No, the bears are not out on a rampage, they’re just sunning on a corbel! They could be sunning on a bench, or on a windowsill, or up on a shelf, so why not on a corbel?
It's an absolutely beautiful sunny day out here, although the temperatures are well below freezing. But I'm feeling a bit giddy, and since I’m too old to tumble and make angels in the snow, I made this “montage” in the hopes of bringing some lightheartedness to your day too.
Our daughter loves Victorian architecture and every time she passes by a home built in that style, she gets excited, wishing she’d be the owner. As a woodworker I can appreciate the craftsmanship involved in the ornate woodwork, and sometimes I wish we hadn't shifted so much into this transient mentality, where hardly anyone builds a home to live in for the rest of their lives. Families often move several times during their lifetime, and I think there’s a connection here regarding the quality of work invested in the building of a house nowadays.
Anyway, since I can’t offer our daughter a Victorian home with all the beautiful trim work, inside and out, I thought I’d make her one element found in such a structure that stands out for me - a corbel!
Since I’m not sure how they went about making something like this a hundred or so years ago, I’m going to proceed with all the tools I have access to. For the corbel to have strength to support a load, the scrolled part, (the "brace"), would have to have a solid core, therefore it would have to be a “sandwich” of three pieces.
The first step was to make a pattern and I did that using 3/16” Masonite. I traced the two outside pieces on ½” thick poplar and after drilling the holes for inserting the blade, I cut them on the scroll saw, leaving the outside edge uncut. Next, I glue the sandwich together with a piece of 3/4” material in the middle, making sure the top and side edges are in alignment.
After the glue dried, I cut the outside edge on the bandsaw, and if they needed it, I ran the straight sides on the joiner. I used 4x4” material for the wall post and the hammer beam, joining the two with a pinned mortice and tenon.
The originals might have had the cornice bracket or brace joined to the assembly through mortice and tenon also, but since my corbel only supports a gang of bears, I used 3 long screws.
While making it, I thought of some different uses for the corbel. One could set a mailbox or bird feeder on it, or a pair of brackets could be installed on the door jamb, one on each side with a plank on top, as a nice way to display a collection of ____________ (fill in the blank with whatever you like to collect - unless of course, you have a dozen or so bears!)
Stay warm, and as an old friend of ours liked to say, “Be good, or be careful.” Only two more months until spring! Brrrrrr
Yes, you sure did make me smile... even out loud. Yes, we are cold here too. We have had below 0 recently. Love your corbel. You have some great ideas...creative ways to use them.
I like these so well and like Christina, would like to add these to a home I lived in as much as I could! Do you take orders :-)? We are soon to go to Canton, and I believe there is a home in my father-in-law’s neighborhood with some of these, and I plan to really check them out.
I have worked on the top two drawings lately. Blessings
https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/cathy-vinson