jfARDWOOD FINISHER '■ V • (../) / --i. ■ , 0 ! /l-J' ’/ ft - 1 r ?1 . ’ 7 i. L ^■fi't-CA t i ■. : I • .J Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2018 with funding from Getty Research Institute Co MS TT 3*3" H3J / ?0/f https://archive.6rg/details/hardwoodfinisher00unse_0 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER WITH RULXS AKD DIRKCTIOHS FOR Finishing in Nn.tura.1 Colors and in Antique, Mahogany, Cherry, Birch, Walnut, Oak, Ash, R.edwood, Syca¬ more, Pine and aft other Domestic Woods. ALSO MISCELLANEOUS RULES FOR FILLING, STAININO, VARNISHINO, POLISHING, DYEING, GILDING AND BRONZING; TOGETHER WITH HINTS ON THE PREPARATION OF WOODWORK FOR THE FINISHER. COMPILED AND EDITED BY C. GODFREY AUTHOR OF “H.W TO HIX PAINTS,” “ STENCIL1NQ,” “COLOR HARHONY,” Etc., Etc. FULLY ILLUSTRATED NEW YORK: THE INDUSTRIAL PUBLICATION COMPANY 1908 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER Copyright Secured 1892 By JOHN PHIN Contents. Preface ---------5 Preface to Second Edition - - - 7 Hardwood Finishing.9 Preparing Woodwork for the Finisher - 13 Wood Fillers and Wood Filling 28 Staining, Finishing, Varnishing and Polishing, 41 Index -------- 107 - ^ 3 -{3 Sfc . /- -05 - !ri -A ,' CUr&e-uS- d' ' p ~ v w " r T"/ - /? / * -/' ■y ■ / 'J~zf rX s c6.il* xs^sd*-*****'* * 2 "^'Y -'/Cf 4 .v^w •<*/ -05 4-/ ^ Ji * -- .y UsUi* a^tM ,CUotrJuOL^** A 'r'^\ Vf^p- - .y u*^(- p&dy j . **7&t2i#±~ 2 ^ | * zzfcygrjL^ y 1 -,; ".^ / "TV {/ ytJz ^ t, 4c~«y ^hP\ ( JL. "V/ ^* 1 -7 ^ ■£-rv^jLm tn*~Lj{ A^fi^yC A r 6,^Ll ' . ^ •'fy «**-r&ryy The subject of wood-finishing is one that interests every person who has anything to do with the construction or decoration of buildings, be he architect, carpenter and joiner, painter, decorator or carver, and it is to meet the require¬ ments of these artists and artisans, in these respects, that this work has been prepared. In order to make the book as complete as possible, it has been necessary to consult a variety of authorities on the sub¬ ject and cull from them whatever in my opinion—based on experience—I thought best, and here and there add to or eliminate such matter as my experience proved to be good on the one hand, and what I thought useless or absurd on the other. I am, of course, aware that there are some methods of finishing that I have not touched upon, such as the finishing of musical instruments, toys, wooden bric-a-brac, lacquered Japanned ware, walking-sticks, etc., etc., but as this work is only intended for the finishing of wood-work employed in the construction and completion of buildings, it was thought better to confine it to that department alone, thereby keeping its cost within reasonable limits. Among the works drawn from, I may mention: Cabinet- Making and Upholstery, The Builder and Wood-Worker, Carpentry and Building, Scientific American, Furniture-Men’s Manual, Spon’s Workshop Receipts, The Workshop Companion, English Mechanic, House Painting and Decorating, The Painters’ Magazine and Coach Painter, Encyclopedia Bbit- annica (Ninth Edition), Work, Building World, Etc., Etc. (5) x ,.y / \ 6 PREFACE. While believing the work, as now presented, to be equal if not superior to any published on the subject, I feel that it is defective in some minor points, as it would be impossible to convey to the mind of the operator all the minutse of each and every process required in wood-finishing ; for the perfect wood-finisher can only be the outcome of experience and observation added to the knowledge and instructions derived from the teachings of others. The latter is offered in this volume; the experience and observation must rest with the learner, and if he takes advantage of his opportunities and masters all the details offered herewith, there is no valid reason why he should not become an expert Wood-Finisher. New York, August , 1892. u, % /J PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. This little book, The Hardwood Finisher, has now been in the market for ten years, and many thousands of the first edition have been sold, a fact which is an incentive to issue an improved edition, adding to the little book a new feature in the shape of an illustrated treatise on the preparation of woodwork by the joiner or cabinet-maker for the finisher. This addition, the author flatters himself, will prove of great value to the young workman who is desirous of becoming a finished “craftsman.” If this edition meets with as favorable a reception as the first one did, the author and publishers will feel satisfied. (?) THE HARDWOOD FINISHER,. Doubtless, the arts of Carpentry and Joinery were among the oldest in the world, and these arts must have flourished for many centuries before anything like polish or fine finish on wood-work were even thought of. The handles of stone weapons were prob¬ ably the first specimens of the wood worker’s art, then clubs and other wooden weapons subsequently the “dug-out” and the paddle or oar. Huts or wooden dwellings with doors and shut¬ ters, roofs and floors did not appear until much later. Nature always makes her works fittest for the intended end, and beautiful as well. So