The Country View

Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover - Part 2

2011-12-24T12:35:00.000-08:00

***This is a continuation of the 11/4 post by the same name***

The dresser pictured below was purchased at a yard sale for about $15. back in early November.

Front

Wide Board Back

It turns out after closer inspection that it was much earlier than I had originally guessed. It was made prior to 1830 as it has Type "A" cut nails throughout and the case is dovetailed top and bottom. Additionaly, the sides, top and bottom are single wide walnut boards.

Dovetailed Case

The Type "A" cut nails that I mentioned above would date the dresser to the 1800-1830 timeframe. If you have any interest in old primitive furniture it is good to have an understanding of the nails used to construct them. The image below shows the two most common types of cut nails. The "Type A" cut nail was machine made and used from approximately 1790 to 1830 and can be identified by the narrower top section which was caused when it was gripped to make the head. The Type B" cut nail was also machine made and was used from about 1820 to 1900 and is tapered on two sides from top to bottom.

Type A and Type B Cut Nails

The dresser originally most likely had bun feet as it has holes in the base for them.

Holes For Bun Feet

I turned a set of bun feet on the lathe that would be typical of the feet of the early 1800's.

Replacement Bun Feet

The bun feet were then installed along with bottom molding typical of the period and molding around the top of the dresser. I also installed a backsplash of reclaimed walnut that could be similar to what was on the dresser origianlly.

Dresser With Bun Feet, Molding and Backsplash Installed

The dresser was then painted with a base coat of our butternut color latex paint in preparation for grain painting.

Butternut Base Coat

The drawers were bound together with duct tape in preparation for te next step of grain painting.

Drawers Bound Together With Duct Tape

While we are on the drawers, the next image shows the delicate hand cut dovetails.

Narrow Hand Cut Dovetails

First coat of graining - The drawers are painted with a coat of red latex paint that has been thinned about 50%.

Drawers Painted With Thinned Red Latex Paint

While wet, a grain pattern is applied using a ribbed sponge.

First Graining Layer

A coat of thinned black is then daubed on with a balled up paper towel.

Mottled drawers

This process is done to the case of the dresser as well.

Case After Process Is Applied

A coat of thinned black is then applied with a sponge and a grain pattern is worked in using the sponge, a graining brush and a flogging brush. Once the paint has dried thoroughly, several coats of clear paste wax were applied to seal the paint and give the piece an aged luster without making it glossy.

After Final Graining Is applied

Fainting Couch Back Board Made Into Blackboard

2011-12-21T16:33:00.000-08:00

Quite some time ago I purchased this back board to a Victorian Eastlake style fainting couch at a yard sale. I just thought it was an interesting piece and it was cheap so why not - perhaps I could use it for something someday. Fainting couches or, chaise lounges, were popular in the Victorian era and all "proper" homes certainly would have had one. Eastlake is a reference to George Eastlake who published a book in the late 1860's titled Hints on Household Taste in Furniture, Upholstery, and Other Details that influenced a late Victorian movement in furniture known as the Eastlake Movement that was typified by geometric carvings.

The back board has been kicking around the shop for two or three years now so it was time to do something with it.

Fainting Couch Back Board

I narrowed down what I was going to do to either make it into a mirror or a small blackboard. It turns out, previously unbeknownst to me, that Donna wanted a blackboard for the kitchen so that may have influenced the final decision. The first step was the most difficult - where to make the first cut. If I didn't get this right the first time it would just be a fancy piece of kindling. After several measurements and re-measurements I made the cut. You can see the results in the image below.

Bottom Piece After 1st Cut

A few more measurements and another cut on the left side and the piece was ready to be glued and clamped into place.

Final Cut - Glued & Clamped

If you compare the picture above with the one below you will see I carved a pattern into the blank area on the left side that mimicked the pattern on the right - not perfect but pretty close.

Right side After Carving
I then cut a 1/4" piece of luan plywood to fit the middle section of the piece. The luan then received several coats of Krylon black chalk board paint - 1st coat shown below.

