Once the original poplar panel could be seen at the bottom of the
cut, the panel was turned over, and the mahogany edging strip was cut in
correspondence with the saw cut. Since the grain direction of the panel
ran opposite to the fragments, as was the case with the addition to the
Metropolitan panel, the hide glue bond was tenuous. Gentle rocking pres-
sure was enough to fracture the glue easily and separate the fragments
(Fig. 11). The bulk of the mahogany remaining on the fragments was then
removed with a band saw, leaving approximately 1.5 mm attached to the
poplar (Fig. 12). The band saw was used because it exerted far less down-
ward pressure on the paint film than the amount that would have been
required to carve away the remainder of the mahogany. The operation
took only a few seconds and, with a well-tuned band saw, required nearly
no pressure and little risk.
The next step was to pare away the remaining mahogany from the
fragments. During this step, a layer less than 1 mm thick of alternating
bands of mahogany and poplar was encountered (Fig. 13); it formed a con-
tinuous layer between the original panel and the mahogany laminate in
the entire Washington picture. (It was oriented in the grain direction
and consequently ran cross-grain only under the small fragments.) The
purpose of this layer is not understood at present, but it may have had
something to do with adhesive compatibility. The poplar would perhaps
adhere better or react similarly to the poplar panel, and the converse
would be true for the mahogany. These alternating bands were literally
paper-thin and could easily have gone undetected. The existence of these
bands is interesting, giv en the fact that, in contrast to most cradles, those
applied by Stephen Pichetto usually function well, even after fifty years.
This small detail may contribute in some way to their success.348 Bisacca
Figure 11, above
Separation of the fragments of the
Washington panel.
Figure 12, above right
Fragments after removal of the bulk of the
mahogany from the Washington panel with
the band saw. The 1.5 mm thickness of
mahogany can be seen attached to the blue
fragment in the foreground.
Figure 13, right
Alternating bands of mahogany and poplar
between the original panel and the mahogany
backing of the Washington panel.