long as mankind were in constant con¬ tact with Nature’s works they tried to^ imitate her methods, but at last this involved two processes, so, that, when they ceased to care for beauty, they grudged the necessary labor required to at¬ tain it. Therefore, in anything made by the hands of man, with no other motive in view but that of utility, tne chances are a thousand to one that beauty will be conspicuous only by its absence. That wood plays a very important part in the affairs of man¬ kind, I scarcely need mention, and nature seems to have well un¬ derstood our wants for it is claimed by those who claim to know, that about one-third of the earth’s surface is covered with trees, all of which are capable of contributing in some form or another to the wants of man. In this country, the art of using wood for almost every pur¬ pose, has gone far beyond anything that has ever been attempted by any other people. The introduction of wood-working machinery for the rapid manipulation of intricate mouldings, 10 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. spirals, flutings, headings and carvings, has in a great measure, had a tendency to elevate the taste of the whole community, though I must confess that artistic excellence of a high order, in the mechanical arts, is now scarcely found among our younger workmen ; machinery having almost done away with the neces¬ sity for the fine kinds of hand and brain work. Fashion, which rules despotically in the wardrobe, influences, to a greater or lesser degree, the style and finish of wood-work, and to a certain extent, the kind of wood that must be used for certain purposes. It is but a few years since, when no other wood than clean white pine, would be permitted to do service in a building. Every thing must be pine, floors, doors, windows, and skirtings, even to the bath fittings. Then Dame fashion sent forth her decree, and a mixture of white pine, Norway and Southern pine, was used followed shortly afterward by the abominable mixture of ash, walnut and chestnut. Some architect who desereves well of his country, introduced all walnut and all mahogany fitments; and at once, people of taste who saw this manner of finish noticed its superiority over the “trash-like” mixture at once; and the fashion then of finishing in one kind of wood became the rage. Walnut was found too dark for general purposes and was soon abandoned for the lighter woods; chestnut, sycamore, ash and oak were then tried, but I believe I voice the opinion of a major¬ ity of architects when I say that, with the exception of oak, the light colored woods were not successful, from an aesthetic point of view, and it is on record, that many buildings finished in these woods, have recently had their wood-work cleaned and stained to imitate darker woods or have been painted. One of the valu¬ able qualities of white oak, is, that it grows richer in color as it gets older, and no matter how it is finished, so long as the grain is visible, it mellows and improves with age. This is a quality that no other of our American woods possess in the same degree. All the oaks have this quality to a certain extent, but the white oak (Quercus alba), possesses it more than any other. Mahogany too, has this quality largely, if true Spanish mahogany is used. THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 11 but little of this is in the market; though there are many woods ivhich have the appearance of mahogany, and are called mahogany, and both buyer and user are oftentimes deceived, and pay for what they do not get. We have often been reproached with willfully or ignorantly ig¬ noring or destroying our own handsome woods, while importing from abroad at excessive cost, and the payment of heavy duties, foreign woods which are much inferior to many of our native productions. This folly prevailed at a time when it was fashionable and even popular to believe there was no merit in domestic productions of any sort, this state of things, how¬ ever is now at an end; and in the neighborhood of all large towns, and in country places as well; a finish in hard wood is the rule, and a finish in pine the exception, if the building to be finished, makes any pretension of being “ up to the times.” With regard to the difference in cost between a finish in the best clear pine, and the best selected hard wood, there is really but little, if any, if we take into consideration dura¬ bility and good taste. As betweep pine wood and good well finished hard wood, the disparity in value and merit is so very little as to completely silence any comparison. Between poor pine and poor hard wood the preference should by all means be given to the former ; because, poor pine as it reveals its defects can be puttied and painted in a manner to disguise them; whereas the defects of poor hard wood are al¬ most incurable. The rationale of the subject seems to resolve itself into the following statement. Modern taste in expensive dwellings calls for the free use of hard woods. It is immaterial which are used, but highly essential that the best seasoned woods should be selected; and, further, that