Glue... Getting Where We're Going....

 

One Rock At a Time...

I Always feel Very ambitious, Dear Readers, when starting a three day weekend, and assume I will make tons of progress on my current projects. I was actually hoping to get a lot of the parts of the Lord's Bedchamber finally glued in place! Alas, the time was consumed with lots of fiddling and fidgeting and fitting unexpected "little" pieces that needed to be done before the permanent step of gluing could happen. Above you can see the Chamber as it looked on Saturday morning, but it is deceptive because so many of those pieces are not yet attached. And sometimes figuring out which ones have to be glued Before others can be glued is time consuming itself! But it was early in the weekend and I had determined to get as much "finished" as I could, starting with the stair wall on the left. What you can't see in the above picture is that the wall is a bit warped. and because it no longer spans the whole room front to back like the lower levels, it needs to be attached very firmly. So I got out my drill and screws and drilled the wall where it would attach by the nook in the rear. I couldn't wait to get it glued in place so I could figure out the corner trim... but then I realized I couldn't glue it until the ceiling arches, at least the one at the back of the room, were attached... and I shouldn't attach the arch until I had completed the upper section of the Hearth... and so it went. I got the hearth out and went to work on it first!

You will have to excuse the dark photos... 

it had become a very stormy and gloomy day

 and I don't always remember to take pictures with the flash.... 

because I usually think they look awful!

I had fiddled with the trim for the upper part of the chimney breast. 

Originally I wanted to make something more "ornate", 

but then I reasoned that this was just a "private" room

 and not made for display of wealth or power.

This room is not meant to be as Grand as the Council Chamber

 and the hearth would not be as big.

Here you can see the screw holes in the end of the stair wall...

(ah... that blinding flash...!)

And with the stairwall and ceiling removed....

But still, I realized I had better get the Hearth completed

 before I tried to attach the ceiling arch or the wall.

With the flash, you can see where the rear arch spans

 behind where the side wall will attach.

 Here I have propped the corner trim in place

 to see how it will look... 

but nothing is glued because the Hearth still needs work.

Here you can see it in the Morning light... 

I know, it is still pretty dark... 

but it is supposed to be a Dark Old Castle!

The hearth is removed for detailing.... 

it needed better paint application and grout lines at least!

And in case you wanted to know how much was Not Yet Attached....

all the loose pieces have been taken down.

And while we're at it, I decided to finish "strengthening" 

the central arch where it crosses the stairs behind that wall....

 not that it will be very visible,

 but I will feel better knowing it is there!

And since we are finishing the Hearth,

 it will need to have the "smoke" effect I like to use

 with the glitter strewn gauze...

It would be a mistake to skip this step!

And the interior of the hearth needed 

to be blackened from all the smoke...

And we need to see how it will look 

with the partly finished chimney breast in place...

Without the flash.....

And the wall and ceiling added....

And because I can't stand the suspense of not having the "fire" ready... 

I have borrowed the fire from the Hardwick Hall Attic.....

And run the wires out the back to the plug strip...

But the flash just Kills the effect....

Without the flash it is awesomely moody...

(I know, you can barely see it...!)

From a little farther back... 

Can I get more ambient light in there....?

 

And a little farther back...?

Can you see where we're going...?

 

I don't know about you, Dear Readers,

 but I don't mind that I only glued

 two pieces in place all Weekend.

I can see it is coming together... 

One Rock at a Time!