a period
>phenomenon.
What is "period" though ? When are where are we talking ?
>I'd really like to see references that support the vague
>claims made here.
I'd like to employ a typist and get 48 hours in a day.
From: Andy Dingley <dingbat at codesmiths.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: SCA period paints and pigments for FURNITURE
Date: Thu, 01 Apr 2004 01:35:27 +0100
Organization: Codesmiths, UK
On Wed, 31 Mar 2004 14:37:38 -0000, herveus at radix.net (Michael
Houghton) wrote:
>You confidently state (or appear to) that shellac was used as a finish
>on wood in period (where that is taken to mean "before 1600").
No, I do not wish to be misrepresented as saying that shellac was used
as a commonplace wood finish in the 16th century.
Into the 17th century, furniture was unfinished. In an affluent house
(i.e. one with surplus servants), for the last century or so of this,
then it may have been polished in use with a beeswax polish. The
notion of "wood finishes" just didn't really occur until the 18th
century. Dates are (as always) vague and there could easily be 200
years difference between the fashion in the London court and a
provincial town, or a Welsh farmhouse. The Welsh borders are well
known for having still been producing clamp-front oak chests (a
particular interest of mine) into the 16th century, to a pattern
that's generally thought of as 13th century.
Before this period, timber was generally bare and was only finished
for one of two reasons; weather resistance for exterior use, or
artistic endeavour.
Weather resistance was obtained by wrapping in leather or oilcloth,
tarring, applying oil finishes or applying spirit varnishes. Shellac
isn't a particularly good product here, even today, and there's no
evidence for its use.
Artistic endeavours are another matter. Shellac was in rare use as a
dyestuff for as long as there was a trade with the East Indies. The
1220 ref in Merrifield doesn't seem unreasonable - after all, we were
importing lapis lazuli as a pigment from Afghanistan long before this.
Where small caskets or reliquaries were decorated, then a significant
number of them were protected with shellac, and from an early period.
Painting was done with egg termpera over gesso and this just doesn't
stand up to handling without some further protection. It was also
used as an adhesive and sealer over inlay work, such as ivory or
abalone inlay. It's rare to find such pieces because this was the very
highest non-goldsmithing craftsmanship of the period and there are
simply few pieces at this level.
The use of overall paint or varnish decoration on large pieces of
furniture was first popularised in Venice (then later throughout
Italy). There are a number of 13th century references to painted or
varnished cassone, often dowry cassone which were deliberately
impressive as part of the dynastic shenanigans of marriage. The
definition of varnish isn't always clear, but it seems to have been a
spirit varnish based on gum benjamin or mastic, both traded around the
Mediterranean. At some time, shellac began to be used as well. JAIC
31:2 (1992) describes the use of infrared spectroscopy to identify a
shellac coating on a 16th century cassone.
http://aic.stanford.edu/jaic/articles/jaic31-02-006.html
This is also the first situation where we begin to find "varnisher" as
a distinct trade, separate from both carpenter and artist.
JAIC also organised the well-known "Painted Wood: History and
Conservation" conference of 1994. The proceedings are hard to find
(certainly in the UK - a US university library should have no trouble)
but worth digging out. I wasn't a woodworker back then, although I
was actually in the adjoining state at the time and nowadays you
couldn't keep me away from such an event.
As to other references, then you've had most of the good ones.
Marianne Webb and Mary Merrifield are pretty much essential. Stalker
and Parker (which is unreadable) and Dossie or Watin will give you the
techniques, although they're post-period and not intended as a
historical survey.
Some other period handbooks that are easily available as reprints are
Cennini
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/048620054X/codesmiths
and Theophilus
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0486237842/codesmiths
There's another from 1550, "Secrets of the Arts" by an Italian named
Alexis of Piedmonte, although I've only read extracts of this,
describing spirit varnishes. Although they're not as well known as S&P
et al. there are also a number of 17thC Italian finihsing handbooks
(for some reason, mainly authored by priests).
You may also find some useful information through looking at violin
maker's varnish and finish recipes - but I've not looked.
Another (rather obvious) consumer of shellac is sealing wax.
Woods C., ŒThe Nature and Treatment of Wax and Shellac Seals‚, Journal
of the Society of Archivists, 15 (1994) discusses the various
formulations, and the period when shellac started to be added to the
previous beeswax recipes.
In summary, shellac was known to artists from very early on, was
initially used as a dyestuff rather than a coating, and if it's little
used as a finish for furniture, then that's more to do with furniture
being left unfinished than it is with choice of materials. The "period
of widespread introduction" would seem to be around 1550 to 1650, when
it moves from being a rarity on highly decorated pieces to being a
substance that's described in the standard texts of the day.
From: renscribe at aol.com (Maitresse Yvianne)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Date: 31 Mar 2004 15:41:04 GMT
Subject: Re: SCA period paints and pigments for FURNITURE
>Let me put it more clearly: have you seen specific references to the
>use of shellac dissolved in alcohol as a wood finish that date its use
>to prior to 1600? If so, please tell us where you found that.