they should be skillfully treated and finished. The principal recommendation of hard wood is that it ad¬ mits of a treatment which renders it impervious to the effects of atmospheric changes, and, therefore can be made more durable and. ultimately less expensive than pine wood. A hard wood that 12 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. is well seasoned before use, that is treated with proper fillers to close up its pores, and then finished with successive coats of copal varnish, well rubbed in with pumice stone, being finally brought to a higher flat finish, presents the most attractive, serv¬ iceable and reliable style of wood-work that can be introduced into a house. Well finished hard wood obviates the expense and annoyance of constant renewals, which pine work calls for in patch¬ ing, puttying and painting. The most brilliant gloss of finished hard wood can be restored by a skilled person without disturbing the furniture or carpets of a house. Pine work seems peculiarly and incomparably adapted for cheap work. A good article of common pine, suitable for ordinary work can be procured, and worked at considerably less expense than would be involved in using good hard wood. The use of poor hard wood in any work should not be tolerated or thought of under any circumstances, for the simple reason that it is cer¬ tain to create annoyance and expense, which no house-owner, especially of moderate priced property,should be subjected to. I have deemed the foregoing introduction necessary as it will enable the workman to have some idea of the development of the art of joinery, and the transition from the use of pine and the softer woods, to that of the hard woods. In the following work it is my intention to take each of the woods most in use ; describe them, say what I think they are best adapted for, and the best way to finish them, as far as my knowledge extends. By this means the reader will have, under one head, all the book contains concerning the particular wood he is about to finish. PREPARING WOOD-WORK FOR THE FINISHER. If the workman who finally finishes wood-work, had the selec¬ tion of the materials out of which the work is formed ; and wrought the work himself; the following suggestions would scarcely be required, for he would see to it that the material was free from shakes, cracks, worm holes, doze, sap and fractures; and he would so choose his material, that the full beauty of the grain would show, when the polish coat went on. He would also see, that the work was clean. That is, that no plane marks were visible, no rough spots, or cross-grains noticeable, and that all angles were sharp and definite, all mouldings smooth and not a nail head or screw top to be seen, nor any point that could sug¬ gest a nail head. As a rule, however, the workman who puts on the last finishing touches never makes the work, though he is al¬ ways expected to cover and hide all the faults of bad workman¬ ship, bad selection of timber, and a thousand other objectionable things in connection with work, over which he has had no con¬ trol. In order to aid the finisher as much as possible, I give a few hints herewith, for the use of the workman whose duty it may be to prepare and put up the work to be finished. The sug¬ gestions given, are equally applicable for hard and soft woods and I trust they will not be out of place. First, then see that the material is dry, free from imperfections, of the full sizes required, and of such variety of grain as may be suitable for the purpose intended. Next, make all joints close and as near perfect as possible as on this point rests, in a great measure, the artistic appearance of the work. Make all angles sharp and clean, and all mitered mouldings true and with perfect intersections. Never use glass paper where a scraper can be ap- ( 13 ) 14 the hardwood finisher. plied, and when a large quantity of mouldings of similar con¬ tour and size are to be employed; it is always better to make a scraper their reverse shape, and use it in cleaning and pre¬ paring the mouldings for the varnisher, than to use glass paper for the purpose. To prepare the surface of wood so that a good £ *finish” may be put upon it afterwards, requires much skill and patience, the latter being the greater factor of the two. In order to get a good smooth surface on hardwoods, resource must be had to the “ scraper ” after the plane or chisel has done its part of the work; and the proper handling and sharpening of the scraper requires both skill and judgment, but if the following suggestions and instructions are closely followed, I think the ordinary workman wbo can sharpen a smoothing-plane iron and adjust it properly will have no difficulty whatever in becoming an expert in using and sharpening a scraper. The scraper is a tool used by all kinds of wood workers as an aid in producing more flat and regular surfaces than can ordinarily be produced with the plane. Its use does not dispense with the plane ; on the contrary, any article on which the scraper is to be used must first be planed off as level and smooth as a plane can make it. But the plane in doing its work—no matter how sharp it may be, nor how closely the back-iron is set up to the edge of the cutting- iron, nor how straight across the edge of the cutting-iron is sharpened—is liable to leave certain marks and ridges on the face of the wood work, which, on hard woods, are not effec¬ tively removed by the use of sand paper alone. The scraper is requisitioned and brought into use after the plane has finished its work, and j ust previous to the final operation of sand papering. In addition to the removal of the ridges legitimately left after the plane, the scraper is used for smoothing up all kinds THE HARDWOOD EINISHBK. 15 of cross grained spots that are sure to occur in curly and figured woods; but, as far as possible, this use of the scraper should be avoided. To dress up excessively a cross-grained patch in a stile or panel will most assuredly show through the finish and spoil the flatness of the work. The scraper consists of a thin and highly-tempered plate of steel measuring about 5 inches by 3 inches, or 4^- inches by 2|- inches, and slightly less than 1-1 Gth inch in thickness. The long edges are sharpened in a manner presently to be described. Both long edges may be kept straight, as at A B, Fig, 1, or one edge may have rounded corners of different Fig. 1. radii, as at C D. These corners are often useful in working up hollows and mouldings generally. The “straight” edge, A B, it will be noted, is not quite straight throughout its whole length. Near the ends the edge is gradually rounded off to prevent the corner catching in the surface that is being operated on. In use, the scraper is held firmly in both hands and tilted forward, away from the operator, until the cutting edge grips the surface of the wood, exactly as shown in Fig. 2. It is then kept steadily at this angle and made to cut a fine shaving at each stroke as it is being pushed away from the operator, E to F, Fig. 2. In illustration of the cutting action of the scraper an enlarged diagrammatic figure is shown at Fig. 3. You must understand, however, that this figure is only a THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 16 diagram, for though it correctly illustrates the cutting prin¬ ciple, it does not represent a true section of the scraper. Correctly sharpened, the scraper is a real cutting tool, and as its name suggests—and as in practice it often is—a mere abrader of the surface. When in good working trim the scraper should, if desired, take off shaving after shaving perfectly uniform in thickness, and nearly as wide as the edge THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 17 is long. But such a performance is rarely required of it, and never when the plane has previously done its work well. Too much emphasis cannot be laid on the fact that the proper duty of the scraper is not to make a surface, but to correct the irregularities on it. The cutting power of the scraper depends upon, first, the quality and temper of the steel of which it is made ; and, secondly, upon the proper formation of the burr or feather along its edges. It is also an imperative condition that the sides of the steel plate should be perfectly bright and free from rust marks or indentions of any kind. It is by no means an uncommon thing to find any rusty piece of sheet steel—a piece of an old hand-saw or try-square, for example—being used as a scraper. The smallest appre¬ ciation of why the scraper cuts would indicate how useless such material is for this particular purpose. On the other hand, scarcely anything better can be found for making a scraper than a piece of broken saw blade, provided the sides of it are still polished and bright. The fact that the saw was broken may easily be taken to indicate a higher temper 18 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. than usual in the blade, thus fitting it exactly for the purpose of a scraper. The temper of an ordinary saw blade is not usually hard enough. Provided that there is enough elasticity to “give” in the operator’s hands as it is being pushed along, the scraper should be nearly too hard for an ordinary file to touch. If it can be filed easily then its edge will soon be gone. At the same time, if the s^eel is merely hard without the required amount of elasticity, the burr will strip off as soon as it is applied to the work, leaving a coarse, jagged and utterly useless edge behind. Secondly, as to the proper formation of the burr edge. Having secured a suitable piece of steel, it should be laid on the bench, as shown in Fig 4, the edge of the scrape* projecting slightly beyond the edge THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 1!) of the bench. A narrow chisel, brad-awl or gouge is then laid on the scraper horizontally, and with considerable press¬ ure is stroked backwards and forwards from end to end of the plate, G to H, Fig. 4. After about 10 or 12 strokes the scraper is turned over and the other side is treated in the same manner. This completes the first part of the process of sharpening. Next, the gouge is placed vertically against the edge, as shown in Fig. 5, and