Post by kevkon on May 4, 2009 17:30:22 GMT -5
Here is a step by step guide on the process required to make a substitution of rail 16 ( or any other part of the kidnap ladder). Remember, this ladder has been exhaustively studied and recorded for 2 1/2 years so there's no room for error if a successful substitution is going to get by.
STEP 1: The very first step is probably the easiest, finding the proper species of would to enable a switch. In this case the wood required for rail 16 is Southern Yellow Pine. It's a very common wood found in the Southern states and used extensively for general construction. Typical of homes of the period, it would be employed as sheathing and subfloors. In the case of the Rausch apartment attic it was used as the attic floor.
STEP 2: Now that a source for the wood substitute has been found ( the attic floor) the next step is to verify that the flooring has been milld to the same thickness as the ladder rail and that the machine marks left by the surface planer match those of the original rail 16. That means that the milling marks left on the surface of the wood are from a planer with the same amount of blades revolving at the same speed and that the wood was fed thru the machine at the same rate as that of the original rail 16. Not so easy. there were numerous mills in the South processing Yellow Pine at that period supplying the lumberyards in the North. These mills used a variety of planers, cutterhead configurations and speeds. The chance that the wood on the attic floor is going to have the same machine marks ( or in other words was planed at the same mill using the same equipment and set-up) is an incredible longshot. Let's say by some incredible luck it happens to match, now on to step 3.
STEP 3: Now you have the right wood with the proper thickness and machine marks. You now have to match the grain, figure and knots to the rail. The attic has a fair amount of pine to pick from but it will soon be apparent that getting a proper length with a matching appearance will not be that easy. Another problem, what if the "perfect piece " happens to be in the field and not the first or last board? What would the odds now be that one could find the substitute rail with the very same thickness, planer marks and appearance and that this board would just happen to be the first course? Because if it's not, you have your work cut out for you. Another big problem, grain in processed wood runs according to how the board was cut from the tree it came from. It can run in many directions. You must be certain the grain in the substitute matches this. But that's pretty hard to ascertain with a board nailed to the floor. You also can't see the back face of that floorboard, will it to match the back of the ladder rail? Ok , now let's say you have managed to find the perfect match and incredibly it was on the first course and even more incredibly once pryed from the floor it's grain orientation and backface are a match, on to the next step.
Step 4: Now you must take this 1" x 6" floor board and make it the same overall size as the original rail. This involves ripping it to width and cutting to length. You must then "dress" the edges with a hand plane. To do this convincingly it would be advisable to have Hauptmann's tools at hand. That might not be so easy as they have been confiscated. Let's say it's possible and move on to the next step.
STEP 5: Now the substitute board must be mortised for the rungs and drilled for the dowel holes. To do this you must have; the original ladder ( or at least rail 16), Hauptmann's saws and some wood chisels, a workbench, and some sort of means to clamp the wood. You must make your cuts exactly as those on the original, anything less will be red flag.
STEP 6: Now that you have the substitute board cut and dressed to the proper size with all of the mortises cut and holes drilled you are ready to assemble it. You must have the complete ladder at hand for this task as well as the nails. This is a much harder task than one might think. That new rail is dry and hard with age so driving common nails into without splitting it to pieces or sending a nail thru the side of the rail is quite a challenge.
STEP 7: OK, you now have a completed ladder with the new rail. But you are not done yet. That ladder has been around and it has been dis-assembled and re-assembled many times. That means the relatively soft woods (pine) used in it's construction has been damaged. Edges are no longer sharp, mortises have enlarged by the removal of the rungs. In essence it has been aged. You now must mimic this on your brand new rail.
STEP 8: You are almost done. Now for the last and probably most difficult step of all. You have just taken a piece of flooring from a nice dry and protected attic and substituted it for a rail on a ladder which has seen all types of exposure. The tone and color just don't match. Now here's the kicker; remember the Silver Nitrate used to expose latent prints? Well it left a permanent discoloration to the wood. What's worse, that discoloration has faded over time. You now must match this discoloration on the substitute rail. You can't simply apply Silver Nitrate as that would not match the faded color of the rest of the ladder. You must somehow dilute this stain or find some other agent to use. You have one shot at this, get it even slightly wrong and that new rail will stand out like a sore thumb.