After 1st Coat Of Chalk Board Paint
After the luan was dry, I used a glue gun to attach the board to the frame. This way, it could be removed down the road in case the black board needed to be re-coated. The next two images are of the final product after it was stained and waxed.

Final Product

The Blacksmith Rose

2011-12-20T15:31:00.000-08:00

A few months ago we attended the PA Heritage Festival here in Troy, PA, an annual gathering of crafters and craftsmen displaying their products and demonstrating their skills. The products ran the gamut from jewelry to quilts to brooms to wine and much more. There were demonstrations of cider making, broom making, spinning, blacksmithing and several others.

I was particularly impressed watching the blacksmith demonstrate making a rose out of a single 1/4" iron rod. It took him just about 15 minutes and with the aid of a little fire, just a few tools and quite a bit of labor, the end result was a pretty good resemblance to a rose - as I said, I was impressed.

Being the romantic that I am, I bought one for Donna (this was right after she grabbed one that he had for sale, elbowed me in the ribs, and said "give the man ten dollars").

Repurpose Idea - Primitive Corn Cutter Made Into A Shelf

2011-12-18T08:57:00.000-08:00

This is a repurposing idea I wrote a couple years ago - it is partly about repurposing an old corn cutter tray into a shelf and also about making a reproduction of the antique corn cutter shelf.

The image below is of something I used to make about 15 or 20 years ago to sell in our antique shop in Virginia. The one pictured is the only one we saved from that period.

Tray From Antique Corn Cutter Made Into a Shelf

It is a shelf made from the tray of an antique corn cutter - see the next image for an idea of what the complete corn cutter looked like (not a great image but you can get the idea of the tray and the cutter knife on three legs). I have always heard them called corn cutters but they were also known as straw cutters, fodder choppers, chaff cutters, corn choppers, etc. The design of the corn cutter varied from manufacturer to manufacturer but they generally had a wooden tray about 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 feet long, stood on 3 or 4 legs and at the business end they had a large lethal looking blade that resembled a giant meat clever or they had a large hand cranked wheel with multiple chopping blades. They were manufactured from the mid 1800's until the early to mid 1900's.

Antique Corn Cutter

These corn cutters used to sell at auction for $5. to $15. because nobody wanted them - today they typically get quite a bit for them to the point that it is not practical to buy them to turn them into shelves. I tried to buy the ones that had good color or good original lettering of the manufacturers name, where made, etc. so that the end product, the shelf, was attractive and interesting. Quite often they had somewhat ornate decoration and lettering on the sides of the tray.

I have recently reproduced the item and the following is a list of the materials required, the dimensions and the construction process. Feel free to use the information to build one for yourself - they are relatively easy to make from commonly available materials and there are no special tools required.

Materials Required

Qty 2 - 7-3/4" by 38" by 1" pine (Shelf Back)
Qty 2 - 5" by 33" by 1" pine (Sides)
Qty 1 - 2-1/2" by 17" by 1" pine (Cross Brace For Shelf Back)
Qty 1 - 5" by 48" by 1" pine (For Shelves)
Qty 4 - 1-1/4" to 1-3/8" long Wood Screws
Qty 30 - 2" Finish Nails

Step 1

Lay the two 38" boards side by side and make a mark on each board 4-1/8" from the center of the two boards (see next image).

Step 2

Make a mark on the outside edge of each board 5" from the top of the boards (see next two images). Then draw a line on each board connectingthe mark made in step 1 and the mark made in step 2. This line should be about 33" long. Cut each board along this line.

Step 3

To draw the arc that will be the top of the shelf, draw a line across the two boards to connect the marks made in step 2 (see next image). Make a mark 1/2" in from the outside edge of each board.
Using a large compass or a pencil on a string, draw an arc connecting the two marks you just made and extending to the upper edge of the two boards - this arc will have approximately an 8" radius. Using a sabre saw cut the arc and the 1/2" inset.

Step 4

Use a compass, a 6" diameter can, pencil on a string, etc. to make a 3" radius arc on the end of each of the side boards (5" by 33" pieces). Then cut the arcs with a sabre saw.

