Tuesday 6 November 2018

The four seasons of miniature pipes? New treasures and a failure.

Before I start I would like to thank you all for your nice comments on my last post. And I would like to say welcome to Kathrene McKinnel and Rob Hawkins for becoming my newest followers. Thank you for your interest in my project.

Miniature clay pipes from Gouda. The white stem will have to be glued back together. 

First the new treasures.
When I looked through the catalogue of our local auction house I noticed a lot with antique miniature clay pipes from te city of Gouda and four small figurines. On the day of the auction I was fortunate to acquire the lot.

These pipes have broken stems. The real pipes also boke easily. The green jar
is made by Elisabeth Causeret and perfect as a tobacco jar. The tobacco 
consists of broken tea leaves. :D

Although the pipes are actualy a bit too big, the scale is 1:10 instead of 1:12, this type of pipe was common from the 16th right into the 19th century and are perfect for my Huis ter Swinnendael. The two long pipes will end up in his lordships library. The small pipes will end up in de Stewards office located in the cellar.

The four seasons: Winter next to an altar with a bowl with fire

The second part of the auction lot are this group of four figurines made of pijpaarde (pipe clay). They are made in the late nineteenth century and represent the our seasons. In Gouda the pipe makers also made figurines and decorative objects to sell as affordable decoratons for those who could not afford expensive decorations.

The four seasons: Spring with a garland of flowers

My plan is to use Autumn and Winter as statues in de picture gallery. These men are clothed in a classical manner and look like a Roman priest with an altar and a Bachus with a broken arm. They look like marble statues that Carel polander could have brought back on his Grand Tour.

The four seasons: Summer, standing next to a bushel of corn.

It really is a shame that the two ladies are dressed like 19th century ballerina's. They are pretty but unfortunately don't fit in the style of the house. I will keep them though, but not in the house. Perhaps they will make a nice gift?

Autumn, with an arm missing, but with a wreath of vines and grapes

And now the failure.
The other news is that I have been sawing wood to make the walls floor and ceiling of my first room, The kookkeuken (cooking kitchen). Unfortunately I do not own a sawtable and have to do it by hand. The way that I have designed it, with the rooms sliding in and out of the house like drawers, accurate and precise sawing is  paramount.

The first floor. It all looks so simple. :-)

The result of my hard labour was deplorable. A waste of time, energy and material. Well most material can be reused for something else but thats all I'm afraid. The lines weren't straight enough or one or two milimeters off, et cetera. very disapointing.

The second floor. 
What to do? Unortunately I have no budget for a good sawtable at the moment. And going on by hand for these large components that need to fit precisely, is no option. Neither is waiting for my monthly hobby budget to grow to the required amount. The (short term because I still want/need a sawtable) answer is to have the walls lasercut. I intended for the windows to have them cut by laser anyway, so why not the walls with all the necessary holes as well?

Two complete windows and some of their components.

So after drawing and sketching on paper, building a model out of card board, I am now redrawing everything with a designprogram for architects. First the floorplan than every component (walls etc.) for each room. The different walls and components are grouped together on a template and will be sent to the lasercut company for cutting. Lets see if this works!

That's it for now. Enjoy you'r own projects and till the next time!

Huibrecht

18 comments:

  1. Laser cutting is often the Best Answer for those questionable cuts so I'm glad that you've found a viable solution for your walls.
    But I must say that the PIPES are Wonderful!!!! and the tobacco jar is PERFECT for them too, so well done on winning that lot! :D

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    1. Thank you Elisabeth.I was indeed very fortunate toacquire the lot. And yes lasercutting does answer my problem.:-)

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  2. the pipes are wonderful (the tobacco pot too) and the statues of seasons, beautiful shopping!
    When cutting walls, the easiest way is to hire a professional. Your plans are meticulous enough to match your wishes.
    Nice continuation

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    1. Merci Claude! I have taken a lot of time for drawing op the plans of the house and that helps me a lot in this phase. I can't wait to put the first rooms together. :-)

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  3. Unas compras fantásticas , el diseño de los planos se ve muy bien, así que ha sido una idea estupenda mandar cortar con láser.Un saludo:-)

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    1. Muchas gracias Rosa! Estoy muy feliz de escuchar esto. Espero armar las primeras habitaciones en navidad.

