Research

All kinds of identifying marks: symbols, letters or numbers, can often be found on tools. These marks may refer to the manufacturers (e.g. Paul Dubois’s La guêpe (wasp)), or to the place where the piece was made (e.g. Gembloux). They emphasize the quality (e.g. acier garanti (guaranteed steel)) or a property (e.g. inoxydable (stainless)); warn that there is a patent pending or in existence; record the name of the object; even give an indication of how to use it, etcetera. In addition there may also be marks of ownership or embellishment.

Bibliography In the extensive MOT library you will find literature on many aspects of half-timbering. You will find separate publications on techniques such as squaring beams or splitting roof shingles. Much has been published on the work of the carpenter in general, it is difficult to provide an overview. We will therefore limit ourselves below to publications that specifically concern half-timbering and that mainly concern Flanders. For questions or literature on half-timbering in the countries surrounding us and elsewhere, you can always contact the MOT. You can also consult our technical library yourself, by appointment: tel. +32 2 270 81 11 - info@mot.be.  ARENDZEN G. en VRIEND J.J., Bouwkunde. Hand- en studieboek voor den bouwkundige en den timmerman. Deel I, Kosmos, Amsterdam, 1941. BAERT G.P., Lemen wanden II in Ons Heem, 19 (1965) 3, p 108. BEERTEN S., Onderzoek naar het vakwerkgebouw van de abdij van Herkenrode, licentiaatsverhandeling K.U.Leuven, Leuven, 1981. BIJNENS B., Frans-Vlaanderen....

Sheer legs The sheer legs that you can see next to the barn of the Tommenmolen is a full-scale reconstruction that we made based on a copy from the MOT collection and from images.  What are they? Sheer legs are a two-legged hoist with which you can lift heavy loads and also move them to a limited extent. The device can be mounted and moved. For example, it has been used since ancient times on construction sites to bring up heavy stones. Until the early 20th century, such a device was used in shipping and the military. Sheer legs consists of two connected legs with a pulley at the top. A rope runs over the pulley to a windlass at the bottom, which has two long spokes that act as a lever. By turning, you can lift a load of several hundred kilos alone or with two without exceptional effort. The device is kept in balance by tethered ropes. This reconstruction nicely illustrates the principles of drive and transmission, which is the subject of the MOT & GO exhibition you can visit in the mill....

Tips for photographing forge marks and printing on paper

RCB: particulars SubjectUnder the description ‘trade catalogue’ the RCB includes five types of document: announcements commemorative books periodicals instructions for use catalogues You will find more information on this in the articles “Reclame als bron voor de geschiedenis van de technieken” (Advertising as a source for the history of techniques) and "The repertory of belgian trade catalogues". The catalogues of booksellers and publishers are not included, nor those of antiquaries (paintings, manuscripts etc.) and advertisements for services.LimitsFor practical reasons the Directory is limited to documents published before 1950, but doubtful cases are also included.We only include documents which were published in Belgium, or by a Belgian firm abroad.ReferencesAddresses are included literally as they appear in the publicity. Only the name of the district or town may, if necessary, have been translated using the language of the part of the country where the document was published.If...

What? RCB stands for the Repertorium van de Belgische Handelscatalogi (Directory of Belgian Trade Catalogues). It is an online aid to trace trade catalogues published in Belgium before c. 1950, in public collections. The RCB has search entries via title, company name, town, period, year of publication, RCB code and keyword.

Saw stand With the frame saw and the crane saw you can saw logs into planks. To be able to work with two people on these large saws, the log to be sawn must be placed at a height, on a saw stand.

RCB: general search translation under construction RCB stands for the Repertorium van de Belgische Handelscatalogi (Directory of Belgian Trade Catalogues). It is an online aid to trace trade catalogues published in Belgium before c. 1950, in public collections. Kies hieronder de gewenste gemeente, periode en/of jaar van uitgave en u krijgt de lijst van hun catalogi. U kan ook zoeken op een zelf gekozen trefwoord of de lijst sorteren op RCB-code, jaar van uitgave of titel.

RCB: search by company nameRCB stands for the Repertorium van de Belgische Handelscatalogi (Directory of Belgian Trade Catalogues). It is an online aid to trace trade catalogues published in Belgium before c. 1950, in public collections.Click on a company name to open the corresponding file or search for the name of a city or municipality. You can quickly search using the key combination "Ctrl-F" and go through all search results with the "enter" key.

Timber selection There are several factors involved when choosing construction wood:  the application (the nature of the construction and location of the specific part in that construction) the properties of the sort of wood  the availability