Holdfasts

I have been looking for an affordable pair of holdfasts for a while now, until I discovered that a German tool company imports these ones from the USA:



They are made by Gramercy Tools, and carry a US patent number - though what they can have found to patent about a tool that's been around for as long as these have, I don't know.

But they really do what they are supposed to. 



This picture shows them with the special tool for tightening and releasing them. Just one clout does it, instantly, and almost nothing will shake them loose. They are better than the cheap versions from Axminster, partly because they are much better made, partly because they really are designed for 3/4 inch holes (the Axminster ones are loose in that size hole), and above all because they will last for ever. Well, they will outlast me, anyway! The manufacturers say they are made out of "wire" (to distinguish them from blacksmith-forged equivalents, probably) but I'd love to see how you roll up a wire of that diameter.

Finally, here's a view of the shelves and desk, with the final shelves in place:



There won't be any spare shelf space - there is still a roomful of books back in the UK.....

Just need a shelf or two ...

I put the carved panel together with the rest of the desk, and this is the result:



You might be able to see the extra fillet glued on the right hand side, to make up for the fact that the pillar next to it isn't quite straight. While finishing off these last bits I found that a few parts of the panel had flaked off some time in the (very distant) past, and had been glued back on. The glue had reached its sell-by date, so I had to re-glue them.

The hole in the middle has been filled with a small piece of newer oak, and the screw-holes with a tinted wax.



From further off it blends in well with the other wood. We treated the panel with linseed oil, which has slightly darkened the wood, but it is a very nice finish and easy to do. 

And here's a more distant shot (from halfway up the stairs) of the new arrangements:



As you can see, I have yet to go out and get the last few chestnut planks that are needed for the top two shelves over the desk on the right. But that is pretty straightforward and with a bit of luck they will be up there pretty soon.

Old Oak

I'm planning to finish off the new desk with a suitable flourish.

Sitting around in sheds and workshops for the last twenty-five years, this old piece of carving has just been gathering dust. But now I'm making a frame for it - there in the background:

This "endless knot" is one of a number of Flemish pew-ends, dating from the early 16th century. My dad recovered them from a house being demolished in SE London, but unlike the other 40 or so panels, this one had been maltreated and had been removed from its (Victorian) framing.

It has split into four pieces, and right in the middle there's a hole which shows some signs of having been there quite a while:

Perhaps for a Victorian bell-pull? Worse - and suspiciously - in each of the four corners there's a countersunk hole for a screw:

The other panels were quite nicely set into their surrounds (they formed three sides of a fully panelled room), without any evidence of screws. About the only thing to be said in favour of this one is that it doesn't appear to have been given a dark stain: the oak is still the original colour.

I've glued the splits back together as best I can, and (surprisingly difficult) cut a small piece of oak to fit the hole in the middle - the countersunk holes will either get modern woodfiller or wax. Right now it's all clamped up while the glue for its new surround sets. The surround is made from a plank I found in one of the sheds here - very dirty at first, and a wood I can't quite identify (it's not oak, though). With luck tomorrow I'll be able to get it put into place at the end of my desk.

Annoyingly where it is going to be put, the wooden pillar it will set against is not at all vertical, so I'll be cutting a small triangular fillet to go in between the panel and the post - I decided it was better than cutting a narrow sliver off the newly made surround.

Le bureau de Lessal

I've finally got around to replacing the temporary computer desk. It was only about five years old, and as it had been made of the highest quality recycled pallets and almost new recycled lino it had lasted well. But it also wasn't very convenient. This shows it just before it was replaced by the new arrangements behind it:

 

When it was actually leaning against the wall it was a bit less wobbly, but also much more of a dust and cobweb trap.

Using bits of wood left over from other jobs - there's chestnut from the shed doors, and the last four large oak planks from making the bedroom doors downstairs - I was able to make this:



The legs were supposed to have a slightly arts and crafts air - they taper towards the top. I have also tried to keep them to what I hope will be the minimum size needed for the distinctly heavy work-surface. Altogether it's two and a half square meters of 30mm thick oak, and that is quite a weight. Each board was hand-planed, and I eventually discovered that using one of my old wooden coffin planes diagonally across the surface produced the best results. It is more than twice the size of the desk it replaced, but the "L" shape wastes less space. It doesn't wobble - it's fastened to both the walls it abuts. The shelves above are a work in progress: I have run out of suitable chestnut planks. And there is a final end section to go where the side of the grey filing cabinet shows. So more later - watch this space....

And finally - with knobs on!

The cupboards in the washing machine room ("buanderie") have now been given a coat of my special formula linseed oil treatment ("denish oil") and I've put the knobs on too. I'll now think about catches for the doors - but they do seem to stay shut without any......



Perhaps I now need to something about the bit of old concrete showing where the "step up" is on the left - even if it's only a coat of paint?