giovedì 24 settembre 2015

Un banco da falegname del XIV secolo / A14th century carpenter's workbench

Questo post non tratta cucito, ma è legato all’attività artigianale di Francesco, la falegnameria.
This post is not about sewing, but it talks about Francesco’s craft, woodworking. 
… and we really hope our English will be understandable even if we don’t know very well specific words.
Banco da lavoro / Workbench

La descrizione del banco / The description of the workbench
L’oggetto in questione è composto da due assi in castagno bloccate assieme tramite due pioli e da due traversi inchiodati e forati; nei fori sono poi inserite le gambe del banco fatte in legno di nocciolo. Per facilitare il trasporto con i nostri mezzi, due gambe sono estraibili mentre due sono fisse.
Per fissare le assi o la legna sul banco, sono stati realizzati due tipi di fermi: 4 sono in ferro battuto in forgia mentre due in legno sono stati fatti al tornio (storico).
I pioli in ferro hanno una parte appiattita in modo da potersi incastrare ancora meglio al legno. Tutti i fermi hanno lo stesso diametro di circa 1,6 cm e  possono essere inseriti nei vari fori realizzati sul banco; sicuramente ne saranno fatti altri per poter utilizzare diverse misure di assi grezze.

The workbench is made with 2 boards in chestnut, placed side by side and fixed together with 2 rods and 2 nailed transverse planks with holes, in which are put the legs of the workbench made in hazel. To make it easier to move with our car, 2 legs can be took off while the other 2 are secured.
To block the planks or the wood on the workbench, I realized 2 different kind of rods: 4 are in forged iron while 2 are in turned wood. The iron rods have a flattened part, useful to secure better the planks. All the rods have the same diameter (about 1,6 cm) and can be inserted in the different holes made on the workbench: I will make more of them so I can work with different sizes of planks. 


Le fonti / Sources
L’iconografia riportante questo tipo di strumento copre diversi secoli (XIV-XVI sec.) nonostante alternative al banco siano spesso utilizzate specialmente quando l’asse era molto lunga: un paio di cavalletti erano decisamente più comodi, così come due pali scavati erano sicuramente più versatili e adattabili a diversi tipi di tavole o assi.

Français 2092, fol. 75v, Construction de Saint-Denis-de-l'Estrée
Latin 511, fol. 5, Construction du Temple
The sources showing this kind of tool are spread through many centuries (14th – 16th century), despite there are different options, expecially when the boards were very long: a couple of sawhorses are definetly more convenient, and also 2 poles with slots are more adaptable to different dimensions of boards and planks. 


1423,Noah building the Ark in the Bedford Hours, British Library, London, UK. Manuscript Add. MS 18850, folio15v


1461,Spanish Book of Hours,The British Library,
London, UK. Manuscript Add. 18193, folio 48v
Utilizzo del banco
Per lavorazioni di assi più piccole questo tipo di banco risulta indispensabile poichè non è possibile fissare i pezzi di legno più corti su due cavalletti, che devono essere un minimo distanti tra loro, mentre con il banco si possono facilmente tenere fermi, realizzando pioli più bassi  o spessori per alzare la tavola da lavorare alla giusta altezza e fissarla senza troppa difficoltà.
Hausbuch der Mendelschen
Zwölfbrüderstiftung, Band 1. Nürnberg
1426–1549. Stadtbibliothek Nürnberg,
Amb. 317.2°
Vediamo quindi come questo banco, realizzato in piccole dimensioni, si possa collocare in un ambiente “casalingo” o comunque chiuso, ma  possa anche essere usato, se di dimensione adeguata, nei grandi cantieri, luoghi in cui le altre soluzioni trovano quasi esclusivamente il loro impiego.

To work on smaller pieces this kind of workbench is necessary, because it’s not possible to secure shorter planks on 2 sawhorses, that have to be at least a little far from each other, while with the workbench they can be easily secured, making shorter rods or shims to lift the plank and easily fix it.
We can see that this workbench, which is made in small scale, can be used in a “domestic” or closed setting, but it can also be used, if it’s in an adequate dimension, in big building sites, places where the other tools are most commonly used. 





1390, Pietro di Puccio, campo-santo Pisa



5 commenti:

  1. This is a very cool workbench! The iron dogs are also on the wish list for my bench. Another way to secure your work to the bench using the (wooden) dogs is to have two (or four) dogs sticking out on either side of your work, and using two (or four when using 4 dogs) wedges to clamp it fast. The type of securing can be seen with the planing man on the bedford hours image.
    How is the stability of your bench when using a plane? I am curious about this because my workbench is horrible for planing. This is mainly due to the fact that the bench has to be dissembled to fit in the car, and thus the legs are a bit loose.

    Greetings Marijn - St. Thomasguild

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. Hi Marijn, thank you for the compliments.
      About the stability, I used the workbench only for two times, but it seems quite stable: two legs are fixed in the holes, the others two instead are free. To block better the legs, I insert the legs in the hole with one or two pieces of fabric (in the first image of the post, you can see the fabric on the legs on the right). In addition the workbench is heavy and I think it is improve the stability..but it's too early to say how much it is stable.

      Elimina
  2. Questo commento è stato eliminato dall'autore.

    RispondiElimina
  3. Dear Anna and Francesco,
    I would like some advice/tips from you if possible. We (half of the Thomasguild) are planning our holiday to the Tuscan region this year, travelling by car from the Netherlands. Can you recommend some places to see medieval furniture (also en route through northern Italy) or other 14th century things?
    I can drop my private email if that is easier.
    Best regards,
    Marijn - St. Thomasguild

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. Hi Marijn, feel free to send an e-mail to tacuinum.medievale[at]gmail.com so I can send you more detailed information!

      Elimina