george wilson
04-03-2009, 5:15 PM
This embroidery stand is an exact copy of an original made in the early 19th.C. I made it for my very particular lady customer. She bought an antique stand,but did not want to use it for fear of damaging it.
The stand is made of violet wood,like the original. The little discs that look like pulleys are threaded tightening wheels of lignum vitae.The screws were threaded using the same technique as I used for the big cider mill: a router applied at a 45 degree angle in a metal cutting lathe. The threaded pieces are only 3/8" in Diameter,so the routing had to be done in careful increments to avoid any chipping of the threads.
I made a threading tap of a type especially for wood,which I will post when I do a posting on some threading tackle I have made. The lignum vitae wheels were threaded with the tap. The wood threads are 90 degree threads,as the original,and much coarser than threads of the same diameter would be in metal.
There are threaded ivory bolts with tightening discs of ivory for controlling the tilt of the frame.Threading ivory is something you have to learn to do very carefully. It is very easy to shatter.
There are little ivory balls at the ends of the horizontal frame members,ivory discs at the bottom of the columns,and ivory feet.
All my ivory is registered pre ban material,or in other words,documented pre 1972.
To use the stand,the cloth is tied on both sides to the round horizontal bars,and stretched tight,so it holds still while doing the needle work. I think the stand's base is 4" X 14".
I also made many 18th.C. straight pins with wire wrapped heads,and needles for this lady.
I found the violet wood great to work with for this particular type of work.It is extremely hard,but not as brittle as ebony. It threaded well,because it is also very stiff. For its diameter,it was more rigid than most other woods would have been.
There is no finish on this item. The finished wooden pieces were buffed on a clean buffing wheel,with white rouge. The original was also polished but unvarnished.
The stand is made of violet wood,like the original. The little discs that look like pulleys are threaded tightening wheels of lignum vitae.The screws were threaded using the same technique as I used for the big cider mill: a router applied at a 45 degree angle in a metal cutting lathe. The threaded pieces are only 3/8" in Diameter,so the routing had to be done in careful increments to avoid any chipping of the threads.
I made a threading tap of a type especially for wood,which I will post when I do a posting on some threading tackle I have made. The lignum vitae wheels were threaded with the tap. The wood threads are 90 degree threads,as the original,and much coarser than threads of the same diameter would be in metal.
There are threaded ivory bolts with tightening discs of ivory for controlling the tilt of the frame.Threading ivory is something you have to learn to do very carefully. It is very easy to shatter.
There are little ivory balls at the ends of the horizontal frame members,ivory discs at the bottom of the columns,and ivory feet.
All my ivory is registered pre ban material,or in other words,documented pre 1972.
To use the stand,the cloth is tied on both sides to the round horizontal bars,and stretched tight,so it holds still while doing the needle work. I think the stand's base is 4" X 14".
I also made many 18th.C. straight pins with wire wrapped heads,and needles for this lady.
I found the violet wood great to work with for this particular type of work.It is extremely hard,but not as brittle as ebony. It threaded well,because it is also very stiff. For its diameter,it was more rigid than most other woods would have been.
There is no finish on this item. The finished wooden pieces were buffed on a clean buffing wheel,with white rouge. The original was also polished but unvarnished.