Step 5

This step is optional - I rounded over the top arc of the shelf on a shaper or you could do the same thing with a hand held router and a round over bit. If you don't have a router just round the edge over as best you can with a sander.

Step 6

Attach the 2-1/2" by 17" cross brace to the back of the shelf as shown in the image below using the 4 wood screws - allow 3/4" overhang on each edge for the side boards. Attach the sides using 2" finish nails.

Step 7

The shelf spacing I used was 9" between bottom and 2nd shelf and 8" between the next two shelves - you can vary this to suit your needs. You will have to measure the length of the shelves you use as they will vary depending on the spacing you use. The angle on the ends of the shelves to allow them to be flush with the angled sides is about 6 degrees - if you don't have the equipment to do this you can cut them off square and it will not be very noticeable. I added a 1/2" inset and I rounded the shelves to match the top arc of the shelf but this is not necessary.

Completed Shelf Before Staining

Step 8

The edges of the shelf were distressed to simulate years of wear and it was then sanded and stained using Minwax "Special Walnut" which was the closest match to the original shelf that we had on hand.

Shelf After Staining and Before Painting Lettering

Step 8

Lettering - My goal was to duplicate the original old antique lettering of "Ohio No.8-1/2" as closely as possible. You may want to do something totally different - use a different message, use stenciling, leave the sides blank, etc. I found a font on the computer that closely matched the lettering and I printed out "Ohio No. 8-1/2" in outline mode using the poster option on my image program. The outline mode allows you to print just the outline of the font and it saves ink and is easier to work with. The poster option allows you to print large images or large strings of text (like a banner or a sign) on multiple pages. This lettering (OHIO No. 8-1/2) was about 20" long so it required 2 sheets in landscape mode. After printing, the lettering was cut out to make a stencil then the stencil was traced onto the sides of the shelf (look closely at the image above and you can see the lettering. All that is left is to paint the lettering. We (Donna does the painting) sealed the stained shelf with a "spit coat" of shellac (a dilluted shellac) and used thinned acrylic paint for the lettering to get a near transparent look to the letters to match the lettering on the original shelf.

The Final Product

Milking Stool Repurposed to A Bird Bath

2011-12-17T17:20:00.000-08:00

This is a repurposing post that I wrote a couple years ago.

Here is a simple repurposing idea to make a unique bird bath or watering station from an old metal milking stool. The first image is of a typical old rusty metal milking stool that can sometimes be found at farm auctions or flea markets for a couple dollars.

Old Metal Milking stool

First, I bent the three legs so that they gracefully came together at the bottom. This involved a heavy hammer and a vice. I then welded a 4 foot piece of rebar to the legs to support it (this does not have to be welded, in fact you could use a piece of hollow pipe and drill holes and bolt it to the legs). Then just put the end of the rod or pipe in the ground where you want it and add a shallow, approximately 12" diameter clay tray and you have a very funtional bird bath, or in our case , bird bath and squirrel watering station.

Wynken, Blynken & Nod Spotted In Wellsboro, PA

2011-12-17T16:45:00.000-08:00

Not far down the road from here is the village of Wellsboro, the county seat of Tioga County and home to Pennsylvania's Grand Canyon (didn't know PA had a Grand Canyon did ya - this may be a topic for a later post). On the green in the center of town is a beautiful bronze statue that pays tribute to the famous children's poem, Wynken, Blynken, and Nod, written by Eugene Field in 1889 and believed by some to be one of the most perfect children's poems ever written.

Image Copyright John V. Price, 2004 - http://www.byways.org

The sculpture is one of two done by sculptor Mabel Landrum Torrey. The other, done in marble, is located at Washington Park in Denver, Colorado - click on the following link for info on the history of the sculpture. History of Wynken, Blynken and Nod

Image Copyright John V. Price, 2004 - http://www.byways.org

The poem was put to music in the 60's and was recorded by Cass Elliot (prior to her Mamas & The Papas days when she was a member of The Big 3), The Simon Sisters (Carly Simon & her sister Lucy before Carly made it big), Donovan, Buffy Saint-Marie, and believe it or not, the Doobie Brothers - go figure. I remember The Simon Sisters, the Buffy Saint-Marie, and the Donovan versions but I missed the others - I will have to look for the Doobie Brothers' version - I just can't quite picture it.

