So I decided to make a wooden replica of a bronze strap en I saw in the British Museum's Online Collection. Of course I had to choose the most complicated piece but I thought it was 3 or 4 inches long. When I first looked at the strap end I did not notice that it is only 4 cm long. Further research shows that most of the strap ends in this collection are between 4 and 6 cm long.
Not to be deterred I cut out a piece of birch, drew out the pattern, and started carving. I chose birch because it is a very dense wood that will simulate the weight of cast metal and will most likely hold up to the riveting process better than a more easily carved wood like basswood. I gave up after an hour. My smallest tools are just to big to recreate the detail found in the photo. That is when I went looking at other strap ends and found they were all very small, and many had a great deal of detail.
I spent several hours looking at other strap ends today. I found a couple that look like they would be easier to carve from wood. But, now I am wondering if I should carve it in beeswax and use that to make a lost wax casting in bronze or pewter. The simpler pattern could easily be carved in wood but would a wooden strap end be as impressive as a cast bronze one. Of course, with the easier shapes I could use the wood one as a mold and do a sand casting. Most of the straps had very flat backs which is what you would get from sand casting.
I'm glad I have 4 months to work on this. It is going to take me that long to get anything accomplished.
No comments:
Post a Comment