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PROJECT INDEX...A-to-Z
Albatross
Altar
Amboyna Turning
Angels
Ash Sphere
Beds For My Boys
Big Woody
Bookcase
Brass Balls
Church Windows
Dovetail Box
Gold Dolphins
Grandfather Clock
Hope Chest
Hope Chest Testimonial
Jewelry Store
Jewelry Store Testimonial
Lacewood Bowl
Lacewood Desk
Mendocino Vessel
Pipe Smoker's Table
Plant Stand
Pocket Watch Case
Predator
Rickshaw
Rocking Chair
Rocking Chair Frame
Rolltop Desk
Spalted Vase
Stagecoach Chest
Stopper & Vessel
Telephone Stand
Telephone Table
Violin Case
Walnut Vase
X-ray Devices
Ron Renner
Geppetto's Woodworks
Vancouver, Washington
360-606-2949
Website by ~ Neal Lubow
Again.
I don’t know how the client came to find me, but she did.
The task was to wrap (between and around) the windows with the Cherry wood that you see in the picture. At first sighting the leaded glass windows were held in place with small blocks of wood that had a nail in each block. The windows were 20 some feet above the floor, above a large dining room. The photo was taken from a balcony that ran parallel to the window, about 6-8 feet away.
A very large chandelier hung from the beam that formed-spanned the base of the windows. The chandelier prevented me from effectively using a ladder to get dimensions for the wraps. I had to devise an 8-foot long set of calipers to get measurements for the bottom, middle and top of each window divider. The other elements I made oversized and trimmed them to fit on site, at the time of installation.
The installation process required that the homeowner cover and pull the chandelier to one side to accommodate scaffolding that my brother and I installed.
That was done after we laid down blankets over the expensive rug......and then plywood sheeting over the blankets.
Scaffolding took nearly a day to install; everything was a very tight squeeze.
We were not allowed to make any cuts inside the house, so everything was fitted, checked, and transported down and out................cut....................then carried back in and up for the next fit.
I used an optical builder’s level to check the beam below the window. An optical builder’s level is like a telescope that is used in surveying. It rotates on a platform and verifies that something is level, allowing someone to mark a level point up to hundreds of feet apart. The beam had a sag at the center that was over an inch. The paneling just above the beam was cut and fit to compensate for the sag. Progress was slow, but one by one the windows got wrapped.
At the last window to the left, the process was the same......to remove 2 blocks with nails and then ease in the wrap. Somehow we lost track of blocks.......all of the other window had 4 blocks.......this one had but 2. From the top of the scaffolding my brother pulled the 2 blocks. I was on the balcony. As he turned away from the window, I saw the window falling out of its recess. All I could do was scream............................................................“THE WINDOW!!!!!!”
My brother turned back with his hands up and caught the window.........eased it back into place. I got on the scaffold and we re-secured the stained glass.
Then a trip outside........both of us were shaking.
We finished the wraps. Then installed the overlay carvings at the seams in the paneling below the window. My touchup expert then filled and color-matched all the nail holes.
Scaffolding came down just as slowly as it went up.
Upon departure, the lady of the house asked if we knew the story behind the stained glass windows. (I was obviously a slow learner at that point because I had neglected to ask.)
Each window has 4 blue circles with short black lines surrounding each blue circle. Those are the original windows. They were bought from England........from a church that had burned in the 14th century.
I had no way to validate the story.....so I accepted it.......and learned a pretty significant lesson.
I wanted to ask how the windows were cared for after the church burned. I should have, but didn’t.
I just wanted the job in my rear view mirror.