Sunday 4 October 2009

Cornice mitre work

The first cornices that needed to be mitred are in the left hand side of the shop. A mini mitre box is a wonderful help for this work.

I've been looking for a more suitable craft saw after a friend advised on types and uses. I really wish I had had one this morning for this work, a hack saw is fine for some tasks, but when you need sharp angles and shaping a more purpose-made saw is another toolbox essential for craft work.

A mini mitre fixed to a bench in my garage:


Cutting the angles is tricky and it took a couple of tries to do it correctly. The most important thing to remember is to cut from the top to the base of the cornice, rather than across the middle, to achieve the 45 degree angle needed for the corner.



The floor has had another light coat of walnut varnish and the skirting board fitted to the remainder of the room. This also needed the mitre box.



And that's about it for downstairs. There needs to be a handrail for the wall of the staircase, but there is no rush: I'll wait until I come across a suitable piece of wood and wall fittings.





Saturday 3 October 2009

New shop display stand

Slight change of plan. I'm going to use the polymer clay I bought a few months ago to save on stocking costs.

I'll be making cheese and bakery products, so will fit a shop theme around this. Apparently general provisions merchants were pretty normal then, so times haven't changed too much. I'm going to do more research before I start with the clay.

Ordering shopping for home delivery seems such a new development, created to help make our lives easier. But this was pretty much the norm for many Victorian families who used telegraph, mail (by hand or by post), instead of the internet, to make their orders.

I've built a new display stand which will be used for bakery products. This was made from balsa wood and kebab sticks.

The new display stand before staining:


After staining and in place: