En raaskinut viel\u00e4 tilata oikeita metallisia, mutta mietin ett\u00e4 mit\u00e4 jos kulmia yritt\u00e4isi tehd\u00e4 itse. Tein kokeilun. J\u00e4ljensin kolmion muodon netist\u00e4 l\u00f6yt\u00e4m\u00e4ni kuvan perusteella ja leikkasin kuvion tarpeettomaksi j\u00e4\u00e4neest\u00e4 rikkin\u00e4isest\u00e4 st\u00e4ndikalvosta (joo-o, olen tosiaan s\u00e4il\u00f6nyt risaa st\u00e4ndimuovia varmuuden vuoksi jo useita vuosia, ja hei presto, taas tuli k\u00e4ytt\u00f6\u00e4). Pit\u00e4\u00e4 kokeilla viel\u00e4 my\u00f6hemmin, saisiko juomat\u00f6lkist\u00e4 my\u00f6s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maalasin muotoon leikatut kuviot askartelumaalilla pariin kertaan ja koristemaalasin melko krouvilla k\u00e4dell\u00e4. Porasin keskelle pienen rei\u00e4n naulausta varten ja lopuksi naulasin kulmat portaikkoon. T\u00e4m\u00e4 nyt on t\u00e4mm\u00f6inen k\u00f6yh\u00e4n naisen versio aidosta, mutta kun ei ihan liian l\u00e4helt\u00e4 katso, niin kyll\u00e4 t\u00e4m\u00e4 v\u00e4ltt\u00e4\u00e4 toistaiseksi. T\u00e4m\u00e4n vanhan auringossa kellastuneen muovin huono puoli k\u00e4vi selv\u00e4ksi siin\u00e4 vaiheessa kun yritin naulata niit\u00e4 paikoilleen. Se ei kest\u00e4 lainkaan kovia iskuja. Onnistuin siis rikkomaan pari heti k\u00e4ttelyss\u00e4. Naulaamiseen tarvitsee muutenkin apuv\u00e4lineen, sill\u00e4 pieneen kulmaan k\u00e4den ja ison vasaran kanssa ei ole asiaa. Eli jonkinlainen metallinen ly\u00f6ntity\u00f6kalu naulan ja vasaran v\u00e4liin on oltava, jotta voi nakuttaa kauempaa. Metallinen kulma toki kest\u00e4\u00e4 paremmin. Lis\u00e4ksi arvelen ett\u00e4 askartelumaali kuluu melko nopeasti pois sile\u00e4st\u00e4 muovipinnasta, mutta kokeilut jatkuvat my\u00f6hemmin muilla materiaaleilla. <\/p>\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.evildressmaker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/inenglish.gif?resize=214%2C100\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nIf you’ve ever tried to sweep dust off the stairs, you probably know how much I hate cleaning our fancy lobby staircase. We have a renovation room upstairs, so there is a constant build up of debris and dust as you walk up and down the stairs. Of course, with a vacuum cleaner it would be easy, but it’s a big house and I don’t feel like carrying a vacuum cleaner from one end of the house to the other all the time. So I settle for sweeping the staircase from time to time. The bad thing about a broom is that it doesn’t really want to pick up dirt and dust from the corners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This fine bridge leads us to the point, namely to this brilliant Victorian invention, the dust corner. An ingenious little trick was invented to make it easier to sweep up dust in Victorian-style homes, which usually had a staircase or two. A dust corner was a tiny, smooth or decorative triangular flap, cut from brass or other thin metal and nailed to the stair corner through a hole in the middle. More pricisely one in each corner. The flap prevented dust and debris from going right to the corner, making it easier to clean up when you didn’t have to spend too much time on sweeping. What an excellent idea!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These dust corners have probably never been used in Finland, but at least in the American wonderland they have been used. Not only did they make cleaning easier (at least in theory), they also look great. Doesn’t it just make the staircase look much more stylished with a little brass ornament in the corner of each step. These dust corners (or stair corners) are sold off the shelf as antiques, but also as new repro. They are quite expensive, though, in metal. Plastic reproduction corners can be bought cheaply in bulk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn’t dare to order the real metal ones yet, but I wondered if I could make the corners myself. I did an experiment. I traced the shape of the triangle from a picture I found online and cut the pattern out of a piece of broken plastic sheet that I didn’t need (yes, I have indeed been storing some outside advert stand plastic just in case for several years now, and hey presto, it came in handy again). I’ll have to try again later to see if I can get a beverage can too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I painted the cut-out pieces with craft paint a couple of times and painted the decoration with a rather rough hand. I drilled a small hole in the middle for nailing and finally nailed the corners to the staircase. This is a kind of poor woman’s version of the real thing, but when you don’t look too close, it’ll do for now. The downside of this old sun yellowed plastic became clear as I tried to nail them in place. It can’t handle any hard knocks at all. So I managed to break couple of them as soon as I started hammering. You need a tool for nailing anyway, as you can’t get a hand and a big hammer into a small corner. So you need some kind of metal hammering tool between the nail and the hammer, so you can hammer further. Of course, a metal corner is more durable. I also expect the paint to wear off quite quickly from the smooth plastic, but I will continue my experiments with other materials later.<\/p>\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.evildressmaker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/dustcorners1.jpg?resize=768%2C1024\")
Dust corner is triangle with slightly curved sides. <\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.evildressmaker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/dustcorners2.jpg?resize=749%2C1024\")
Dust corners in place.<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.evildressmaker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/dustcorners3.jpg?resize=768%2C1024\")
Dust corner curves over the corner, preventing the dust and dirt going in it. At close this looks pretty plasticky, but experiments will continue later. <\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jos olet ikin\u00e4 yritt\u00e4nyt lakaista p\u00f6lyj\u00e4 rappusista niin tied\u00e4t miten itse\u00e4ni potuttaa n\u00e4ytt\u00e4v\u00e4n eteisportaikkomme siistiminen. Yl\u00e4kerrassa on remonttihuone, joten portaisiin ker\u00e4\u00e4ntyy jatkuvasti roskaa ja p\u00f6ly\u00e4 kun niiss\u00e4 kuljetaan. Imurilla homma toki k\u00e4visi helposti, mutta iso talo, ei imuria jatkuvasti huvita kuljetella edes taas talon toisesta p\u00e4\u00e4st\u00e4 toiseen. Niinp\u00e4 tyydyn lakaisemaan portaikon aika-ajoin. Rikkaharjassa on se… <\/p>\n