scobeymoore

#4 Shaping Rib Stock

The wood that has been seasoned for making ribs now needs to be straightened and shaped to a distinctive tear drop shape. This is narrow at the top so as not to obstruct the flow of water while forming sheets yet wide enough at the bottom to form pegs at the ends. These rest inContinue reading “#4 Shaping Rib Stock”

#3 Prepare Frame Stock for Paper Moulds

The wood for making Paper Mould frames has been prepared to make pieces that are relatively stress free and stable. Now the stock will be shaped to its final dimensions prior to cutting to length and joining at the corners with dovetails. Shown above is a block of poplar that I shaped to demonstrate theContinue reading “#3 Prepare Frame Stock for Paper Moulds”

#2 Sharpen Tools

The wood for moulds, ribs and deckles has been seasoned, straightened and trimmed to near final dimensions. At this point I pause to get the necessary tools tuned up and ready to go. (I’ll post general information first, and include more detail at the end for those who are interested). These are current sharpening methodsContinue reading “#2 Sharpen Tools”

#1 Season and Prepare Wood for Moulds, Deckles and Ribs

Mould Frame and Deckle Wood Wood usually contains internal stresses. If the trunk of a tree grows at an angle reaction wood will develop on the bottom or top to strengthen the tree. A windstorm may damage a tree causing different growth patterns, introducing internal tensions. Improperly drying wood can also introduce stresses. None ofContinue reading “#1 Season and Prepare Wood for Moulds, Deckles and Ribs”

#20 Making Laid Facings

For a detailed look at how this loom functions go this site: paper.lib.uiowa.edu/epm*. Here you will find an extensive list of related internet links. Near the bottom of the list select “Z3”. It will take you to a video that I made of the process of making a laid facing on this loom. The qualityContinue reading “#20 Making Laid Facings”

#19 Straightening Paper Mould Laid Wires

I am leaving the original text in place but commenting in bold text to update the information. I have recently straightened all of my different sizes of laid wire using only one bank of rollers to remove the cast. All of the wires were straight enough for making laid facings for moulds. Wire can beContinue reading “#19 Straightening Paper Mould Laid Wires”

Order of Operations

Paper Mould and Deckle Construction Following is a list of the topics I plan to cover as I document some European style moulds and deckles that I am making. As you can see this is a big topic. Some fairly simple steps are covered but others will be rather vast. I won’t follow a strictlyContinue reading “Order of Operations”

Further thoughts on mould construction

Those of you who are interested in paper mould construction may wish to read comments posted by Serge Pirard of Belgium. Serge studied with the late Ron Macdonald and makes moulds in the same tradition. His comments appear at the bottom of my September 14th post about repairing a paper mould.

Repairing a broken paper mould

A lot of gorgeous paper was made on this mould before it broke. I undertook to return it to a useable condition and learned a few things in the process. The mould had problems with sides that warped outwards. Braces had been added to restrain this but weakened the mould frame, resulting in a breakContinue reading “Repairing a broken paper mould”