Something I wanted to do for more than 30 years was to try my hand at the very old art of gilding with genuine gold leafs. The opportunity presented itself when I decided to frame a large new mirror for my wife. The first step was to make the profiles with an old profile plane I once obtained at a flee market. It is hard work, especially when a harder wood like ash is used, rather than poplar or spruce, but the aesthetics is very different from profiles routed with a machine.

To ensure that the frame remains stable for hundreds of years, I cut the ash so that with ageing, the profiles will tend to press inwards towards the mirror.
Glueing up the frame concluded the first step of this project.