Books:

Discovered! 505
Odd Enterprises

Hidden Dollars

How to Make
Money at Home

Small Business
of Your Own

You Can Own
a Business

Charles Reinhold of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has proved that his toil for bread and butter, when approached from a different angle, can become a relaxing and soul-satisfying bit of creative work.

During the day, Reinhold makes industrial patterns which require the use of electrically powered tools. The process is quite mechanical, and requires little creative ability.

But Reinhold has always had a strong desire for artistic expression. This is satisfied in the evening, when he makes original trivet patterns which require much fine detail work.

Originally the word trivet designated a metal stand, wrought of iron or made of brass, to hold cooking pots and pans in the open fireplace or on the table. Today, it generally applies to flat iron stands. These stands were used to hold irons which were heated on the old wood cook stoves and later over gas stoves. The advent of the electric iron caused a temporary disappearance of the trivet from the American scene. Today, they are again in favor and their use is both decorative and utilitarian.

Trivets are usually triangular in shape, although there are also round, square and rectangular ones and these too have their variations. The edges can be pie crust, saw tooth, fluted or plain. Some of the handles are plain while others have a design in them.

They can be hung on the walls in the living room and kitchen. Standing flat, they can be used to hold flower pots and to protect surfaces from marring effects of hot dishes. The history or story behind old patterns is intriguing and they are good conversation pieces.

THE TOOLS required for the patterns that Reinhold turns out during the evening are paper, pencil, carbon paper, ¹/8-inch white pine, coping saw, glue, taper saw, clamp or vise and shellac. It costs approximately $1.50 to have a single pattern cast in iron, but six patterns can be cast for the price of one if they are all mounted on one board. The trivets sell for $3 each, which leaves an unusually large margin of profit. Once a pattern has been cut, it can be used any number of times.

"Labor is the biggest item in the charge for casting trivets," says Reinhold. "They require only a small amount of iron."

A trivet found in the attic of Mrs. Reinhold's grandmother interested the Reinholds in collecting trivets. As their collection grew, Reinhold tried making copies of some of the trivets. He wasn't satisfied with the results.

"It's hard to make a copy exactly like the original," he explains, "and when you have finished, you still have only a copy. I decided to experiment with some original designs."

Using the flat iron stand for an outline Reinhold proceeded to create designs. In order to make a symmetrical pattern, he folded a piece of paper in half and cut it into a pleasing shape and design. When he opened the folded paper, he found he had created a really lovely trivet design. After much cutting, he had several designs which pleased him. He then went on to the second step, which was tracing the pattern onto ¹/8-inch white pine.

"Make your first designs simple," advises Reinhold. "Intricate flower and bird patterns can wait until you've got the hang of it. That is why I advise the folded paper method for beginners. You can draw a design free-hand within the outline of the trivet, but you must remember that your ability to handle carving tools will govern the complexity of the design."

The average trivet which can serve both a practical and decorative purpose is between six and seven inches in length.

WHEN THE design has been traced on the wood, it is ready for the third step. A clamp or vise is used to hold the wood steady while the pattern is cut with a coping saw. If the design is very intricate, and it is difficult to get all the fine details in with a coping saw, the work can be finished with a pen knife, or any sharply pointed knife.

"I believe that the sign of a true craftsman," Reinhold explains, "is the attention he gives to detail. A craftsman will spend many hours doing a thing laboriously by hand. A jig saw may turn out almost the same product, but it can never have the fine detailing that hours of hand work will produce."

When the pattern has been cut out, the feet (made of dowel pins) are attached, and it is ready for the filing. All the edges, or walls, as they are called, must be tapered slightly. The file used for this is determined by the edge to be filed. A corner which is less than square would require a saw file. A curved file would be used for curved or round edges, and a square file for square corners. The tapering walls allow for easy removal of the pattern from the mold when it is being cast at the foundry.

Next, the pattern is dusted thoroughly until there is no particle of dust left. Two or three coats of shellac are applied to make it very smooth. The pattern is now ready for a trip to a small jobbing foundry to be cast in iron or brass.

"It is more economical to have six patterns cast at one time," Reinhold says. "That way they cost only 25 cents each, compared to $1.50 for a single pattern casting. The profit is much greater that way."

If more than one pattern is cast at the same time, it is necessary to attach the patterns to a one-inch plywood board. The trivet body pattern is glued to one side of the board. The feet are placed underneath it on the other side of the board. Then all the patterns can be cast in one operation just as though it were only one pattern.

"To help you understand how the casting can come out in one piece when the pattern is attached to a board, you must know how a foundry makes its castings," Reinhold says. "A foundry mold is composed of two parts. The two parts are two boxes or frames filled with foundry sand. One side of the patterns mounted on the board is pressed into the lower frame of sand. Then the upper frame of sand is pressed to the other side of the pattern. The pattern is then removed. The two frames are clamped together and this is called a mold. The iron or brass is poured into the mold through an opening, called a sprue, in the frame. When the casting is set, the frames are removed and you have a one piece casting."

Attaching the patterns to a board is the most complicated part of pattern-making on a production basis. "When more than one pattern is ready for casting, it is best to let a pattern-maker mount the pattern the first few times," Reinhold suggests. "Careful observation on the part of the hobbyist and then practice, will help him to mount his own patterns in time."

