advent window 1

 Stepped gables

I  have been working on a project to produce a gift for a ladies 70th birthday. One possibility was to make a frieze of stepped Dutch style gables with name and date on the front of the gables.

The client and I decided that an alternative product would be better received.

 I had cut the outline of the gables to see if it could be done, but was unsure how they could be used.

In the village there is a scheme where you can sign up to produce a window display for a particular significant date during advent. Sheila has wanted to do this for several years, so I signed her up for the scheme with a view to using the gables, making doors and window frames then back lighting the frieze as a back drop for her display. 

I had access to a miniature circular saw and got some basswood strips to use in the process. The smallest frame is only 20mmx30mm so accuracy was essential.

The first image shows the first attempt. Not brilliant so will have to be remade. Second image shows some improvement, the third attempt was satisfactory.

Only three more gables to sort. I also have some very thin oak offcuts which  I might use to make some boarded doors on the other gables.

 

 

 

 Cutting and making

The first stage was to mark out door and window apertures and decide which should be cut through and which should be left with a false frame detail.

The stepped gables were in different hardwoods and to add some degree of realism each gable would have different numbers and arrangement of windows.

As an exercise in accurate cutting of timber this was certainly a challenge. 1mm out of line at this size would be very obvious, so I was very careful marking and cutting the apertures and very appreciative of the expensive sharpening system I had invested in earlier in the year.

With the apertures cut I started to make the frames. The miniature circular saw was a great disappointment initially as the cuts were uneven and very wide. On closer examination I realised the blade was not mounted correctly, a bit of fine tuning had the saw working well and by the time I had got to the third frame I was getting reasonable results. 

A small panelled door was made from thin boards of basswood to complete the first gable.

In the second gable I attempted to make a bow window, but at 30mmx50mm it did not work, so back to the drawing board with that one. 

I hope to have it finished in time for Sheilas window display, hopefully more nearer the time to show the finished result.