Here is a link to You Tube for the Simon Sisters version - 1960'Simon Sisters

Here is a link to You Tube for the Buffy Saint-Marie version - 1970's Buffy Saint-Marie

The following is the complete poem:

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod
by Eugene Field

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe,—
Sailed on a river of crystal light
Into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"
The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring-fish
That live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we,"
Said Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

The old moon laughed and sang a song,
As they rocked in the wooden shoe;
And the wind that sped them all night long
Ruffled the waves of dew;
The little stars were the herring-fish
That lived in the beautiful sea.
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish,—
Never afraid are we!"
So cried the stars to the fishermen three,
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

All night long their nets they threw
To the stars in the twinkling foam,—
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
Bringing the fishermen home:
'Twas all so pretty a sail, it seemed
As if it could not be;
And some folk thought 'twas a dream they'd dreamed
Of sailing that beautiful sea;
But I shall name you the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
Is a wee one's trundle-bed;
So shut your eyes while Mother sings
Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
As you rock in the misty sea
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:—
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

Auction Update - 9 Drawer Chest

2011-12-15T18:25:00.000-08:00

Well I finally got around to clean up the 9 drawer chest we purchased at the auction (see "The Country Auction" post from 11/20/2011). This piece turned out to be better than I had expected - there was really very little that needed to be done to it - I replaced 1 drawer guide that was missing and replaced a few broken and missing knobs and that was about it except for a quick cleanup and a light coat of wax. After having the time to closely examine the piece, I estimate that it is from the 1850-1880 time frame. This is based primarily on the type of nails used throughout the piece. It had all type "B" cut nails which would date it to the 1830's-1890's timeframe. If you have any interest in old primitive furniture it is good to have an understanding of the nails used to construct them. The image below shows the two most common types of cut nails. The "Type A" cut nail was machine made and used from approximately 1790 to 1830 and can be identified by the narrower top section which was caused when it was gripped to make the head. The Type B" cut nail was also machine made and was used from about 1820 to 1900 and is tapered on two sides from top to bottom.

Other types are the "Rosehead Nail" which were used until around 1800 and were made by a blacksmith or a "nailer" (a blacksmith that specialized in making nails). These can be identified by having four tapered sides ending in a sharp point, where cut nails are tapered on two sides and have a blunt point. Also, "Rosehead" nails have a unique head that shows the result of hand hammering and have four sloping sides.

The final type is the wire nail that was used from the 1890's to present - the common round nail that everyone is familiar with.

Back to the chest - the chest is an unusual form in that it is asymmetrical with 4 drawers on one side and five on the other. The case is dovetailed top and bottom and the drawers are dovetailed front and back. The applied base has a nice cutout design on the front. The sides and top and bottom of the chest are single 14" wide pine boards that were hand planed.

Nine Drawer chest

Dovetailed Case - Top

Dovetailed Case - Bottom

Dovetailed Drawer

The chest was painted green at one time but has been stripped and now has a red was finish. I am bot sure if it was stripped down to the wash finish or if the wash finish was applied after it was stripped. The wash finis is old and has a lot of wear so it was probably stripped around 40 to 60 years ago.

Te following are some additional views of the chest:

Front View

Left side

Back

Donna had a chance to clean up the old wood box we got at the auction - it never made it into the online catalog as it was sold the day after she finished it.

Woodbox

Camptown Racetrack 6.2 Miles Long - Doo Dah, Doo Dah!

2011-12-06T18:30:00.000-08:00

Down the road a few miles is the town of Camptown, PA. Although there is some controversy about this, it is generally believed that the horse races that ran from Camptown, PA to Wyalusing, PA, a distance of about 5 miles, were the inspiration for Stephen Foster's song "Camptown Races". Foster lived in the area in the 1840's while he attended Athens Academy in nearby Athens, PA.