When a casting comes back from the foundry, the edges must be smoothed with a mill file. If the casting is iron, it is painted with dull black board paint. If it is a brass casting, it can be given an antique look by touching it with nitric acid which will make it green in spots. Emery cloth is used to polish the brass casting, and the finishing gloss is put on by rubbing with jewelers rouge.

THERE ARE other aspects of Reinhold's hobby. He has designed a flower pot holder metal ring that can be attached easily to the daisy trivet when it hangs on a wall. It can be used to hold a small plant or vase with cut flowers.

Reinhold also makes mail box and house number silhouettes, colonial foot scrapers, door knockers, and weather vanes. Examples of all these, as well as several of his trivet designs, are displayed on a wrought iron frame in front of the Reinhold home on a busy highway. This simple means of advertising has brought in many customers who feel that $3 is a fair price for something different in a trivet design.

Customers often ask Reinhold to work out exclusive designs for them, and for this he charges $8 to $10. People sometimes want an arrangement of their initials or the number of their wedding anniversary. The sixth, or "iron" wedding anniversary, and the eighth, or "bronze" anniversary, are both ideal occasions to add a personalized trivet to a collection.

"The buyer of a specially designed trivet has something no one else can have," Reinhold points out. "Even if someone else copied the pattern, it would not have the value of the original."

Such a trivet can become a family heirloom.

Reinhold has been approached many times by craft shop owners in Milwaukee who want his trivets and silhouettes. In explaining why he has always turned down these possible markets, Reinhold says, "To keep up with the orders, I would have to start working on a production line basis, and I'd have to give up the detail I put into special orders. I find my relaxation in doing fine detail work, such as the old master craftsmen did."

Nevertheless, craft and gift shops are ideal markets for the trivet creator.

"If you want to sell large quantities of trivets," asserts Reinhold, "you need only display samples in the shops, and give the shop a commission on the orders they take. Or you can sell the items directly to the shop and let them take their own markup.

"I generally have enough custom orders to fill in most of my spare time and therefore am unable to fill extra orders the craft shops could provide. But my originally designed trivets have been so well received around Milwaukee that I am thinking of offering them to collectors all over the country through advertisements in home and garden magazines, and publications devoted to antiques and hobbies. Actually, magazine advertising is the most profitable way of marketing a product. A gift shop takes thirty to forty percent of the retail price as its profit, while magazine advertising costs only a small fraction of the retail price. Of course, mailing charges reduce the profit slightly when you sell direct to the consumer."

Reinhold is in the enviable position of being pushed into a larger marketing area by his hobby. Of course, the timeliness of his hobby is a great factor in the easy marketability of his products. Today trivet collections are becoming increasingly popular with hobbyists.

IN THE house number and mail box silhouette department, Reinhold carries an assortment which includes dogs, cows, trees, a horse and buggy design, and many others. Many home owners believe that a silhouette depicting an owner's vocation or avocation gives the home a distinguished air. A doctor would be most likely to choose the horse and buggy, because that silhouette has for many years represented a doctor's home. A farmer might choose a cow. Dog fanciers ask for dog silhouettes. Reinhold often sells the tree silhouettes to people who find joy in their wooded land.

Some silhouettes are enclosed in a frame with the house number. On others, only the house number is framed and the silhouette is mounted on top.

"I've found that it's much easier to sell something which has the purchaser's name on it," says Reinhold, "so I always have at least one personalized silhouette on display."

Names are formed by cutting the letters from ¹/16-inch cardboard and mounting them on a piece of wood. The thinner cardboard is used for the names because they are only decorative. One-eighth-inch white pine is needed for the trivets because they must be utilitarian as well as decorative. The patterns for silhouettes are cast in the same way as the trivet patterns. The name can be used alone, or it can be used with the house number. Reinhold uses ready-made porcelain numbers purchased at a hardware store.

The house numbers are fitted in the silhouettes, which hang flat against the house, by recessing the pattern at the back. The opening is cored or cut into the pattern from the rear. The space behind the number frame should be as large as the numerals, the front space slightly smaller so they don't fall through.

The silhouettes which hang from an angle iron must look the same from both sides so two sets of numbers are required.

"A pocket frame is made at the bottom of the silhouette," Reinhold explains, "leaving enough space between the silhouette and the frame for numerals to be dropped in the top of the frame. The frame must also be thick enough to hold two sets of numerals back to back."

A SILHOUETTE which is made from one of Reinhold's regular patterns sells for $8. Made to order patterns cost more.

Reinhold recently took me into his workshop to show me a special order he was making for an estate called "Willow Shore." The pattern is composed of a graceful tree, a bird, and the shore of a lake.

"This silhouette will cost $30 because I will throw away the pattern when the casting has been made," he said.

The pattern for a silhouette which will hang flat against the house is cut in one piece. Patterns for silhouettes which are going to hang from a bracket or stand upright on an angle iron must be made in two pieces in order to look the same from both sides.

"The way to achieve this effect," Reinhold explained, "is to put two pieces of wood together and cut out your pattern. Then take them apart and attach them to a board with glue, so that the pieces are exactly opposite each other on the upper and under side of the board. This will give a casting in one piece with both sides the same."

Reinhold's foot scrapers are made in the same manner as the two-sided silhouettes. The door knockers and weather vanes require a turning lathe.

Into all his work, Reinhold puts the skills acquired in his regular job, plus the joy of creation that is the hallmark of a hobbyist.