Annotation Field Notes
For Annotation Plan see my other Annotation page.


Table of Contents
  1. Recipe
  2. Tools and Materials
  3. Session #1 Lengthening. - Proof of concept - pulling solid and hollow canes through the furnace.
  1. Session #2 Lengthening. - Technique trials 1 - pulling solid and hollow canes through the furnace using different techniques.
  1. Session #3 Lampworking. - Material trials 1 - building glass on different kinds of wire and bending it.
  1. Session #4 Lampworking. - Technique trials 2 - different ways of adding glass to wire and then bending.
  1. Videos
  2. Extra Notes/Analysis

Recipe
Transcription
<page>006v</page>
<image>http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b10500001g/f18.image</image>
<div>
<id>p006v_a1</id>
<head>Pour <del>ga cach</del> cages</head>
<ab>Tu les peulx embellir avecq des <m>canulles</m> d<m>esmail</m> de diverses<lb/>
couleurs en revestant le <m>fil darchal</m> ou de <m>fer</m> desdictes canulles<lb/>
Lesquelles tu rompras nettement a telle longueur que tu vouldras<lb/>
si tu encoches un petit lendroict a rompre avecq une <tl>lime</tl> qui<lb/>
couppe Et ne se rompront poinct en aultre endroict Tu les peulx<lb/>
courber avecq un modelle de <m>bois</m> sur un rechault ou bien a la<lb/>
chaleur de la <tl>lampe</tl> Il se tire aussi si long que tu veulx da{n}s<lb/>
un petit <tl>fourneau</tl> faict comme un <tl>four de reverberation</tl> qui<lb/>
touteffois est perce des deulx costes Et quand la grosse canulle<lb/>
est rouge ilz empoignent le bout chault avecq des <tl>pincettes</tl> a<lb/>
long bec de sorte quune poincte du bec de la pincette entre deda{n}s<lb/>
le bout de la canulle &amp; par ainsy il salonge sans se boucher<lb/>
&amp; laultre bout de la canulle se tient avecq la main pourceque<lb/>
elle nest poinct chaulde Quand la canulle est assez estiree<lb/>
celuy qui travaille assis ayant son <tl>fourneau</tl> de la gra{n}deur<lb/>
dun pot doeillets devant luy la rond &amp; continue Cest pour<lb/>
faire canulles pour cappes qui se couppent comme dict est avecq<lb/>
la <tl>lime</tl> Les <pro>boutonniers aussi de verre</pro> saident dudit <tl>fourneau</tl></ab>
<figure>
<id>fig_p006v_1</id>
<link>https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9-oNrvWdlO5eVFRYjVCTmczcmM</link>
</figure>
<ab>
<margin>right-middle</margin>
soubs la porte y a<lb/>
une grille qui soubstient<lb/>
le <m>charbon</m> allume<lb/>
&amp; la <m>cendre</m> se vuies<lb/>
tournant du <tl>four</tl> ce<lb/>
dessus dessoubs</ab>
Translation
<page>006v</page>
<image>http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b10500001g/f18.image</image>
<div>
<id>p006v_a1</id>
<head>For cages</head>
<ab>You can embellish them with <m>thin</m><m>enamel</m><m>canes</m> of various colors by covering the <m>yellow latten</m> or <m>iron</m> wire with said canes. These you will break neatly into the length that you want if you make a small notch with a cutting <tl>file</tl> at the point where you want to break them, and they will not break anywhere else. You can bend them with a <m>wood</m>en model over a brazier or by the heat of a <tl>lamp</tl>. A cane can be stretched out as long as you want in a small <tl>furnace</tl> made like a <tl>reverberatory oven</tl> but with openings on both sides. And once the large cane is red, they seize the hot end of it with <tl>small pincers</tl> that have long beaks, with one end of the beak inside the end of the cane, so that it may be stretched without becoming blocked. The other end of the cane is held with the hand, as it is not hot. Once the cane is stretched enough, the one who is working seated with his <tl>stove</tl>, the size of a carnation pot, placed in front of him, breaks it off and carries on. This is for making canes for capes, which may be cut, as already mentioned, with a <tl>file</tl>. <pro>Glass-button makers</pro> also use the said <tl>stove</tl>.</ab
<figure>
<id>fig_p006v_1</id>
<link>https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9-oNrvWdlO5eVFRYjVCTmczcmM</link>
</figure
<ab>
<margin>left-middle</margin>
Under the door is a grill that supports the burning <m>charcoal</m>. The <m>ash</m> is emptied by turning the <tl>stove</tl> upside down.</ab>

Tools and Materials
30793322683_c765fcccb6_o.jpg
30793363103_dc8868471e_o.jpg
Furnace in fume hood top: furnace lid fully on bottom: furnace lid open

Session #1
Place: Lab
Participants: Ana Matisse Donefer-Hickie, Anna Elizabeth Riley Joel Klein
Date: Nov. 28, 2016

Workstation Setup:
30793321943_398399435f_o.jpg
Workstation setup with furnace for session #1and2

Notes:
[AMDH] - for this first session we amended the plan significantly as we went. All changes are reflected in the comments.

Iteration #1: Two Participants - Solid Colored Cane
[AMDH] - for this iteration we used solid blue cane.
NOTE: Since I had to use such a range of motions to pull the cane, the iteration #2 described in my workflow was largely abandoned and I moved right to pulling a sample of the clear solid cane.

Iteration #2: Solid Clear Cane
[AMDH] - for this iteration we used solid clear cane.

