So Many Details....

 

 Glue, Glue, Gluing....

One of the complicated parts of this Castle Entrance, Dear Readers, is figuring out which little detail needs to be taken care of Before another one is accomplished, because attempting to manage it later would be too difficult. And since it is really the door And the Electrical systems I am building, it requires that I jump all over the place! So it is that Before I can attach the outer wall to the stairs and electrical box, I need to finish the doors themselves (as well as the electrical wiring, but more about that later!). Above, you can see I have "painted" the boards for the doors and the hinges too. This is following the same method I started years ago, and while there are surely more sophisticated methods of making doors, this is the one I have used for the Castle. I am, after all, just building a Castle Dollhouse from plywood! And after painting the brass hinges, I baked the sculpey "hinge straps" along the same model as for all the doors. And glued them in place. I use basic wood glue for this.

They are big, bold and bulky, and meant to be

 wrought iron and therefore strong as a defense.

You must recall that this castle is a fortress,

 and these are the only ground floor doors,

 so they need to be really sturdy!

And as I was thinking about how they would have 

"barred the doors" from the inside in a real castle,

 I wanted to try to make a way for it to work here!

After a whole lot of fiddling and no picture taking

 I came up with this...

 

This is the inside view. 

The long bar is screwed from the outside

 (so I can access it if need be!)

and so I can turn the screw to make the bar go up and down.

When down, it slots into both the door "holds" 

and prevents the doors from swinging out, or open.

And when it is "up", the bar stands vertically at the side, 

allowing the doors to open.

(It also fits under the stairs which step right up above it)

Here is the view from the outside with the bar in the "up" position.

You can imagine how giddy I was that it actually worked!

The bar and the holds will get a coat of paint, 

but they can be seen better in photos this way.

I began to paint primer on the lowest part of the walls... 

and cut the remaining side wall for the bottom section of the stairs.

I will need to paint the "rocks" on the interior

 of the entry area before gluing this wall in!

I added the one door "handle" that would be needed

 on the outside of the stable doors.

The black sheetrock screw head you can see

 just to the left of the door is the control for the "bar".

It will remain uncovered and accessible.

 All other screw heads will eventually be spackled over and painted.

I also added the door handle to the inner stables door.

The wooden "bar holds" on the doors are

 only glued together, using wood glue.

I have debated adding screws for strength.... 

but for now I am relying on just the glue!

Here you can see where the bar goes down...

(it is tightly attached with the screw so it doesn't just "fall" down.)

And from inside the stables, you can see it when it is closed.

If it is ever necessary, I can reach in

 and manually lift it to the "up" position.

But we are still a long way from being ready

 to glue this wall in place, Dear Readers, 

as the electrical wires have not been finished.

And as they are still all dangling off the back wall of the Tower,

 I have been trying to complete a few other little details

 while the glue for the wires is drying and the back wall is available!

Specifically, the exterior windows "rock" trim has yet to be added!

I started with the "sills" for the windows.

And much to my chagrin,

 I realized that I'd done a terrible job of it

 when I built the little window way in the corner of The Lord's Bedchamber!

You can see the way the "inner frame" sticks out from the wall...

 when it is supposed to be flush!

This means all the new Outer "rock" trim

 will have to be notched to fit over the uneven surface.

A tedious and finicky process!

Here they have been glued on.

 I have not even begun to cut the arched window "caps"...

 and still need to design them!

The exterior window frames are exposed to the elements... 

and also are part of the "look" of the castle as a whole!

(I am working on it....)

Meanwhile.... there are a whole lot of wires needing glue... 

and before I can glue them, 

I need to be sure they are positioned correctly and function right...!

I am glad to say progress is being made!

The Lord's Bed Chamber lights all work beautifully

 and are exactly what is required for this room!

In case you needed a reminder,

 this is the Bedchamber (using flash)

There are two candles and the fireplace flame... 

for a total of three 12 v. bulbs.

(The outlet strip is designed to hold twelve plugs, 

so I need to be counting!)

 

Knowing that all those lights were "perfect"

 meant I could confidently glue those wires

 into their newly carved channel!

 I am using Aileen's Quick Dry Glue for this step, 

in part because it dries quickly 

but also because it doesn't get too brittle.

It also dries semi-clear and will not "yellow".

For now I am leaving all these buried wires uncovered.

The next chamber down is the Lord's Council Chamber....

Which you can see here (in case you haven't seen it before!)

It has a fireplace and two candles in the mantelpiece,

 and holders for two torches along the wall.

Alas, those torches have not yet been made!

I had made all the lights for the lower rooms of the castle

 waaaay back in the beginning... 2011 to be exact...

 and had not made any more torches since! 

(I will need to research my methods.... !)

So I cannot glue the torch wires in place for this room....

 But I did glue the hearth wires.....!

I know.... it is dark and gloomy!

It does need the torches on the side wall.... 

and it is a Medieval Castle!

Meanwhile, the Guard Room Torches,

 the first ones I had made all those years ago, needed repairs.

I designed them so that the light bulb, which is changeable,

 can be removed by lifting it up 

pulling the wire through the "torchere" at the top.

 But it is intended to only have to lift up a short way,

 because most of the wire will be glued into the walls

(I leave a small amount slack at the base of the torch).

What you see on the floor above, 

will not be possible once the wires are glued in!

What you can't see here (because I had already fixed it!)

is that the "torchere" part of the torch

 had been knocked apart and was crooked, only held on by the wire.

