“butterfly” patches – traditional angle?
tenderfootbob
| Posted in General Discussion on
I am adding some decorative “butterfly” (“Dutchman” ?) patches to a project. Does anyone know if there is a traditional angle (i.e.: 14 degrees, 10 degrees) for a butterfly patch? Thanks for any help.
Tenderfoot Bob
Replies
TFB,
Does your piece have any existing angles your patch can reflect, or perhaps match a proportion of negative space or accent color? That might be a more perfect Dutchman, rather than concerning with what is a normal Dutchman ratio...
Oh, wait. This is Knots. Of course the normal ratio will be of a concern, what was I thinking?
Cheers,
Seth
The dutchmans are ebony accents for a bed project I am making for a friend. It is a Arts & Crafts bed with two dutchmans in the headboard and two in the footboard.
TFB,I built two beds, each of a head/foot boards combination, plus support rails and such. Fun project, and it satisfies that old saying of laying in the bed you make. Your dutchmans, horizontal, over/under at the center? 4-6" long? Perhaps make the fat part of the butterfly 1.25, the waist 3/4". Truth be told, pillows cover the 5 wide cherry slats of the head board, and were I to have had adornments on them, they'd rarely be seen. The curved top rail is always in view.Seems that the footboard has a degree more responsibility to carry the artistic load. However, I made a small dressing bench that stands in front of my footboard, so once again, all those beautiful wide cherry slats are obscured!Cheers,Seth
LOL.. Oh, wait. This is Knots. Great.. Make it cover the patch!
Be creative and use what looks right to you. This is what I used on a recent table, http://timberwerksstudio.blogspot.com/2009/07/butterflies-are-in.html It's a bit different from what you are seeking but being creative still applies.
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I don't know what the traditional angle would be. I used 15° because it looked right to me when I drew it out.
mike
It will be an aesthetic decision by you. Older ones tended to have a thicker waist; while some of Nakashima's are quite thin.
You can see the ones I used in a recent project at:
http://acornhouse.wordpress.com/2009/06/30/butterflies-are-free-firmly-imprisoned/
Let your vision guide you, would be my advice.
Chris
a hobbyist's journey
Used butterfly keys on the joints in the lid of a frame + panel blanket chest.
Got out the old reliable electrical tape, made a half-dozen different sizes, stuck 'em on the unfished piece, wiped it all down with mineral spirits stepped back and squinted.
A few were clearly wrong for the size and style, and the others were in the not-too-bad category. So I just picked one and went to work.
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