I'm not a woodworker, but as a scribe I work with period materials all the
time. I may have run across some info that will aid those trying to answer this
question.
There are numerous recipes for varnishes in Mary P. Merrifield's _Medieval and
Renaissance Treatises on the Arts of Painting_
In my hasty research to see if there was an easy answer to this question
(wishful thinking... there never is an easy answer if it involves research) I
found several references that may prove helpful. The ones below came from 16th
century sources. One is a varnish for picture frames made from pine resin and
wine. Several others for use on any wooden object recommend benzoin and wine.
The index for the book, while helpful is not all inclusive. I have no doubt
there are other recipes in the book that would be interesting to woodworkers.
Yvianne de Castel d'Avignon
Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2005 07:26:16 -0700 (PDT)
From: Pat <mordonna22 at yahoo.com>
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Linseed Oil
To: SCA Cooks <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
From childhood memories of Daddy cleaning his brushes, I think it
stinks and taste bad, but from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Linseed oil is a yellowish drying oil derived from the dried ripe
seeds of the flax plant (Linum usitatissimum, Linaceae). It is
obtained by pressing, followed by an optional stage of solvent
extraction. Cold-pressed oil obtained without solvent extraction is
marketed as flaxseed oil. It is suitable for human consumption
(though not recommended for cooking) and is used as a nutritional
supplement which is high in omega-3 fatty acids, especially alpha
linolenic acid, and relatively low in omega-6 fatty acids, allowing
it to be used to lower the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 oils in the
diet, which may have health benefits.
Boiled linseed oil was used as a paint binder or as a wood finish on
its own. Heating the oil makes it polymerize or oxidize more readily.
However, today, metallic dryers are used instead of heat. The use of
metallic dryers makes boiled linseed oil inedible.
Lady Anne du Bosc
known as Mordonna the Cook
Shire of Thorngill, Meridies
Mundanely, Pat Griffin of Millbrook, AL
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2011 13:54:00 +1000
From: Del <del at babel.com.au>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] beeswax as a finish
To: The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list <lochac at lochac.sca.org>
<<< Oh! I imagine that that is probably period. Do you have a period description of this? Do you mix the beeswax with a varnish or something? Or just take a piece and start rubbing it into the wood item? >>>
I mix the beeswax: 4 parts wax, 9 parts oil. I try to use a natural vegetable oil such as grapeseed oil but for external applications I can understand those that prefer a mineral oil. I add some rosemary oil, a dash or two. Others use turpentine, I don't use it or recommend it. In warmer climates you may want to use more wax, in colder climates you want to use less wax. That's really just for ease of application.
This is applied to the boat using about 1 part wax mixture to 10 parts elbow grease. :)
<<< For your boat, are you trying to maintain period methods? Or do you prefer the finish or application procedure better than using a modern, probably synthetic finish/protector? >>>
A bit of each. I prefer to use period methods when I can, and when it makes sense to do so. It doesn't make sense to use period methods to install any electronics, although it's obvious where past owners have tried (mutter mutter ...).
I don't like using modern synthetic finishes because they sit on top of the surface of the wood and don't penetrate it or enhance the wood in any way. After a year or two in the sun they crack and start peeling, at which point you sand them off and start again. Alternatively you keep painting and painting and hope for the best. If you use a wax/oil finish you never have to sand it off, you just put more over the top.
Plus I prefer the look.
--
Del
Date: Mon, 30 Dec 2013 08:31:04 +1100
From: Aylwen Gardiner-Garden <aylwengg at gmail.com>
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
<lochac at lochac.sca.org>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] beeswax finishing of a chair
Hi Stefan
I didn't think of using period finishes - I have a bottle of Feed'n'Wax
from Howard Products that I really like using on our wooden furniture. Its
a mix of beeswax, carnauba wax and orange oil and doesn't contain any
colour, linseed oil or silicon.
Aylwen
=======================
On 30 December 2013 08:22, Stefan li Rous <StefanliRous at austin.rr.com>wrote:
Aylwen said:
<<< Lynlee was most generous and
brought the chair back on her return to Cooma. I've given it a coat of
beeswax polish and it's looking a lot happier :) >>>
Did you just rub the beeswax in to the wood? Heat the beeswax up a bit
first? Mix it with something else?
I've used modern waxes and finishes, but not likely period ones.
Thanks,
Stefan
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2013 17:16:26 +1100
From: Alonya Cullinan <submarinechick at gmail.com>
To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"
<lochac at lochac.sca.org>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] beeswax finishing of a chair
I use 1/3 beeswax - 2/3 olive oil. Put in a jar and melt together (beware
the jar will be hot). Leave to set.
When set, use a cloth to rub mixture on the dry wood. The friction will
melt the oil and wax, and will soak into the wood. Reapply as required.
Note, this mix (or a variant) is used in the London armoury and can be
used on leather, wood, fabric, metal and your hands. I use it to add oils
back into wool when spinning to add a level of water resistance for scoured
wool.
Juliana
<the end>