24 Hour Classes
INSTRUCTOR:
Ursula Dyrbye-Skovsted, Artisan
COURSE:
Wood and Metal Wire
PROJECT:
Early 1800 Period Birdcage
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Collecting birds and their “accommodations” has been an intriguing passion for thousands of years. The earliest evidence of birdcages as a decorative item is found in ancient Asia where a bird could show how important a family was due to how beautiful it sang or how pretty its feathers were. Throughout history an expensive and rare bird was often shown in a decorative cage. Beautiful examples of these can still be found around the world. This class project from the first half of 1800’s is an example of a fancy and delicate European table top walnut birdcage with inlay.
Students will be introduced to both delicate wirework and fine woodwork including basic inlaying. To concentrate on machining the frames for the evenly spaced bars, some of the basic wood pieces will be provided pre-cut to give more time for the work of assembling the individual wires. Details include a curved top, copper-lined drawer, and inlaid light wood banding on the front.
The brass and nickel silver wire top is tin soldered with an ordinary soldering iron in a specially made jig, holding the multiple wires in place. A shellac finish will be applied and the sides, door, and top wires will be assembled. The cage will completed with specially made cast brass feet and flame & urn finials.
TIME:
24 hours. Students should finish, but may need to work some extra hours because this is an aggressive project; or they may choose to leave out some details.
POWER TOOLS:
table saw, moto tool, drill press
SKILL LEVEL:
Intermediate and advanced. Due to the fragile nature of this project students need experience working on very fine miniatures. The spacing of wires requires very good eyesight and the assembly requires a delicate touch.
MATERIALS FEE:
$110 to be collected at school. Optional birds and accessories may be offered.