Project Information
I was asked to make a 1"=2' scale model of the original Alden House for the Alden House Museum in Duxbury MA. This is the 1600's John and Priscilla Alden of the Mayflower/Plymouth Colony. The design is based on data from an archaeological dig done in 1960. The size of the structure and the placement of doors and windows were determined from the location of glass and pottery shards found during the dig.
The model was featured in the following video at 35:44
Alden Archaeology: Daily Life in Plymouth Colony
I made a full scale drawing.
I used poplar and started by gluing up panels for the sides and the roof.
Next step was to create the look of clapboard siding. To do this I installed a 1/4" dado and tilted the arbor to 10 degrees. After each pass I moved the fence and repeated until the entire panel was cut.
After marking the location of the doors and windows I used a router plane to remove the clapboards so I would have a flat surface to glue the molding to.
The window and door trim was then glued and pin nailed in place.
I then fabricated two gables with a window in each.
The same process of flattening the spot where the gables would attach was done.
and the gables were trimmed to shape.
Next was the time consuming process of creating roof shingles. This was done with a v-gouge.
The corners were made with a small "square dowel" in order to create the look of corner boards.
The roof was then assembled and the entire house was painted white.
The model was featured in the following video at 35:44
Alden Archaeology: Daily Life in Plymouth Colony
I made a full scale drawing.
I used poplar and started by gluing up panels for the sides and the roof.
Next step was to create the look of clapboard siding. To do this I installed a 1/4" dado and tilted the arbor to 10 degrees. After each pass I moved the fence and repeated until the entire panel was cut.
After marking the location of the doors and windows I used a router plane to remove the clapboards so I would have a flat surface to glue the molding to.
The window and door trim was then glued and pin nailed in place.
I then fabricated two gables with a window in each.
The same process of flattening the spot where the gables would attach was done.
and the gables were trimmed to shape.
Next was the time consuming process of creating roof shingles. This was done with a v-gouge.
The corners were made with a small "square dowel" in order to create the look of corner boards.
The roof was then assembled and the entire house was painted white.