PA Historic Site Marker In Camptown

The camptown races are still held to this day every September, but now the races are between men and women rather than bob tailed nags and the distance is 6.2 miles (10k) rather than 5 miles.

PA Historic Site Marker In Athens

Walnut Dresser From Auction Update

2011-11-26T16:56:00.000-08:00

I finished the cleanup and minor repairs on the walnut dresser we bought at the auction last week. It needed just a little more work than I had anticipated which is pretty normal - you don't usually have time at an auction to notice every detail. I had to add two brass escutcheons, three drawer guides, had to do a minor repair on one of the drawers, and replace two knobs. Here is the final product after repairs and cleanup.

It has an attractive back splash and very nice cutouts on the sides and front of the base.

Cutouts On Side Of Base

A pleasant surprise was how clean the dresser was inside - it had contact paper in the drawers that I removed to reveal exceptionally clean drawers.

Very Clean Drawers - Drawers Have Hand Planed Single Board Bottoms And Are Hand Dovetailed Front And Back

Overall I was pleased with this purchase and how it turned out - sometimes you get unexpected surprises (not good) when you get pieces home from an auction - but in this case no surprises.

dh

Things To Do With A Seed Drill

2011-11-24T15:32:00.000-08:00

A seed drill? What the heck is a seed drill you might ask? Well, it is a farm implement used to plant seeds in a field. It was usually mounted on wheels and would have been pulled by a horse or tractor. Below is a picture of Jethro Tull's (the agriculturist, not the rock band) improved seed drill from the 1700's. The seed drill revolutionized planting as it made the furrow, deposited the seed in nice straight even rows then covered them up all in one operation that had previously been done very laboriously by hand.

So, back to things to do with a seed drill. One use of course would be for planting seeds. But this is not what I really had in mind. We recently acquired the hopper portion of a seed drill that had its original painted lettering and was quite attractive if you like this sort of thing. We have it on display in a temporary location in the house right now until we decide what we are going to do with it.

I particularly like the original painted lettering and the cast iron sides (see pics below). If you look at the last picture you can see that with the lid open it has the profile of a bench - so, ultimately,we may add a board in the opening and use the thing for a bench.

Lid open showing patent dates - last date is 1897 so that is approximately when this was made

Cast Iron Side - says "Superior Double Force-Feed Grain Drill Manufactured By The Superior Drill Co., Springfield, Ohio

Side Profile Showing How It Looks Like A Bench.

Speaking of benches, we purchased the ornate cast iron sides to another seed drill a couple of years ago (yes, we are a two seed drill family) and I fabricated a bench from the cast iron sides. The following is a description I documented some time ago of how the sides were made into a bench.

Bench Made From 1890's Seed Drill Cast Iron Sides

We picked up a pair of cast iron sides from a seeder similar to the ones in the two images below. They were all that was left of the seeder and hopefully we saved them from the scrap heap by turning them into something useful that will be around for years to come.

Salvaged Seeder Left Side - marked Bickford & Huffman Co. Manufacturers, Macedon, NY and Farmers Favorite Force Feed

Salvaged Seeder Right Side - marked Improved Force Feed Fertilizer & Grain Sower Bickford & Huffman Co. Macedon, NY and it has a list of its patent dates.

I am always amazed at the level of detail in some of the cast iron from the 1800's. This is just a farm seeder and it has ornate flowers, Vines and other decorative elements in the casting.

We decided to make the cast iron sides into a bench. The first step was to make a frame for the bench by welding angle iron to the sides (angle iron was also recycled from an old discarded Hollywood bed frame).

The uprights for the back of the bench had to be bent to the desired angle. This was done by cutting a slot in the iron where the bend needed to be, bending the angle iron, then welding up the slot that was cut.

Completed Uprights

Uprights welded to side frames

The rest of the frame was welded in

Arms were fabricated from angle iron and welded on.

Seat & back are of 1-1/8" thick pine.

