New Source for Icon Boards

The practice of living the life in Christ: fasting, vigil lamps, head-coverings, family life, icon corners, and other forms of Orthopraxy. All Forum Rules apply. No polemics. No heated discussions. No name-calling.
User avatar
Barbara
Protoposter
Posts: 3983
Joined: Sat 29 September 2012 6:03 pm

Re: New Source for Icon Boards

Post by Barbara »

Yes, this is a consideration I hadn't thought of.

I do have one of those plastic covered buttons of Metropolitan Philaret in my car. So far it seems all right. But
having the plastic in heat right near one is never a good idea, for as we know the compounds exude some toxins probably over time and sped up by high temperatures outdoors.

The wood of the icon board if not coated with anything, as Fr Mark offers as an option, might be safer. Is there glue though on the back of the print which adheres it to the board ? That glue might disintegrate over time, causing the icon print to separate or crinkle.

Perhaps a safer, non-toxic version of wood glue could be used for those of us who are particular about health !

The metal icon does sound like the longest-wearing style of icon for auto use. Have you seen any around, Maria, which some of the readers who may be also concerned about this can shop for ?

Mark Templet
Member
Posts: 154
Joined: Mon 6 August 2007 2:59 pm
Location: Abita Springs, LA

Re: New Source for Icon Boards

Post by Mark Templet »

I would say that the use of the boards that I make wouldn't be suitable for cars. Theses boards are for traditional iconography. The ones that I make fully prepared for paint (that have been gessoed) are definitely susceptible to extremes of temperature and moisture, especially since I use the traditional rabbit skin glue. Wood itself expands and contracts naturally during the year but in a car this could be more so to the point of ruining the icon. Theses are intended for churches or home use. I would hate to see one "fail" under the wrong conditions, especially when they take some hard work to produce even with power tools.

Fr. Mark Templet
ROAC

User avatar
Barbara
Protoposter
Posts: 3983
Joined: Sat 29 September 2012 6:03 pm

Re: New Source for Icon Boards

Post by Barbara »

Fr. Mark,

Thank you for replying and shining a light on the process. What you said about the hard work with power tools got
me interested to get a vague sense of the process you have to go through to obtain the icon board to be in top form.

If you don't want to give anything away about the details of your work, that is fine and understandable. But if you
feel like explaining anything about how you get the wood looking perfect, I would be interested. Like, particular saws do this kind of work ? I am not good with any of this myself, but I am curious, seeing your web page.

Great work !

Mark Templet
Member
Posts: 154
Joined: Mon 6 August 2007 2:59 pm
Location: Abita Springs, LA

Re: New Source for Icon Boards

Post by Mark Templet »

You're quite welcome!
It's no big secret. I start with some kind of hardwood. Usually, I use poplar but one of my parishioners brought me a bunch of cherry, ash, and some magnolia that makes gorgeous icons. Any hard wood with a closed grain would work. Depending on how rough the wood is, I have to trim it down to a uniform width on my table saw. I then surface the top and bottom on my surface plainer. Then depending on the size I am going for, I might have to glue two or more boards together along the edge. I do this a certain way to reduce the chance of warping in the future. Usually, I also carve out channels in the back of the boards to accept staves that lock the wood in place and further tremendously reduce the chance of warping. I usually use an different wood for this (oak, ash, walnut, hickory, etc.), it is a very pretty contrast when completed. With all that done, if the board is to have the kovcheg (the depressed area that makes up the center of the board, I carve that out with a router. That step has then the hardest to get satisfactory results. I have tried several set ups and jigs to get an accurate and repeatable process. All of this is followed by sanding until the board is very smooth.
The board then has a piece of fabric (usually canvas or broadcloth) that is glued down to the surface using rabbit skin glue. This takes several applications. It stiffens that canvas and adheres it to the wood very well.
Once the fabric is all dry and trimmed on the board, then the application of gesso begins. Gesso is traditionally a mixture of rabbit skin glue, chalk, marble dust, and water. It take a while to build up many layers of this (usually 12 or more layers). Once that is dry, I start sanding the surface with progressively finer grits of sandpaper until it is a surface that is completely smooth like glass.
That's when the icon board is ready for the iconographer to begin their work.
The traditional finish on the icon and the entire board is boiled linseed oil. This protects the egg tempura and preserves the wood very well. After that a very gentle application of the same oil every 10-15 years would probably make the life of an icon last for well over a thousand years.

Fr. Mark Templet
ROAC

Post Reply