Restoration & Stencil Making Part 2:
Throughout the "golden
age" of American clock making ( 1810~1900) a number of different
techniques were utilized to create and apply artistic designs to the
glass tablets in clock doors. Early designs used relatively simple
techniques to create tablets with bold lines and interesting
geometric patterns. By mid-century, new technologies were perfected
that allowed creation of complex "fine-line" designs for
tablets that could not have been created using a stencil. Today, due
to age and treatment, these clock tablets are found in a wide range
of conditions ranging from near-perfect to tablets where almost all
of the image has been lost.
The ability to restore
or recreate tablets is a very useful skill but many restorers with
exceptional abilities in a wide range of other restoration
techniques often shy away from tablet work because they feel that it
is just too artistic for them to master. Fortunately, using some
modern techniques, it is possible for any crafts-person with basic
skills and patience to recreate even the most complex tablet images.
In part one
of this series a procedure was presented for creating very accurate artwork for a
clock tablet. In this presentation that artwork will be used to
begin to create a high quality finished tablet using relatively simple techniques.
Part-three in this series will present a second method to get the
image onto glass. This additional technique is
somewhat more complex to execute than the method shown here, but
more closely matches the techniques originally used in tablet
production. While each method achieves the same end result, both should be studied to determine
which technique works best for you. Ultimately, the correct method
is a combination of application and personal preference.
The earliest and
most well known method for applying a pattern to glass is the
stencil. For clock tablets, stencils were hand cut from card stock then used repeatedly
until too worn or damaged to be used further. This technique worked
quite well for applying relatively bold-lined images to glass on a
mass-production basis. William Fenn is the best known maker of
stencils for clock tablets. He began working with Seth Thomas in 1829 and
then in to his own stencil-making business.
designs, it is possible to hand cut a stencil in the traditional
Fenn fashion. While time consuming and tedious, this is still a
valid approach for certain applications. However, as images
become more complex hand-cutting hundreds of individual "cells" opens up a lot of opportunity for mistakes.
By 1860 stencils were losing favor being replaced by more
sophisticated techniques such direct-to-glass-printing. This technique
utilized a lithography approach that allowed creation of highly
detailed, very fine-line designs that simply could not be produced
by using a stencil.
Many of the highly detailed gold metallic designs were created
using direct-to-glass printing. As can be seen in the close-up at
the left, some of the fine lines would be very difficult to produce
with a stencil.
tablet is created by first applying the various colors
of the main image. The tablet is then finished by applying a
background of white, black or some other color over both the image and
unpainted glass areas.
In the case of
gold metallic images, the image was applied to the glass then covered with black
paint or asphaltum.
Both types of tablet are
very attractive but easily damaged over time. Duplicating either of
these tablet types using normal approaches requires a significant amount of artistic ability.
While there are those
who specialize in restoring and recreating clock tablets, it is a
skill that most of us simply do not have the time or patience to
For us "non-artist" there are
techniques that can be employed to produce professional quality
tablets. The process described here takes the traditional approach,
but does it in reverse order.
That is, the black background
and black fine-line details will be laid down first and the
appropriate color or gold metallic will added to the unpainted
If you think about if
for a moment, this makes perfect sense for us non-artist. Adding
color within the completed outline of a design is essentially a
"paint-by-number" approach and is a lot easier for most of us to
You will find that this
approach to creating a tablet image will make it a lot easier to
produce a professional quality results.
So, the challenge
becomes creation of all that black background detail......
The first step is creation of the needed master artwork. This is
covered in part one of this series.
It is recommended that
photo quality paper be used to print the image using the highest quality possible
on your printer.
Examine the finished
print closely to ensure that it is the best possible quality and is
the exact size you need for your tablet.
The photo will now be used to copy the image onto a special material known
as "Water-slide decal paper". It is commonly used to produce decals
for ceramics, tiles and plastic models.
This special paper is
produced by attaching a very thin plastic film to a backing paper.
The backing paper allows the thin plastic film to be handled and fed
through a laser printer or laser copier.
Once the image has been
copied onto the paper, the plastic film is lifted or "transferred"
from the backing paper by soaking it in cool water for about one
Two different types of
decal paper are available and it is very important to get the
One type of decal paper
is designed specifically for use with a laser printer or laser
copier. This is the paper used in the process presented here and is
the only paper type recommended.
The other type of paper
is designed for use with an ink-jet printer.
Do Not Purchase This
Type of Paper.
It is possible to
use an ink-jet printer for making decals but the process involves a
number of additional steps and just isn't worth the extra work.
Decal paper is
available with a clear film or a white film. Clear is used in this
project. If you were copying a color graphic, the white paper may
provide better color quality.
Decal paper is available
from a number of on-line stores.
DecalPaper.com is one reliable source.
A regular laser copier is used to make the decal. The master artwork
should be placed in the copier and copies made on regular paper
until the light/dark adjustment is correct.
usually has a thin protective sheet places between each paper. This
should be removed from the sheet before it is fed into the copier.
When hand feeding
the shiny side of the decal paper is usually fed face up. Test your
copier if you are unsure.
The decal paper should now look exactly like the original artwork.
Inspect the decal sheet closely to ensure that the copy is perfect.
Allow the toner on the completed copy to cure and harden for about
five minutes before attempting to use.
glass should be used when creating a replacement tablet. Wavy glass
is still available from a number of sources. Check the NAWCC Mart
magazine for some sources.
The glass must be very clean before the
transfer process is started. Common
Bon Ami powdered cleanser and hot water work well for scrubbing oil,
finger prints and other accumulated dirt from both sides of the
Scrub, rinse and dry
both sides of the glass then examine it closely to ensure that it is
free of contamination and finger prints.
Place the clean glass on
a suitable work surface and wipe it with Acetone and a clean paper towel
just prior to beginning the transfer process.
The decal should be trimmed to the size of the tablet then placed in
a bowl of cool water for about one minute.
Gently test the decal to determine if the film has loosened from the
base paper and is ready for transfer.
Use a wet paper
towel to dampen the surface of the glass with water. This makes sliding
the decal into positin easier.
Lift the decal
paper from the bowl and allow excess water to drain. Carefully place
the sheet to one side of the glass and
gently slid the film from the paper and onto the glass.
Use a dry paper
towel to dab excess water from the decal and push air bubbles to the
edge of the glass.
Work slowly and keep
covering all areas until all bubbles are removed.
tablet to sit for about ten minutes then recheck for bubbles.
the tablet for about an hour or until the adhesive holds all areas
firmly against the glass.
Allow the decal to
fully dry over night and it will become very firmly attached to the
glass. As the film dries it also becomes thinner to the point it is
If a good copy was
produced, the black decal usually has no "holidays" or pin-holes.
Just to be sure, hold it up to the light to check.
Any holidays can be
easily touched up with a small artist's brush and matte black paint.
with the black background pattern, color can be added.
As noted at the beginning of this presentation, Part-three will show an alternative
methods to lay down the black background. Since the approach to
filling the clear cells is the same for both background methods, it
is presented only once in Part-four.
Click this link
to proceed to Part-three
Click this link
to proceed directly to
Part-four (adding color)
The water-slide decal process is very easy to use and produces a
tablet image that us non-artist can easily work with.
Combined with the ability to create custom artwork as detailed in
Part-one, this technique means any restorer with basic shop skills
can produce high quality tablets on correct wavy glass.
The materials needed to
try this process are quite inexpensive and the results can be very
impressive. It's worth giving it a try just to see what is possible.