Back View

Frame was painted and textured to match the rusty side pieces. The "faux rust" was accomplished by spray painting the pieces that needed to be matched with Rustoleum flat brown. Let the flat brown dry then spray again and sprinkle on a coat of fine saw dust while the paint is wet. Blow off any excess sawdust that did not stick. Then spray the pieces with the flat brown again. Let dry thoroughly (either overnight or at least for several hours). Then rub the areas coated with sawdust lightly with steel wool to even out the texture. The sawdust process, when done correctly, gives a little texture to the metal that looks very realistic. The final two steps are to mist the "faux rust" areas with flat black. By misting I mean spraying the pieces from about 18" to 2 feet away to just put a light mist of black on the pieces. Let dry for 15 to 30 minutes and rub with steel wool.

The image below is of the arm of the bench after it was "faux rusted".

Completed bench - close-up - The pine seat and back were stained with "Special Walnut" stain, sealed with shellac and given a heavy coat of paste wax.

Completed bench in its new home on a covered walkway between the front door and the garage.

The Country Auction

2011-11-20T16:56:00.000-08:00

Friday and Saturday we had the opportunity to attend a great country auction in Central PA near the New York border. What makes up a great country auction you might ask? Well, to me, it is a combination of when a good auctioneer, good merchandise, a good crowd, a good caterer and finally good weather all come together in the same place. It doesn't happen that often.

The auctioneer was fast, proffessional and very easy to understand. The merchandise was mostly antiques and collectibles - very few personal effects and general household goods. The consignee , it would appear, was a former antique dealer, collector and maybe part hoarder (but in a good way). I look for furniture mostly so I was a little disappointed that the majority of the items offered were smalls but we were able to buy a few pieces of furniture and a few projects. There was a good turnout both days. Judging by the auction numbers I heard, there were about 250 people on Friday and about 300 on Saturday. The caterer had french fries to die for and except for the unexpected skiff of snow on the eve of the first day, the weather was brisk but good. So, all in all, it was a great auction.

If you have never been to a country auction, you should go at least once. It is an experience you will most likely enjoy and one you certainly will remember. Part treasure hunt and part social event it is an enjoyable way to spend a few hours , a day, or in this case a good part of a weekend.

A View Of The Crowd Looking at The Box Lots

Another View Of The Crowd

They Even Sold The Outhouse!

Now on to what we came home with.

A $25. lot of iron items - I was bidding mainly on the two sets of cast iron bench sides and everything else came along with the lot. We will make the bench sides into unique benches by a combination of fabricating a metal frame for them and using reclaimed lumber for seats - we will likely post the process on the Blog - may not be until Spring. We will use the four Victorian era cast iron stands for something - possibly as stands for some of our metal or wooden weathervanes. Also in the lot was a part of a weathervane (the rod, a copper ball and the ordinals - no weathervane figure) and a Victorian oil lamp bracket.

A vintage metal lawn chair - Donna got this for our personal use - she will sand and paint it before summer arrives. I bought the window just because I liked it - not sure what I will do with it - may incorporate it into a cupboard - not sure.

Donna bought the old wood bin - she will clean it up and perhaps put a red wash on the outside. I bought the very early child's small round table - it has very nice turned legs - top needs repair. The chairs were a gift from an acquaintance who bought a lot of about 30 chairs and didn't want these - it turns out that I had several of the mates to these at the house so this will help me make a set of 8 or so. It is fairly common for the auction buyers to do a little horse trading while the auction is going on - sometimes giving things away that aren't wanted, sometimes trading and sometimes selling. I sold an item at the auction that came along with the small round table. The whippletree, a.k.a. whiffletree, double tree, or equalizer, came along with the wood box - go figure.

The old double wash tub stand isn't something I would normally buy but it also came along with the small round table. We may make it into a coffee table.

This rope bed isn't one I would normally buy because it doesn't have a lot iof character but it was cheap (would you believe $5.) so maybe we can do something with it.

