Inhoudsopgave
(Selected summaries of the autumn 2006 issue)
| Inhoud | Summary |
| Ten Geleide | As a service to our non-Dutch readers short summaries are provided on topics of interest. Translator: Jan de Witte. |
| Van het Bestuur | |
| Van de redactie | |
| Italiaanse scharesliep | |
| Verslag 22 april 2006: Glasstad Leerdam Jan Neelen |
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| Glasblazersvaria Woordenlijstje glasblazerstermen, Verzameling Nederlandsche Tafereelen van Kunsten, Ambachten en Bedrijven: De Glasblazer, Standen, beroepen, bedrijven en bezigheden in de menschelijke maatschappij: Glasblazers, De kunst van het ambachtelijk glasblazen: flyer van het Glas Centrum Leerdam, Schoolplaten Glasblazerij |
De geschiedenis van het glas (The history of glass) De kunst van het ambachtelijk glasblazen (The art of traditional glass blowing) (this summarizes both articles as they have much in common). A small town in the Netherlands, called Leerdam is the centre of glassmaking since 1765. Since early 20th-century the town became also famous for glass design (traditional & industrial). Mass produced glassware is exported worldwide; many famous glass artists started their career or development in Leerdam. During a recent A&G society gathering in Leerdam mr. H. Feenstra gave a lecture on the use of glass in industrial processes. He was much involved in the production of incandescent light bulbs at the Philips factory in Eindhoven. Industrial glass furnaces are large, 20 x 30 meters, contain liquid glass up to a meter high and at 1600 C. Heating is direct; burner flames are directed straight onto the surface of the glass ‘pond’. Liquid glass flows on gravity to the feeder while temperature is somewhat cooled down. At the feeder the flow rate is adjusted for e.g. bottle manu-facturing units. Glass furnaces last 10 years, it takes 7 years to recover the furnace (investment) cost. Mr. Feenstra carries on with the production of incandescent light bulbs. In his opinion a glass bulb is a piece of art in itself. The early production method applied nickel-chrome blowing pipes. Water is applied not only for cooling but also to form a steam film because glass sticks at temperatures above 450 C. In the early days wooden forms were used, later cast iron. The machinery for the mass production of bulbs is complex and not easy to explain but allowed to produce 1600-1800 bulbs per minute. Only 50% of the glass is actually used in the production cycle, the remainder is recycled. Because of the shrinkage of glass, tolerances of 0.1 mm must be taken care of. Other topics of his lecture covered ‘buisglas’ as used for e.g. thermometers, the art of bottle mak-ing and Mallorca pearls. Interesting was to understand the how’s and why’s of the making of bottle bottoms (stable positioning, minimum transport damage, safety). |
| Lijmen en belijmen S. van Embden, ‘Handleiding’ begin 20ste eeuw |
Lijmen en belijmen (the application of scotch glue) This is a reprint of a section of an impressive cataloque of tools (S.van Embden; early 20th century, 900-1500 pages). The section deals with the art of gluing a century ago. Carpenters and furniture makers often faced cold and even icy conditions in their workshops that made gluing a cumbersome job. Poor glue viscosity and bad smell made live not easy and reliability of glued joints uncertain. For reliability, dowels were added to glued joints like bri-dle, mortise and tenon, etc. These joints can do without dowels if perfectly glued; so the need for better gluing conditions and instructions was urgent. 1. Glue properties are not indicated by its appearance, utilization is the prove! 2. Ensure good penetration; non-porous timbers require a low viscosity glue, joint gaps need to be small; pressur-ize members. Timber gluing is not like the art of bricklaying! 3. Ensure a proper room temperature (55° F), cold glue forms easily a film that prevents penetration which is the prime factor for a sound joint. 4. Prepare properly the glue. Crack into small pieces within cloth or paper wrapping, soak in water for a day, simmer slowly (au-bain-marie) until completely liquefied. Good quality glue is rather viscous after heating and pretty stiff after cooling-down. When heating-up again, add water to compensate for evaporation. Avoid over-heating; makes glue useless. 5. Moisturize upper-side of veneer to avoid curving and apply heat moderately. Take care in case of large veneer areas; apply ironing piecemeal. Several special veneering jobs and tools are discussed in detail. Note: Scotch glue: Beendermeellijm |
| Japans handgereedschap Deel 2: Nokogiri (Zagen) Cees Otte, Zorgvliet |