stroked to and fro with about the same pressure and firmness as the sides of plate received, and about the same number of times. Or else, for this second part, the scraper may be placed on its corner on the bench, as shown in Fig. 6, and held firmly in the left hand, while the right hand deftly strokes the convex side of the gouge with a quick action and considerable pressure, once or twice in an upward direction, as from I to J in Fig. 6. The scraper is then tried on the work to determine its sharp- 20 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. ness or otherwise ; often, it would appear, with very disap¬ pointing results. If by good fortune a satisfactory edge had been made, that fact is as often due to the circumstances of chance as to the absolute skill of the workman. For it is rarely, indeed, that a wood worker can be found who can or will give a clear explanation of the effect of the process to which the scraper has been subjected; and until that degree of intelligence is assured uniform success in sharpening is hardly to be expected. If ? on the other hand, the scraper fails to cut satisfactorily, it is invariably laid down on the bench and put through the two processes again. To sharpen the scraper successfully the edge should be ground straight and square and sloped up at the ends, as shown by A and B, Fig. 1. It should then be placed on its edge on a fine-cutting oil-stone, as shown in Fig. 7, and rubbed backwards and forwards until all traces of the grinding have disappeared. Then it should be laid down flat on its side, still on the oil stone, as in Fig. 8, and rubbed until the sides are bright and polished all along the edges. If any false burr or feather-edge has been created in this last pro¬ cess, the scraper must be set up on its edge again, as in Fig. 7, and rubbed a little more until two perfectly square THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 21 and bright corners appear along the scraper. Now, if due care has really been taken in making the corners perfect and square, the scraper in this condition would produce shavings tolerably well on any hard wood ; but the shaving would be the result of abrasive and not of cutting action. It is purely a matter of choice if at this stage a smooth- backed gouge is passed to and fro over the side of the scraper, as in Fig. 4, with the notion of imparting a still higher polish to the plate of steel at the places where the burr is to be formed. But the greatest care must be taken not to press too heavily, and also to maintain a perfectly level position with the gouge while the polishing is being done. As stated, this polishing the side is not really necessary, and the scraper would cut very well without its supposed as¬ sistance. Next, the scraper is placed on its corner on the bench and 22 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. a flat and smooth-backed gouge is passed once—or twice at the most—along the edge. The scraper during this opera¬ tion may be held either as already shown in Fig. 6, or as the writer prefers holding it, as in Fig. 9 ; but for the matter of that, there is absolutely nothing to be said against fastening the scraper in the bench vise while this operation is being carried out. The thing to be arrived at in this particular action is the production of an exceedingly fine burr, scarcely enough to be called a burr at all, but a particularly regular bending over at the corner ; the gouge must be very lightly pressed or it will cause the burr to curl up too much, and also it must be kept nearly, though not quite, horizontal. The mistake most frequently made is that too great pressure is put on the gouge, and too much stroking is done, the barr thereby produced being large, jagged and too much bent over to enable the scraper to do its work at a comfortable inclina¬ tion. Another serious defect is that of declining the gouge too much, as shown in Fig. 10, this also necessitating ex¬ cessive tilting over the scraper when at work, as indicated in THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. Fig. 11. Again, as to re-sliarpening the scraper: When this becomes necessary the scraper must be placed upon the oil Fig. 10. Fig. 11. Fig. 12. L Fig. 14. Fig. 13. stone and rubbed up again to perfectly square angles, as described in connection with Figs. 7 and 8. Most, workmen, instead of taking this slight trouble, simply lay the scraper on the bench and, as already stated, stroke it over in both directions afresh. Figs, 12, 13 and 14 have been specially drawn to illustrate the effect of this want of common observa¬ tion. If the scraper was sharpened well in the first instance, it will, when ready for re-sharpening, appear like the section at K in Fig. 12. When the gouge is stroked heavily along it the burr edge must be either closed up against the side, as shown in L, Fig. 13, or else it will be drawn out as seen at M, Fig. 14. If the former, then the difficulty of forming a new burr edge is very great; if the latter, then the original 24 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. burr is merely bent outwards again when the