Series editors' preface - Wood Tools

420 Conservation of Furniture
controls and can achieve a wide range of temperatures.
A variety of attachments can be
placed over the hot air outlet to adapt the unit
to small scale work and to allow it to be used
as a heated spatula.
Surface finishing and retouching equipment
includes the airbrush, paintbrushes of various
types and sizes, mixing pallets and containers
for pigments, resins, waxes and so forth. Spray
finishing equipment requires a source of compressed
air which may come from a compressor,
foot pump, aerosol can, or cylinder of
compressed air. The recommended type of
compressor is capable of reaching a pressure
of 40 psi and is fitted with a pressure gauge,
regulator, reserve tank, air filter and water trap.
Other factors to consider include the size and
weight of the machine and noise levels in use.
Compressed air may also be used for powering
air tools, which are favoured in some
workshops for economic and safety reasons.
Since the risk of electrical arcing is eliminated,
air stirrers are useful for stirring the solvent gels
used in Wolbers cleaning methods. An air abrasive
unit may occasionally be found useful.
Tools and equipment for gilding are illustrated
in Chapter 14.
Other miscellaneous items of general equipment
include seating, weighing and measuring
equipment, hot plate, glue pot (or baby’s bottle
warmer) and modelling tools. Equipment used
for examination and photographic recording has
been discussed previously in this chapter.
The extent to which work will be carried out
from a sitting position depends very much on
the type of work and on personal preference.
Some practical conservation work such as cutting
fine parts or detailed finishing or cleaning
work may be better done seated. Chairs should
be carefully selected for the purpose in mind.
Chairs for work, as opposed to relaxation,
should generally have well-padded backs and
seats, have back height and tilt adjustment to
provide support for the sitter’s back, be heightadjustable
while in use and should also provide
support for the sitter’s feet. The ability to
revolve easily through 360 degrees while
seated may be an advantage.
In many operations in furniture conservation
better results are obtained if materials are accurately
weighed and measured. Scales for
weighing out reagents are needed to cover the
range from a few hundredths of a gram of
enzyme for cleaning to perhaps several kilograms
of whiting to make composition. This
range will not be covered by one piece of
apparatus. Equipment to suit a range of loads,
accuracy and price is available from scientific
supply houses.
For measuring volume, a range of glassware
including beakers, measuring cylinders and
pipettes is needed. Stirring rods and glass bottles
are useful for making up and storing solutions
at the required strength. For many
purposes glass can be substituted by the less
expensive disposable polythene equivalent,
particularly for resins which otherwise require
difficult cleaning to be done. Pasteur pipettes
are invaluable for such tasks as drop-wise
application of consolidant, decanting small
quantities of stains and making working dilutions
of strong materials for cleaning. A range
of different sizes of disposable syringes from
1 ml up to about 50 ml with needles of various
diameters and lengths (and a proper ‘sharps’
bin for disposal) is invaluable.
9.7 Health and safety
Most accidents happen through four interlinked
causes: ignorance of the hazards
through lack of communication; horseplay –
ignorance of risks arising from the joke; complacency
– ‘It won’t happen to me’ arising from
ignorance of the risks; poor planning – as a
consequence of which hazards go unnoticed.
By being aware of hazards around one, taking
steps to eliminate or avoid them and warning
others, around 70% of all accidents could be
prevented.
Conservators should aim to create in the
workplace robust systems for the management
of health and safety that comply with the law
and allow for and encourage continuous
improvements in health, safety and welfare at
work for all. Health and safety management is
very much a matter of common sense put into
a formal context, but although the aims may be
the same anywhere in the world, the specific
legislation to be complied with may vary from
one place to another. This brief guide is based
on the requirements of the relevant United
Kingdom and European Community legislation.
It covers health and safety requirements and the
process of managing health and safety with