STEP 9: You are done! Just get the ladder and tools back without anyone noticing.
STEP 1: The very first step is probably the easiest, finding the proper species of would to enable a switch. In this case the wood required for rail 16 is Southern Yellow Pine. It's a very common wood found in the Southern states and used extensively for general construction. Typical of homes of the period, it would be employed as sheathing and subfloors. In the case of the Rausch apartment attic it was used as the attic floor.
STEP 2: Now that a source for the wood substitute has been found ( the attic floor) the next step is to verify that the flooring has been milld to the same thickness as the ladder rail and that the machine marks left by the surface planer match those of the original rail 16. That means that the milling marks left on the surface of the wood are from a planer with the same amount of blades revolving at the same speed and that the wood was fed thru the machine at the same rate as that of the original rail 16. Not so easy. there were numerous mills in the South processing Yellow Pine at that period supplying the lumberyards in the North. These mills used a variety of planers, cutterhead configurations and speeds. The chance that the wood on the attic floor is going to have the same machine marks ( or in other words was planed at the same mill using the same equipment and set-up) is an incredible longshot. Let's say by some incredible luck it happens to match, now on to step 3.
STEP 3: Now you have the right wood with the proper thickness and machine marks. You now have to match the grain, figure and knots to the rail. The attic has a fair amount of pine to pick from but it will soon be apparent that getting a proper length with a matching appearance will not be that easy. Another problem, what if the "perfect piece " happens to be in the field and not the first or last board? What would the odds now be that one could find the substitute rail with the very same thickness, planer marks and appearance and that this board would just happen to be the first course? Because if it's not, you have your work cut out for you. Another big problem, grain in processed wood runs according to how the board was cut from the tree it came from. It can run in many directions. You must be certain the grain in the substitute matches this. But that's pretty hard to ascertain with a board nailed to the floor. You also can't see the back face of that floorboard, will it to match the back of the ladder rail? Ok , now let's say you have managed to find the perfect match and incredibly it was on the first course and even more incredibly once pryed from the floor it's grain orientation and backface are a match, on to the next step.
Step 4: Now you must take this 1" x 6" floor board and make it the same overall size as the original rail. This involves ripping it to width and cutting to length. You must then "dress" the edges with a hand plane. To do this convincingly it would be advisable to have Hauptmann's tools at hand. That might not be so easy as they have been confiscated. Let's say it's possible and move on to the next step.
STEP 5: Now the substitute board must be mortised for the rungs and drilled for the dowel holes. To do this you must have; the original ladder ( or at least rail 16), Hauptmann's saws and some wood chisels, a workbench, and some sort of means to clamp the wood. You must make your cuts exactly as those on the original, anything less will be red flag.
STEP 6: Now that you have the substitute board cut and dressed to the proper size with all of the mortises cut and holes drilled you are ready to assemble it. You must have the complete ladder at hand for this task as well as the nails. This is a much harder task than one might think. That new rail is dry and hard with age so driving common nails into without splitting it to pieces or sending a nail thru the side of the rail is quite a challenge.
STEP 7: OK, you now have a completed ladder with the new rail. But you are not done yet. That ladder has been around and it has been dis-assembled and re-assembled many times. That means the relatively soft woods (pine) used in it's construction has been damaged. Edges are no longer sharp, mortises have enlarged by the removal of the rungs. In essence it has been aged. You now must mimic this on your brand new rail.
STEP 8: You are almost done. Now for the last and probably most difficult step of all. You have just taken a piece of flooring from a nice dry and protected attic and substituted it for a rail on a ladder which has seen all types of exposure. The tone and color just don't match. Now here's the kicker; remember the Silver Nitrate used to expose latent prints? Well it left a permanent discoloration to the wood. What's worse, that discoloration has faded over time. You now must match this discoloration on the substitute rail. You can't simply apply Silver Nitrate as that would not match the faded color of the rest of the ladder. You must somehow dilute this stain or find some other agent to use. You have one shot at this, get it even slightly wrong and that new rail will stand out like a sore thumb.
STEP 9: You are done! Just get the ladder and tools back without anyone noticing.