Iteration #3: Solid Blue Cane - FURNACE ROOF MOVED
[AMDH] after consulting the recipe again, we moved the roof of the furnace back a little bit so i could see the cane in the furnace (since the a-p directs the reader to seize the hot end of the cane once it is "red hot" - a visual instruction - and the roof of the furnace of the diagram in open). We had the roof enclosed because we were afraid of losing heat, but since the furnace was so hot anyway after the first two iterations we weren't so worried about that anymore.
[AER] - goal: keep closer to the formula by keeping the end of tube inside the furnace when grabbing with pincers.

Iteration #4: Hollow clear tube
30793323633_577e836527_o.jpg
Proof of concept trials from session 1.
31487146631_585d3dffff_o.jpg
Some pulled canes from session 1. The one on the bottom is from an early trial. It is not straight. The other two blue canes are from later trials. They are straighter.

Session #2
Place: Lab
Participants: Ana Matisse Donefer-Hickie, Joel Klein, Caitlyn Sellar
Date: Nov. 28, 2016

Workstation Setup:

Pulling thin cane for trials on Friday.
Blue cane and new clear cane from Anna.
Goal: pull thinner canes.

30761741334_4eb1b6bf65_o (1).jpg
Solid blue and Anna's hollow clear canes before pulling

Iteration #1
Solid Blue Cane
Base temp: 23.5C
1:28pm - set furnace to heat to 600C
1:29pm - Joel heating furnace
1:30pm - 600C

Iteration #2 - two people blue cane.
Caitlyn is going to pull while I hold the cane. We will see how we communicate.
1:38 - 638C

Iteration #3 - Anna’s hollow cane 1 person.

Iteration #4 - Anna’s hollow cane 2 people

31230555260_02aa87f588_o.jpg
Canes from iterations 1 and 3.
31565892946_1352326063_o.jpg
Canes from iterations 2 and 4.

Session #3
Place: Lab
Participants: Ana Matisse Donefer-Hickie
Date:

Workstation Setup:
31230555840_2be50075f4_o.jpg
Workstation Setup for Session #3and4

I began by cutting six lengths of brass wire, one for each iteration and one extra.

Iteration #1 - Building (solid)

Iteration #2 - Building (hollow) SKIPPED Instead BRASS
31230558010_4ef4d95e70_o.jpg
Glass built on brass.

Iteration #3 Iron (nail)
31230553240_ef9b7b2665_o.jpg
Glass built on nail.

Iteration #4 Copper (copper staple)
31230556970_cc8f079168_o.jpg
Glass built on copper.

Iteration #5 Galvanized Steel (paperclip)

31565894086_55739d6e7a_o.jpg
Glass built on galvanized steel.

Session #3
Place: Lab
Participants: Ana Matisse Donefer-Hickie
Date: 12/09/16

Workstation Setup:

Iteration #1 - Lamp-wound
31456481592_3d10b2a175_o.jpg
Lamp-winding trrial results.

Iteration #2 - Embedding
31456481782_82124f19fe_o.jpg
Embedding trial results.

Iteration #3 - Covering
31456481242_2de494c8a0_o (1).jpg
Covering trial.

Videos
For Videos please see my folder on the M&K flickr. They are too big to upload here but are very useful and contain many of my experiential field notes.

Extra Notes/Analysis
During my reconstruction, I reproduced a version of this furnace informed by the author-practitioner’s diagram, research into similar period ovens, and research internal to Ms. Fr. 640 and the author-practitioner’s knowledge of furnaces in general. Despite some differences in design (i.e. the use of a blowtorch instead ofcharcoal as a heat source) my furnace worked similarly to the one described in the recipe. I was able to lengthen a hollow cane by drawing it through a hole made through the body of the furnace while observing the glass’ color through the opening in the top to assess its temperature as it heated. My reconstruction indicates only one of many ways that the glass-button makers or the author-practitioner could have constructed this kind of furnace.


I found fusing glass directly onto wire particularly difficult, and ultimately the glass did not stick uniformly. From my experience of glassmaking, I knew that in order to adhere the glass to the metal both had to be quite hot. Heating both the glass and the wire in the small flame at the same time was difficult because the wire heated at a much faster rate than the glass. While both were hot, the glass stuck well to the wire. As both materials cooled at different rates, however, the glass started to come off the wire. Once the wire had a layer of glass, I directed the flame to one section of glass and wire and attempted to bend it, as the author-practitioner suggests. While the wire bent easily (since it was flexible even when cold), the glass had to be very hot to bend with the wire. After I let my trial cool to the touch, however, the bond between glass and wire became very unstable. Some of the glass stayed fused to the wire, but several pieces fell off.


The directed heat needed for lamp-winding made this technique even more difficult than attempting to build glass along the length of the wire. Again, to wind the glass around the wire I had to heat the wire and the glass at the same time. However, getting the glass and wire hot enough while simultaneously completing the precise hand motions necessary to wind the glass around the wire was very difficult. The wire kept getting too hot and melting off into pieces. In the end, I was left with several pieces of wire topped with glass lumps, and a few wires dotted with glass beads. The wire and glass combination seemed too delicate for me to attempt bending it.


The glass cracked several times during my reconstruction. To embed the wire in my glass, I inserted it into the hollow tube. Then, in an attempt to fuse the glass to the wire, I heated the hollow cane in a direct flame. When heated simultaneously in this way, however, the difference between the rate at which glass and wire heat prevented a smooth fusion of glass to wire. The wire heated much more quickly than the glass encasing it. While I did manage to partly fuse the glass to the wire at the very end of the tube, the glass cracked and fell off the wire in several places.