It needed to be reglued.... but I needed to be sure no glue

 got on the wire which needed to be able to be pulled freely through

 the "torchere" to change a bulb if necessary!

I had originally made these with superglue.

The solution was to very carefully wrap the wire

 in a tiny collar of cardstock where the two parts would be reglued. 

Then add the superglue and push the two pieces together

 over the cardstock collar!

It worked! (Whew!!)

And while I was making repairs

 I thought I would finally try an idea 

that I had been thinking of for years.... 

upgrading the look of the torch "flame"!

So that it actually looks a little more like "Flame"!

And for comparison with the original "flame"...

Really no comparison!

Now I just need to make more of these "flames"....

And just for reference... the whole Guard Room

 with the flash turned on...

And with just the torches lit!

I think the new flames will be an improvement.

The new flames are just plastic packaging painted with acrylic paint,

 wrapped in a cone shape and placed around the bulb in the "torchere".

Here I am making another with a slightly yellower flame....

As always, I like the first one best.... 

and will work on "upgrading" all the torches in the castle!

So you can see, Dear Readers, 

I have been dealing with So Many Details....

And jumping all over the place

 with Glue, Glue and More Gluing!

Lilacs... And Labors of Love....

 

 Castle Windows Again...

It is Hard to ignore The Folly Lilac, Dear Readers, when the morning sun is shining on it, as it was this past weekend. I, like Will and Gabrielle, had to stop to admire the loveliness and grab a few pictures in those brief moments. And yes, it is a reminder that the months and Months of focused labor to create this blossoming shrub, were so worth it in the end! And sometimes I need that reminding as I slog through some of my other Endless-seeming projects, unable to see the goal posts in the distance! I was home on vacation last week and was thus able to tackle one of those daunting tasks I have set myself with the Castle construction. I refer to the hinged leaded glass windows which I deemed necessary to my happiness when I started this project! Believe me, I dare not even count the number of windows there are still to be made! But I can say I have completed one more of them! It took me most of the week to accomplish!

You might be amused to know that I thought

 I might be able to get all three of the remaining windows

 in this room done while on my vacation!

The one I began with was the one on the side wall

 with the lovely window seat that you see in the above picture.

I have developed a complicated method

 since all the windows are different

 and are quite irregular in their shape.

(They are all "arched" but the arches are all

 cut by hand and uneven to say the least!)

The first step is to make a paper pattern that fits

 the shape of the window, inside and outside,

 because you will need two thin frames made from plywood.

Here is the interior one.

And here is the plywood piece for the inner one,

 shown with the flash so you can see how

 it fits inside the window opening.

Here is that viewed from the outside, 

so you can see the space for the outer frame to fit too, 

once it is cut out.

(It was at this point that I optimistically thought

 I might just start the other two windows as well!)

The next step is to cut out the "opening" for

 each window from the solid plywood.

Since the window is two sections, an upper and a lower,

 I begin by cutting across the middle and then around the sides.

The center crossbars will be added separately to make the frame.

Remember there are two of each section

 and you have to keep track of which side is the inner and which the outer

 or it will not fit the opening when finished!

Here they are being given a coat of primer.

Then I cut the glass panes to fit inside the window opening.

They need to be large enough that

 the frames will overlap their edges enough

 to hold them securely in the frame.

Here you can see the pattern I have drawn

 so my lead lines will maybe look straight and even!

The lead lines need to fit inside the opening

 of the frame so I am testing the fit of my pattern.

Then I apply the "lead" paint to the

 glass panes and leave it to cure overnight.

At this point it looks terrible... 

much too blobby and uneven and thick lines.

But I have learned that I can trim them later

 when they are partly dry.

I use a sharp exacto knife to trim all the lines.

The arched pane has been done. 

I hope you think it looks a little better!

Here you can see how the frame gets "inner supports"

 added along the edges to keep the glass in place.

All the wood is 1/8 inch stock,

 so the three layers make the window the same thickness

 as the Castle walls which are 3/8 inch plywood.

Here is the lower window frame with the glass in place.

And the top section of the window

 (which does not open)

 is glued in place.

Here is the view from inside 

with the flash on so you can see it...

 it is getting late again!

Because the lower section needs to swing open on Hinges...!

(Yes, this is necessary!)

It takes much longer to complete. 

Here it is being fitted to the opening again...

 and also tested for "swing" allowance.

I will need to trim along the side away from the hinges

 once the hinges are in place.

Please forgive the glare of those Large, Shiny Brass Hinges!

I love them because they are sturdy

 and do fit into the thickness of a 3/8 inch thick wall!

Carving out the rebates to fit them is another challenge. 

Exacto knives, saws, chisels, sore knuckles, swear words...

And then trying to drill the holes for the screws

 into the side of the window opening...

But I managed it well enough! 

(Not perfect, but functional!) 

And attaching the window frame to the hinges...

The open window from the inside!

All it needs now, Dear Readers, is the shutters...

and the window surround trim stones...

Which always takes longer than I think it will!

Cutting, painting, fitting.... adding Hinges!

Here you can see it with the flash, only partly done.

Top section in place....

Both sections attached... 

and the window surround "stones" also done...

with the flash so you can see them!

And both of them open, with the flash on...

And the window open with no flash...

yes, it is dark and atmospheric...

As a Castle should be!

And can we begin to glimpse why all this labor

 is going to be worth it in the end, Dear Readers?

Or do we need another Reminder...

Visiting for a moment the Lovely Lilac,

Even though the sun has gone.

Yes, I have faith that these Labors of Love

 are Worth it in the end!