Very early
examples of European and American taper holders sometimes show them as just the expanded
"tulip" opening worked out on horn-and-anvil on each iron bar. But this
design will drip wax on those below (our forebears were more rugged I guess, and
just sat and watched their evening TV while the wax dribbled down on their tricorn hats
one presumes). Therefore I made most of mine with "babiche" saucers
at their bases. I used to sweat little nail studs there too to help impale the
taper. We were kinda bigtime into tapers now and then: I have my grandfather's
candle mold from the cabin he was born in (1873) back in the "Ohio country" (as
he always called it). Sometimes I would melt up batch of these modern junk candles
and back-cast them in grandad's mold. Way to go!
I went on to
make some really nice chandeliers, I think - all given away now. One - my master
work - I forged up several layers or banks of lights you see, and all coming off big
(foot high!) pineapple (Colonial symbol of hospitality) I turned on my lathe from old
locust trunk (hence, it is kinda yellowish which is just fine). This I then rubbed
down as I did all my wood with linseed oil, turps and pumice only. I forged up nice
long steel leaves for the pineapple, too, and hand-filed and hand-cut a thousand-and-one
diamond facets into its surface to simulate a real pineapple. The whole thing hangs
on long (hand-forged!) chain - must all weigh 100 pounds maybe? I hung it in our big
den once from overhead beams. It needs to be hung with long fall on its chain over
my old dining table where friends and family can gather and eat and drink like we once
did.
The real way
to hang these you see is on block-and-fall (what you lubbers call a rope and
pulley). Then when the mistress wants to start her dinner, she lowers the chandelier
to eye-level - lights the tapers - and hoists it back in place again. (The one shown
here was not hung that way).
"Landlord
- fill the flowing bowl!" If I have to move in under a tree somewhere sometime
and just live a natural', I am going to get that chandelier out of storage and hang
it from a tree limb over me if I need to, and light it and then sit down by the
campfire and eat my dinner under it again some night.
Wave as you go
by! |
