Narcissus Restoration Update - Part 2 - Exterior Poplar Frames - 4-22-2016

Narcissus Project Manager, Phil Morse, pointing to where the single-window

exterior poplar frame placement is on the right side of the number two end of

Seashore Trolley Museum, National Register of Historic Places,

Narcissus. Donald Hutchinson photo

     This Narcissus Blog post is the second in a series that relates to the exemplary woodwork being done with the exterior poplar frames by Museum member/volunteer, Lary Shaffer. The exterior poplar frames hold the mahogany sash/frames that contain the ornate leaded stained glass windows that are above each passenger window. The image above shows the one single passenger window that is on each side of the number 2 end of the Narcissus. All the other exterior poplar frames are larger and each spans a pair of passenger windows. Lary is working on the poplar frames in his Scarborough Marsh Fine Furniture woodworking shop.

Click Here to view the first post in this series and to see Lary's bio.

Lary Shaffer assessed a board of reclaimed vintage Poplar in his

woodworking shop at Scarborough Marsh Fine Furniture. The

reclaimed Poplar is being used in rebuilding/repairing the exterior

frames of the Narcissus. PWM

     One of the challenges today, when restoring a historic wooden interurban that was built in 1912 with wood that was available at the time, is finding wood products that are similar to those originally used. We think in terms of "old growth" or "reclaimed", "recycled", or perhaps, "vintage" wood. The Narcissus has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places, along with nine other Maine Railway vehicles at Seashore Trolley Museum. Finding wood materials for the restoration that is as close to those used originally is very important. The Museum is very fortunate to have found a local supplier in southern Maine that has had great success supplying the Museum with period wood for previous restorations like the 1906 electric locomotive, Atlantic Shore Line No. 100. John Rousseau of Rousseau Reclaimed Lumber (formerly Barnstormers) has been able to supply the Town House Restoration Shop with some wonderful vintage Poplar for use by Lary to repair/rebuild the exterior Poplar frames of the Narcissus. One of the earmarks of a great piece of vintage wood is the number of growth rings of the tree that the board has come from. A very close series of rings tell us that the tree was growing in a heavily wooded forest and was forced to grow more slowly due to the competition for sunlight and growing space.

Very tight growth rings pattern is clearly visible on the poplar wood supplied

by Rousseau Reclaimed Lumber. Notice the rings nearer the heart (left) of

the tree are wider and as the tree grew, the rings are closer and closer together.

Evidence that more space and sunlight were available to the tree when it was a young sapling.

PWM

The first video in this post (below) has Lary explaining part of the planning process for working on the exterior Poplar frames of the Narcissus.

Lary uses the template he created to assess the newly constructed

early-stage exterior Poplar frame. This early-stage frame will go

through many more steps before it is a finished product. This series

of videos has Lary taking the viewer through the various stages.

     The second video in this post has Lary explaining more of the various stages that are required in the process of repairing /rebuilding the exterior Poplar frames of the Narcissus. These video clips were taken over a two-day period. The videos in the series of blog posts may not necessarily be in the order that the original video was taken. So, some references by Lary may seem out of place...FYI.

The Next post in the series will be released in the next day or so.

I hope you are enjoying them :) Let me know...

Click Here - to see Part 1 of the exterior poplar framework

Click Here - to see Part 3 of the exterior poplar framework

http://www.trolleymuseum.org/