Japans gereedschap (Japanese tools, saws in particular) Mr. Cees Otte continues his series of articles on Japanese tools with saws. Japanese saws are most likely the most popular tool because they allow efficient and very accurate wood working. In contrast with Western saws the cutting is done in the pulling stroke rather than in the pushing stroke. This allows a very thin blade and fine precision; the art of using Japanese saws is not difficult and soon acquired. Japanese saws are specifically de-signed for actually every possible work type whether it is ripping or cross cutting, soft or hardwoods, cutting in the middle of a piece of wood or dovetails, etc. The Ryoba is the most popular saw with two cutting edges, one for ripping and one for cross cutting. The blade length is an indication for the teeth size, the longer the blade the courser the teeth. When you pick a Japanese saw you automatically know the size of the teeth, no misunder-standing. Japanese woodworkers use a square piece of wood to guide the saw blade. The size of the teeth are smaller at the handle than at the end of the blade (in case of a genuine Japanese saw). Cutting starts with the fine teeth near the handle for good control (accuracy) and is carried on with the remainder part of the blade as the cutting progresses. The handle is simple, in essence a ‘stick’ wrapped with rattan for a good grip. Nowadays saws have ‘hard points’ and blades are often replaceable. Translator’s note: For more information see “Japanese woodworking tools” by Toshio Odate |
| Edelsmeedgereedschap (2) F. Ferro, Bussum |
Tools of gold- and silversmiths, part two. |
| Lezers schrijven: De schaaf van mijn betovergrootvader Altes Werkzeug Boekennieuws De wapens van de Gentse neringen in het Panorama van Gent, 1524 >> Een glimp van toen: Ambachten en gereedschappen op gevelstenen |
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| Vorstenhoed | |
| Spijkergeld Gijs Nederlof |
Spijkergeld (nail-money) It is not uncommon to find a nail or another piece of metal in a tree trunk. The tree may have been used as a fence post or hit during a war (shells, bullets). This may cause severe damage to the saw resulting in delays for regrinding the band saw or blade. Time is money; so the damage must be paid for, in other words ‘spijkergeld’. The story carries on with a visit to the sawmill ‘De Rat’ (similar in English) which can develop 65 HP under favourite conditions. The miller had bad experiences with metal in trees so every trunk was thoroughly examined with a metal detector. This could not be done perfectly; only for 6″ depth. Any unfortunate ‘hit’ would result in 15 euro ‘spijkergeld’. (appears reasonable for nowadays wages) |
| Bijzondere 18de-eeuwse vondst in Amsterdam: een VOC-dommekracht |
A remarkable discovery from the 18th century in Amsterdam; a VOC-jackscrew Some districts in Amsterdam are in a kind of a dilapidated state and are being rebuilt. In 2001 clearing and exca-vation work took place in an area that had been long in use for shipbuilding (1660-1800). Shipbuilding was a major activity in Amsterdam. Some 500 ships were built here for the VOC, the famous Dutch mercantile com-pany that owned not only a large fleet of (armed) cargo ships but also large plantations, warehouses, harbours and labourers in the East-Indies. Because of the large number of ships some early industrialisation development took place. The remains of two slipways were uncovered. They measured approx. 50 x 12 meters and consisted of a slab made of beach tree trunks covered with clay. The slabs could carry heavy loads because of the dense piling. Many artefacts were found like an early 18th-century jackscrew. Beside the VOC marks also two lilies of the manufacturer in Cologne were visible. A book on Dutch ship building (1697) by Mr. van Yk mentions these jackscrews as being the best in his time. The warehouse of the merchant of such tools was located in an area called ‘Teertuinen’ (tar gardens); which is a logical name for such an early industrial district. |
| De aanhoudende heerleren slagschaaf.
Staalwerker en Meulenhamersmed Bootallaamen en stibbe Gloednieuw Vlaams Glascentrum Speuren naar gereedschap in Tongeren |
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| Museaal Doe- en Kijkcentrum Nooitgedagt IJlst |
History of a tool factory in IJlst In 1865 Mr. Nooitgedagt (stands for ‘never expected’) started a factory for wooden skates and planes. He had four sons supervising the office, timber, metal and engine shop. At the end of the 19th century a ‘modern’ factory was built to satisfy the growing demand. His sons travelled through Europe to ensure they kept ahead of devel-opments elsewhere. Early 1900 wooden skates were replaced by metal skates. The company was also well known for their everlasting and in some way ‘educational’ toys. After two very mild winters (no ice) the produc-tion of skates ended in 1965, ten years later the same happened to the wooden toys because of severe competi-tion (Eastern Europe). The company focussed on the production of chisels. At the summit of activity one million chisels were manufactured a year and distributed under 16 trade marks! Very likely ‘Nooitgedagt’ was at that time the largest chisel factory in the world. At the 100th anniversary the company became ‘Koninklijk’ (Royal) and had almost 200 employees on the payroll. In the nineties much changed; a large customer disappeared, the sons of the founder retired, leaving no successors, the company sold to British Record Company. Thereafter Record was taken over by American Tool Company, resulting in a vast product expansion at the Nooitgedagt sites. Not many years later the company was taken over by Newell Rubbermaid who decided to close down the site in IJlst a few years later. (the name ‘Nooitgedagt’ still remains on tools; but their origin?) |
| De zin van het museum De onzin van het museum Gerrit van der Heide |
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| agenda | |
| Wat is dat? Dat is dat! | |
| Vraag & Aanbod |