The Framers Forum

This is the finished frame from a previous post I added when simply in it's gesso state. Now however...I have progressed a bit further with this one and finished it. This is an Entabulature frame...copied from a 16th century original. The entire frame was water gilded using gold leaf....quite distressed and toned. The designs were all made using a pastiglia technique as was the original. The flat uprights at one time also had pastiglia decoration but as this was almost gone on the original I left this in dark clay and is also distressed.

I really like that! A very nice job indeed!

Thank you Mark...One you should have a go at perhaps when the right painting comes along?

Hi Geoff,

It would be fun to do. I enjoy jobs like that, when they come my way, but being an ex-engineer, my method is to fabricate the ornamental details and glue them in place rather than incise or carve them. Obviously, this does not involve the same level of skill as yourself, but I need to keep up to date with my normal workload, so I need to work quite fast and use other methods.

I normally find that rope twists and certain other running patterns are easily purchased as prefabricated in strips, but the shot pattern band would probably need a bit of thinking about, because I don't think that I can get that as prefabricated in strips. I'm assuming that the ornamental decoration on the flat areas have a flat surfaces to them, in which case I probably would consider cutting them out with one of these http://adelnibbler.com/, or something similar.

Hi Mark...The decoration is completely built up with a different gesso mix and is quite rounded especially the leaves and what remains of the flowers, This...as you might know is easy to do using gesso... and before it dries you can shape some detail to it which can then be built up again with further layers of gesso. The shot is hand carved and is probably one of the simplest ways in doing this. I used to use a... a sort or inverted countersunk bit I had made... but hand carving is so much better. Any rope I need for inserting onto frames I always use my router with a piece of equipment I have made which can turn rope as small as 8mm up to 20mm in diameter with various twists and spacings.

I wonder if your piece of equipment is anything like this rather nice piece of machinery.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpDJNYqCrEU

I've mentioned this before on the forum and I've got to admit that I could enjoy one of these a lot, if I had the room and time to use one.

Thanks for that Mark...I have looked at this once before and If I was into furniture making this might be an interesting Idea. My own system is much much smaller and made purely for my own needs... framing. I am very pleased with my home made ripple moulding facility which I cant say too much about at the moment as I have a confidentiality agreement with a company called "Trend" who might be developing it. Possibly like yourself ...I have lots of compo mouldings and moulds which are good of course but unfortunately the entabulature frame was to be copied which is why I had to make the detail this using the pastiglia technique. I can post image of my small twisted rope for you to see though I have a feeling I might have done so previously...in which case you will have to look back on here to find it.