To express reverence for holy images and to protect icons, Christians place them in icon cases - folding opening wooden boxes. Glass is used as a door or front wall. To weaken the negative external conditions, a certain buffer microclimate is created inside the icon case. The icon in the icon case is not afraid of dust, drafts, or fluctuations in air humidity and temperature.
It is necessary
- - wooden boards;
- - carpentry tools;
- - glass;
- - fittings;
- - stain, varnish, paint.
Instructions
Step 1
Decide for which icon the icon case is planned to be made, where it will be installed (in a church, at home or on the street), and how its location will be illuminated. Based on this, select the color and the corresponding shade of the icon case.
Decide for which icons the shrine is intended - for wall (mounted) icons, floor or desktop. Also check the number of icons in the icon case.
Step 2
Measure the dimensions of the icons. Design the icon case properly: draw the drawing in isometric view, put down the dimensions. Draw a sketch of the decorative elements.
Step 3
Prepare a pine or linden tree for making a shrine. Make the frame of the icon case from pine, and decorative elements of the carving from linden. For a home icon case, use the wood of birch, cypress, ash, oak, fruit trees.
Make an icon case out of solid pine and cover it with valuable wood veneer. And if finances permit, complete a shrine made of mahogany, oak, walnut, etc. True, these materials are not very accessible and difficult to process.
Step 4
Leave an air gap between the surface of the icon and the glass flap, equal to the thickness of the icon board plus the protruding part of the dowels. This value should not be less than 2-3 cm. Do not rest the dowels against the walls of the icon case. If it comes out of the groove and rests against the wall, the icon board may break. The dowel cannot prevent warping of icons, it only reduces its intensity. Leave a gap of at least 1 cm between the edge of the dowel and the wall of the case.
Step 5
Be sure to take into account the bend of the warped icon board if you decide to build an icon case for it. Under this bend in the inner frame of the wooden box, make a curly cutout with a margin of 0.5-2 cm. Glue a velvet strip inside the wooden box. Make sure that the holy image never touches the icon case, otherwise the icon board may simply jam. Fix the icon in the icon case using blocks or a liner made of thick cardboard.
Step 6
Insert the glass into the opening sash. Cover the icon case with stain, varnish or paint. Install the hardware. When making an icon case, do not forget to use the old methods - a dovetail thorn, skin glue, etc. By making an icon case, you will reliably protect the holy image for many years.
