Architectural Details and Ornaments - Page 2

**Laurence Finston** · #11 03-02-2022, 07:38 PM

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll keep it in mind. It wouldn't have occurred to me to try this.

For what it's worth, I've been wanting to expand into metalwork for a long time. I got some stuff for soldering recently and I have an idea I want to try when I get a chance. I did once take a class in gas welding a long time ago -- that was really fun but not suitable for my kitchen. (Not too good for paper, either.)

**Laurence Finston** · #12 03-03-2022, 12:44 AM

Maximum number of files uploaded. Explanations in next posting.

**Laurence Finston** · #13 03-03-2022, 01:07 AM

I've now made a "center finder" for 24cm diameter circles. This was a lot of work but I think it will have been worth it.

I've attached the PDF file with the plans and the sources. I renamed "circle_24cm.mp" to "circle_24cm_mp.txt" in order to be able to upload it.
It is a MetaPost file and "circle_24cm.txt" is a TeX file.

The plans include guidelines that I added after I had printed the version I used in the photos. The photos show these guidelines added by hand.

I'm not sure what kind of paper I transferred the plans to. It's quite thick and could either be drawing paper or hot-pressed watercolor paper. I didn't find a watermark. I think it's drawing paper. The sheet was large so I creased it using the bone folding stick and tore it in half. I prefer doing this to measuring and cutting, where possible. It can be very accurate and it's faster and less trouble. You can use your thumbnail but a folding stick is much better.

For transferring, I used graphite paper, which is much better than carbon paper for this purpose. Unlike carbon, the graphite can be erased. It makes less of a mess, but the graphite will still get on your hands and everything you touch.

My compass doesn't get much use anymore but it's a nice piece of drafting equipment and I'm always glad to have a use for it.

The circle cutter worked well; better than I expected. It's quite well-made.

I made a few mistakes but I will know better next time. The graphite doesn't smear easily, but I inked over the lines with a technical pen anyway for the sake of permanence. Finally, I cleaned up the paper with a kneaded rubber eraser. I always use this kind of eraser, where possible, because it doesn't abrade the paper. Sometimes it doesn't remove the marks well enough, though. Sorry if this is obvious, but some people might read this who aren't experienced with drafting or drawing.

The last photos are of three stencils I made or started a long time ago. One of them is dated 2002. For the first two, I used heavy Bristol board and it was far too much work cutting them out. I've never actually used them for anything. However, I'm still finding little diamond-shaped cut-outs.

**Laurence Finston** · #14 03-03-2022, 01:51 AM

Here are two photos of the circle finder at the bottom of the 26cm spring form. It fits very well.

I have two smaller sizes of spring form. I will at least parameterize the MetaPost code so that it will generate plans for circles of arbitrary diameter. I'll probably make center finders for my other spring forms but it would be too much work to make them "on spec" for other sizes which I don't need for anything at the present time.

**Laurence Finston** · #15 03-03-2022, 10:42 AM

I've modified the MetaPost code for generating the plans. The new code is in `center_finders_mp.txt' (i.e., `center_finders.mp'). It uses a macro with parameters for the diameter of the circle, the position of the crosshairs and the size of the cut-out rectangles.

`center_finders.pdf' contains plans for circles from 10 to 29cm in diameter, in increments of 1cm. It's for DIN A3 paper (297 x 420mm) and 29cm is the largest circle (of integer diameter in cm) that will fit onto a sheet.

Obviously, the smaller ones could fit two on a page or fit onto DIN A4 paper (210 x 297mm) and there are any number of other things one could do with the images. It would also be possible to print out plans for larger circles; for DIN A3 or smaller, they couldn't be in one piece, of course. However, it shouldn't be any problem to print in poster size, for example. I've never done this myself, though.

If anyone has a use for these plans, I'd be happy to make a version with some changes, within reason.

**Laurence Finston** · #16 03-04-2022, 05:52 AM

Maximum number of photos. Explanations in next posting.

**Laurence Finston** · #17 03-04-2022, 06:04 AM

I finally had a block of time available to cast the plaster slab. I'm getting faster at this with practice.

GSCF0012.JPG and GSCF0013.JPG: It's important to get the plaster off the metal tools quickly or else they will rust. Except for the obvious exceptions, I always wipe off my steel tools with multi-purpose oil before I put them away.

The upper part of the form came off easily but I had to work the bottom plate off the cast with the plaster knives. I damaged the rim of the cast in the process, but there's a big enough margin so that this won't matter. I could also repair the damage with spackle, if I decide to.

The faces of the slab are not parallel but it's not quite as wedge-shaped as it appears, as some plaster sloshed up one side. It shouldn't be hard to file that side down to about the same level as the other. Nor does it matter whether the faces are parallel.

The slab is a little thinner than I'd like. I still don't have a good feel for how much I need for a given form. However, it should be thick enough.

I've finished all of the stencils but one. I will wait a day or two until the slab is completely hardened before transferring and starting to carve.

**Laurence Finston** · #18 03-04-2022, 12:57 PM

I finished the last stencil. The plaster slab is fairly hard already but still giving off a lot of moisture.

The bottom plate of the spring form has the name of the manufacturer embossed in it, "Kaiser", surrounded by a rectangle. It cast, fairly clearly, though without much relief, so I could find the center pretty accurately by just finding the center of the rectangle. I will certainly do this and compare it to my result using the center finder.

If I got ambitious and bought a couple of new tools (something I don't mind doing), I would find the centers on the bottom plates of all of my spring forms and put rivets in them. This will have to wait, though.

I've decided to make a woodcut version of the pattern. I don't think trying to use the plaster model for printing and embossing would work out. I would never get the oil paint (that I plan on using for printing) off of the plaster and I'd also have to seal it in order to do this. Plaster can be sealed with shellac, by the way, which is another nice material.

I generated a version of the pattern for DIN A4 landscape and printed it out. I only need it for reference, I'll use the stencils for transferring the pattern to the linden plywood block, after I've marked it.

**Laurence Finston** · #19 03-04-2022, 11:04 PM

The bottom plate of the spring form has a rim, which of course didn't cast. The result was that the diameter of the surface is 24cm - .5cm = 23.5cm. So my center finder is too big. I therefore used the rectangle surrounding the embossed manufacturer's name to find the center of the surface.

I then removed the name with a chisel and started marking the surface. The plaster is still a little wet and soft so I'll work on this again in a day or so.

**Laurence Finston** · #20 03-05-2022, 01:42 AM

I've marked the block and started transferring with the stencils. I shouldn't have used the marking gauge on the block inside where the drawing goes. I'll have to fill in the scratches with wood filler, where they're not cut away anyway.