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  4. Hello Huibrecht,
    The four seasons are lovely. I am sorry to hear about the cutting. I have had to correct many a detail because of an unprecise cut. I look forward to seeing the result of the laser cutting.
    Big hug
    Giac

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    1. Hello Giac, Thank you for your nice comment. I look forward to result as well. I expect to put the first rooms together somewhere around christmas. Then i can start decorating at last. :-)

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  5. Hi Huibrecht! Wat een geweldige aanwinst die Goudse mini pijpen, maar wat jammer dat er eentje gebroken is. Ze passen inderdaad mooi bij het potje van Elisabeth Causeret, goed idee om theeblaadjes tot tabak om te toveren.
    De beeldjes zijn mooi om te zien, ik wist niet dat deze ook van pijpaarde werden gemaakt, maar eigenlijk wel zo logisch ;).
    Jemig, zagen met de hand is een heel karwei en dan meteen zo'n teleurstellling voor je, wat ontzettend jammer! Is er geen bouwmarkt in jouw buurt die misschien tot op de millimeter precies kan zagen...? Ik weet, helaas uit eigen ervaring, dat ze tegenwoordig in rap tempo verdwijnen, maar misschien in het westen nog niet..? Maar als je zoals jou met een tekenprogramma voor lasercut overweg kunt, dan lijkt mij dat inderdaad ook de meest logische optie, succes!
    Groet, Ilona

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    1. Hallo Ilona, dank je wel. Ik ben echt heel blij met de pijpjes en beeldjes. Ik ben op de veiling wel iets over mijn limiet heen gegaan, maar dit is iets dat je niet snel een tweede keer tegen komt. Dus het was mij wel het extra bod waard. :-)
      Er zijn hier nog wel bouwmarkten waar ze platen kunnen verzagen maar dan zit je nog steeds met de raamopeningen die veel precisie vergen. Ik hoop de eerste gezaagde wandjes nog voor de kerst op te kunnen halen.

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  6. Wat een prachtige pijpen!
    Wat verdrietig dat zagen is mislukt. Heb je wel eens overwogen om hulp te vragen bij Het Kabinet in Gouda? Misschien mag je daar wel stiekem de zaagtafel gebruiken.
    Groetjes
    Véronique

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  7. Hallo Veronique, Dank je wel voor jouw berichtje en welkom! Ik heb daar niet aan gedacht, nee. Het Kabinet staat wel hoog op mijn lijstje om binnenkort te gaan bezoeken In januari moet ik in Gouda zijn. Dan moet ik eens tijd inruimen om meteen even naar binnen stappen. :-)

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  8. Thank you and welcome. I will try to post more regularly from now on.

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  9. Huibrecht its wonderful to follow someone at the same point as me in my building ! I bought a table saw ( Proxxon 27006 Circular Table Saw KS 230 ) for about 110 euros on Amazon and it has changed my life ! its precise and silent ! and small and easy to put somewhere or put away between needs. I would love a laser machine but I'm not a tech person so maybe not a good idea. I also love the 'drawer' idea for your rooms, can't wait to see more, huggs Mrs M

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  10. A proxxon table saw is on my wishlist. Soon after moving to our new house I will order it.
    To be honest Mrs. M. you are further in the process than I. You are busy building your hallway and I have yet to start on the kitchen. But the buildingwork will soon commence.

    Huibrecht

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    1. I may have started mine but you have a complete idea of yours with measurements and mock ups. I have happy to say that last night I painted a section and am going to actually screw in a wall today !! yeyyy !!!! champagne ! Life is about tiny steps ,,

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    2. 'One can not think of bad reasons for drinking champagne. But there is no reason for drinking bvad champagne'.

      Don't remember where I read it, but it is one of my motto's in life. We happen to open a bottle this evening. I will toast on your wall, mrs M. :-)

      Huibrecht.

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