Now this rope bed has some very attractive turnings even though it is missing the bottom stretchers and the rails. I have plenty of old rope bed parts so this will be an easy fix with the end result being an exceptional rope bed.

This is one of the best pieces we got at the auction. It is an 1840-1860's 1" thick solid walnut dresser with 4 graduated drawers. It is in excellent condition - just needs a couple knobs and minor cleanup to be ready for sale.

This is my favorite piece that we got at the sale. It is a nine drawer primitive chest with dovetailed case. It had been painted green at one time but has been stripped down to it's original red wash finish. It is from the mid to late 1800's and is in very good condition - needs a couple broken knobs replaced and minor cleanup.

Close-up Of Dovetailed Case

All in all it was a good weekend although Darby might not agree as he spent a lot of time waiting in the truck. We tried to make it up to him though by taking him on a long walk late Saturday afternoon at Lamb's Creek Recreation Area and today to his favorite place, Mt. Pisgah State Park and the Oh! Susanna trail. I think we are now back in his good graces.

"Let Them Eat Cake"

2011-11-16T17:19:00.000-08:00

It has been proven beyond much doubt that these words, "Let Them Eat Cake", which are commonly attributed to Marie Antoinette were never actually uttered by her. Another thing you may not know about her is that she was scheduled to travel to Pennsylvania in 1793 to escape the French Revolution. Unfortunately a side trip to the guillotine interfered with her planned visit to PA.

A few miles down the road from here is a scenic stop on US Route 6 in Bradford County that overlooks a site called "French Azilum".

Sign On Route 6

This site was constructed in the early 1790's to house French aristocrats and royalty who fled the French Revolution. It is believed that there were plans for Marie Antoinette and her two children to be exiled here. Little remains of the village today but archaeologists have been excavating the site and have found foundations and many artifacts. What is amazing to me is that such a remote site was chosen. In 1793 this area was largely an unexplored frontier a long way from civilization. I am sure the aristocrats that did make it here, although they were relieved to be free of the Revolution, had a difficult time adjusting to life in the wilds of Pennsylvania.

French Azilum was abandoned in 1803 when Napoleon Bonaparte allowed political exiles to return to France.

Overlook Marker

Historical Society Plaque

View Of French Azilum site from overlook - actual site is near the buildings in the center of the photo

For more information about French Azilum, visit - http://www.frenchazilum.com

Collecting and Displaying Snow Birds (A.K.A Snow Brakes/Snow Breaks/Snow Guards)

2011-11-15T17:30:00.000-08:00

Snow brakes or snow guards, for those of you unfamiliar with them, are metal, usually decorative, devices used on metal and slate roofs to prevent snow from sliding off all at once causing harm to person or property. They have been around since the 1800's and are still used today. I may be the only one that believes this but to me they are a form of folk art as their form is generally quite decorative, varied and artistic and they were typically of local or regional origin. The earlier ones were generally cast at local foundrys and often were in the form of a bird or a birds head which accounts for one of their alternate names, "snow birds". We have started collecting them as they are inexpensive, relatively easy to find and they display nicely with primitive decor. The snow brakes shown below range from the 1880's to the 1920's (they are often dated) and usually can be purchased for $3 to $10 each at flea markets and antique shops.

As you can see, they often come with the iron bar used to mount them to the roof still attached. This bar may have several odd angle bends (to accomodate the slope of the roof) which makes the snow brakes more difficult to display. You can remove the bar or you can try the following. Remove the bar, straighten it using a heavy hammer and a vice, and with a grinding wheel shape one end of the bar (the bar ends are usually square) into a point, a heart, a ball or some simple decorative shape . Then reinstall the snow bird onto the bar and what you have is a piece of folk art that can be hung on the wall. I took this one step further in the example shown below by putting two additional bends in the bar so it could be hung over a cupboard door (see pics below).

Snowbird with reshaped iron bar - end of bar was ground to a point and bar was bent to go over a cupboard door

Modified snowbird hung on cupboard door.

