Re: Tortoiseshell

[Keith A Matthews <kam@sandwell.demon.co.uk>]

> From:Geo Kloppel <geok@aol.com>

> Can anyone explain to me how tortoise shell laminations were fused to 
> produce deeper sections than individual shells would permit? 

There is a brief explanation by Bill Watson, formerley of W.E.Hill and
Sons in THE STRAD of June 1992. He says:

       Tortoiseshell is a sandwich rather like plywood bonded together in
       several peices. The dark and light shades correspond to the 
       arrangement of the middle peices - these could be anything from
       seven to twelve pieces which are then bonded between two outside
       plates in a wet heat. Tied together loosely, they are then taken 
       out and wrapped in calico, put under a press and squeezed together.
       All those plates merge together, slippery and slimey like fish
       scales and are left for a couple of days. The press is then undone
       and the tortoiseshell put into boiling water. It reverts to normal
       size and expands in brine. After that it is ready for trimming.

He also said that Hills obtained all their toroiseshell in blocks from
a family in the East End od London who had previously made spectacle
frames. If you need more information, perhaps you could write to Mr Watson.

-- 
Keith A Matthews