I popped out earlier to visit a second-hand book sale in the village of Hilgay. Got six interesting books for just £9. Mostly art books, with one on restoring antiques, and another – yet another – on Waterloo. We plan to use some of the printed artwork in the art books around the house: I’ll chop ’em out, make frames, etc.
Back in the shed… er, I mean workshop, I loaded a bunch of stuff on to the newly painted set of shelves, and touched up the paintwork on the floor and adjacent wall. Later on I hope to get ye olde table back in there, and poss’ also to make a start on the ‘tool’ chest. Altho’ quite where I’ll put the latter, I don’t know!?
Returning to the books. I got a lovely old pocket-sized 1886 edition of Isaac Walton’s ‘The Complete Angler’, and the book Michelangelo and Raphael in the Vatican features some great reproductions, including a number that fold out, some making five-page spreads. Lovely stuff!
Funnily enough we’d just watched the episode ‘The Artist As Hero’ this morning, from Kenneth Clark’s magnificent Civilisation, which concentrates on Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo da Vinci. So that particular book came quite serendipitously!
I tried moving the old table back into the workshop. But it wouldn’t quite fit. So I smashed it up. It was in a very bad way, with woodworm, advanced rot, it was practically falling apart. I’m going to use the timber for firewood! I just managed to squeeze the old chest into the space. Although even then I had to take some bits off to get it in. I’ll make a top of some sort for it ASAP.
I’ve taken the sides from the wardrobe, which I’ve had to cut and laminate: two layers, each of one wide piece and one narrow piece, with the top layer reversed, so the four pieces all overlap and reinforce each other. Pictured below the wood is buried under a load of heavy art books, to help it glue up.
