george wilson
03-28-2009, 11:03 AM
I made both of these boxwood shoe sticks for the Shoemaker's Shop in the Historic Area.The dark one was in use a few years before I made the new looking one. These are all hand work of necessity.
The original looks very much the color of the darker one.So,the shoemakers did their best to dirty up the first stick,giving it that aged appearance.
The sticks are rather ingenious in how they work.The sticks pull open length ways for measuring adult sizes. Closed,as they are shown,the little brass pins give children's sizes.Where the "V"'s start,is the beginning of adult sizes.Larger sizes can be measured when the sticks are extended.
I wish I had another photo showing how the joint works so that the sticks can pull open.Imagine looking at the end of a long,square stick of wood. Draw diagonals from corner to corner,making an "X". saw straight down the stick on the X lines. The 2 sliding sticks are interlocked this way. Steel pins,as seen near the left hand end of the new looking stick,one on each stick,come in contact with each other when full extension is reached.This keeps the sticks from pulling apart,and keeps the size indicators in proper relationship to each other. I hope this makes sense.
The dark knob on the sticks is lignum vitae.
I copied the little * on the original also.
This was one of those jobs that seem to take a lot more effort than they are worth,but these are very charming objects. The original is in the collection of the museum.
The original looks very much the color of the darker one.So,the shoemakers did their best to dirty up the first stick,giving it that aged appearance.
The sticks are rather ingenious in how they work.The sticks pull open length ways for measuring adult sizes. Closed,as they are shown,the little brass pins give children's sizes.Where the "V"'s start,is the beginning of adult sizes.Larger sizes can be measured when the sticks are extended.
I wish I had another photo showing how the joint works so that the sticks can pull open.Imagine looking at the end of a long,square stick of wood. Draw diagonals from corner to corner,making an "X". saw straight down the stick on the X lines. The 2 sliding sticks are interlocked this way. Steel pins,as seen near the left hand end of the new looking stick,one on each stick,come in contact with each other when full extension is reached.This keeps the sticks from pulling apart,and keeps the size indicators in proper relationship to each other. I hope this makes sense.
The dark knob on the sticks is lignum vitae.
I copied the little * on the original also.
This was one of those jobs that seem to take a lot more effort than they are worth,but these are very charming objects. The original is in the collection of the museum.