Another View

3 O'Clock AM/FM

2011-11-07T17:42:00.000-08:00

Darby At 6 Months

Sunday afternoon we were driving home from Mt. Pisgah State Park where we had just completed a long hike around Stephen Foster Lake on the Oh Susanna Trail with Darby, our two year old Mountain Cur. It was the first time we had used the truck since the time changed back to Eastern Standard Time so I asked Donna if she would set the clock on the radio back an hour so it would be correct. As soon as she finished I told her "but you set the time for AM" and showed her that the AM light was illuminated on the radio. A puzzled look crossed her face but to her credit she caught on to the joke pretty quickly - "You jerk - there is no Am and PM on a car radio" she said - fortunately she didn't have anything handy to throw at me.

Don't Judge A Book by Its Cover

2011-11-04T16:54:00.000-07:00

The Ugly Dresser

Whoa, that must be the ugliest dresser ever - my first thought upon seeing the dresser at a garage sale yesterday. It had white enamel paint with grafitti-like gold spray paint decoration and gold spray painted knobs - ugh! I continued to browse the garage sale not finding much of interest except for a set of four plank bottom chairs that were priced much higher than I was willing to pay and a vintage Rockwell band saw priced quite fairly if it worked. I completed my first pass through the garage sale and started my second. I almost always make two to three passes through a garage sale - it seems that my best finds have generally been on the second, third, sometimes even the fourth time through. I think my eyes get ahead of my brain on the first pass and I tend to miss things. On subsequent laps around the merchandise I am more focused on what might be of interest. I think it was on my third pass that I decided to take a closer look at the dresser. I casually, almost hoping no-one was aware of my interest in this ugly thing, pulled out a drawer and noticed it was very clean, was hand dovetailed front and back, had a 1/2 mortise lock, and had a single hand planed wide board pine bottom that was secured by cut nails - all of these things indicative of mid to late 1800's construction.

The Drawer

My interest now overrode any other considerations. I examined the back and found it to be constructed of two very wide pine boards mortised into a smaller pine board and again hand planed and secured with old iron cut nails.

The Wide Back Boards

Further examination explained what just didn't look right about the dresser - it originally had bun feet whch was evidenced by the four holes in its base - with the bun feet missing it looked very squat and unfinished.

Holes In Base For Bun Feet

I think it may also have had a back splash at one time. Further examination also revealed that the sides and top were hand planed single boards 20+" wide. Well, I decided to purchase the dresser in spite of its hefty $20. price tag. Better yet, I would make an offer of $50. for both the bandsaw and the dresser. Minutes later we were on our way home with both pieces in the bed of the truck.

Now, I know what you are thinking - 'Yeah, but in spite of all that stuff, it's still ugly'. Well, of course you are right. But, give me a few weeks and I will turn a new set of bun feet, add a backsplash and finish it off with a period grain painting job and I think it will once again be a desireable piece of furniture. You can be the judge.
I will do another post with pics when it is done - check back periodically. This will be an after hours project so it may be a month or better before I get to it as I have some projects ahead of it.

PS: I went back this afternoon (the last day of the sale) and got the four plank bottom chairs for about half what they were asking yesterday. Also, with a few minor adjustments the band saw worked great.

Four Plank Bottom Chairs

Welcome

2011-10-22T16:38:00.000-07:00

Hi, my name is Dick Haines and I live in Troy, PA, a small rural community in the Endless Mountains Region of Pennsylvania.

I am co-owner, with my wife Donna, of Pocono Primitives, a small primitive furniture and accessories business - go to PoconoPrimitives.com for more info or visit us on FACEBOOK.

Now that that is out of the way, I don't expect the blog to be about the business to any large extent although it will touch on some related subjects as that, after all, is what I do and enjoy. I expect the blog to be a general commentary on country life with some bits of rural history thrown in. It will include some of my ideas on country furniture design, repair, restoration, and repurposing along with the occasional post on antiquing - we had a large antique shop in Virginia for many years. I will also include some amateur photographs and whatever else strikes my fancy.

The rainbow photo was taken from our backyard a couple months ago - it was very close and extremely brilliant.

Check back - we will begin posting in earnest in November.