12th Century Style Wedding Box, Part V; The Hardware and Finish

 This will be the end of blogging about the wedding box. It was such a major project that I wanted to make several posts about it. Normally, such projects take months or years to complete, so there is plenty of time to make several updates on the progress. In the case with this one, though, it was a commission which had to be completed in less than three months, so there was definitely no extra time for blogging.

Custom made hinge ready to be drilled and the installed

Once the basic concept of the layout and design of the box had been solidified in my mind and I commenced its construction, the concept of hardware began to scratch the back of my mind. Anyone who has tried making medieval furniture will know that there is not much suitable hardware that one can simply order from a catalogue, and even less (actually none that I know of) if you want 12th century style hardware.

As I worked on making the box, I began to realise that if I wanted it to look "right" I would have to make something myself; but how? As the days went by, I slowly began to develop a plan, and once that plan was fully formed, I got right into executing it, right in the middle of the bone carving stage.

Design for an 11th or 12th century box hinge

I have a friend about an hour away, who has a window and door restoration business. Often, he is not able to find hardware that he needs, so he and a couple of his guys have worked together to teach themselves how to do metal casting. I asked him if he would be willing to make something for me if I provided him with sample parts. He gave me a price he said he could do it for, and I got to work.

Once I had a means to my end, it was time to make some parts. I thought about different materials to use, but ultimately decided on making them out of wood. (walnut, to be specific) I then got some paper and a pencil and drew out what I had in mind, stuck the drawing to some timber and started in on it. It took me a bit more than a full day to make the hinge, the catch and a foot, but I had a head start on a foot because about ten years ago I tuned a 9th century style candle stick and cut away sections from the base, in order to carve three feet in the remaining portions. I saved those cut-offs because I thought that they might come in handy at some future date...

Pictures of the process of making the hinge
I cut the parts with a coping saw, then carved and filed
them to their final shape
The 'V' notch on the table was how I supported the work
whilst cutting it out.

I had hoped to be able to watch the process and even help with it, as it is something that I too have long wanted to learn about, but he  was not able to accommodate me the day I dropped off the parts so I saw nothing of it. Two or three weeks later, he met me at my place with some finished feet, a finished casting of the "Lovebirds" and blobs of brass (it was supposed to have been bronze, but something got lost in translation) which had the hinges hiding in them.

The hinges as they were delivered

After the hinges, it was on to a catch

My own invention, but in the spirit of the 
12th century. "Love birds" were a perfect motif 
for a wedding box

Lastly the feet. I started with a section of a turning that I made 
in order to make some 9th century feet for a candle-stick.

The cutting out and polishing of the parts was interesting and a bit of a challenge, but I am handy with more than just a wood saw, so metal is just another material to be cut as needed. Once they were sawn out and the backs cut and filed down, they had to be filed and then polished on a buffing wheel.

I was so pleased with the results and happy that I took the time to do them,; they really added a nice level of authenticity to the entire project.

The case built to conceal the wedding box 
for the delivery.

Since the client had no clue of what I was actually making, and never saw anything of it until the project was finished and delivered, I decided to have a little fun. I built another box of cherry which was large enough to put the bone and intarsia box inside. (It would also serve as a receptacle for the cards that would be given to the newlyweds at the reception). Thus as was my intention, all the client had to say when I delivered the box two days before the wedding was that it was very nice. When they opened it, however the plan proved to have been a great idea. I have never seen any client so astonished and beside themselves for words over anything that I have made. The best comment of all came from the soon-to-be groom who said "people just don't make stuff like this anymore! This belongs in a museum."

Mission accomplished!

Completed 12th century style wedding box with custom
made cast brass hardware ; front and back