gouge is applied to the edge of the scraper, and will invariably be found stripped oft’ and broken if the edge is examined after the scraper has been applied to the work a second time. Wherever possible and suitable I would advise the use of glue in putting up finish, and I may here remark to the work¬ man that, after a little practice in the use of glue and a little knowledge of its worth and capabilities, he will prefer it to nails or screws where he can apply it; further on I will give a few hints and suggestions on the proper methods of using glue in house finishing. Of course, I am well aware that the use of nails aud screws is a necessity in wood finishing, but where the work is to be left natural color, or stained and polished, there should not be the slightest suspicion of a nail or screw head, and to meet this condition the skilled workman resorts to several expedients to hide the fastenings, among which are the following: These methods, which are similar, are called “ sliver - nailing,” or sometimes “chip blind-nailing.” In the first method, shown at Fig. 15, the THE HARDWOOD FINISHER, 25 wood is raised with a firmer chisel and the screw or nail is then put in place and driven home. At Fig. 16, the “ sliver ” or chip, Fig. 16. is raised with a gouge. In the first instance a sharp knife should be employed to draw lengthwise with the grain two deep cuts the width of the chisel, as this keeps the sides of the chip from split¬ ting. The chisel should be set at a steep angle at first till the proper depth is reached, and then made to turn out a cut of even thickness until there is room to drive in a screw or nail. If too sharp a curve is given, the “ sliver ” is likely to break apart in being straightened out again. In Fig. 16, I show how the “ sliver ” is raised by using a gouge. To do this nicely a gouge about three-quarters of an inch across the face should be used and the curve should be quick. In this case no knife cut is needed, as the corners of the gouge will cut as it progresses. The cut being made and the “ sliver ” slightly raised as shown in both cuts, the screw or nail may be driven without disturbing either the “sliver” or the cut underneath. See that the head of either screw or nail be sunk beneath surface of recess, so that the “sliver ” will fit back in its place without obstruction. Now 26 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. take properly prepared glue and, after warming the “sliver ” and recess with a warm cloth, cover the underside of “ sliver ” and the wood underneath, seeing that the glue is not too thick; press down the “ sliver ” in place, then rub with the face of a hammer until the glue holds ; then leave until dry, when the whole may be dressed off and finished. Another way is to glue the “ sliver ” down and then take a flat piece of pine about an inch thick, and glue over the “ sliver,” rubbing the pine block to and fro until the glue takes. The block is left on until dry and solid. The pine block may be split off, and the face of the wood dressed clean and finished. In hard-wood finish for interior housework this latter plan of fastening up stuff is often resorted to. When the work has been made secure by any or all the methods described, the next thing to be considered is the smooth¬ ing and final finishing, and these two processes as here defined, pertain to all sorts of wood, hard or soft, that is intended to be finished in the natural colors or stained. In order to obtain a fine and substantial finish the work must either be smoothed fine with a plane, scraped with a steel scraper, or rubbed down with the finest glass paper. For very hard or irregular grained wood, such as is made into veneers or employed for the finer kinds of work, the cleaning-off process consists first in planing the surfaces with a toothed plane, having a serrated edge like a comb, this tool scratching away the high places and leveling the surface without pulling or splintering the wood, as a common knife will do unless very carefully adjusted and worked. After tooth-plan¬ ing, the surfaces are scraped with a steel hand scraper until the scratches made by a tooth plane are removed, and the surface is then finished by rubbing with glass-paper of different finenesses. Straight-grained hard woods can be cleaned off by planing with a common smoothing plane, and then scraping and rubbing them with glass-paper. Soft wood requires only careful planing and glass-papering, but if scraping is omitted great care must be taken in planing, or else the plane marks will show by reflection when the surface is polished, varnished or painted. I have THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 2 T known of cases where the finishers were wrongly accused of im¬ proper execution of the work because the finish, after being ex¬ posed to the changes of temperature occurring in a year, became impaired on account of the appearance of fine cracks running with the grain, differing from those caused by the improper ap¬ plication of varnish, which always runs across the grain. Among other reasons for this premature impairment, one is that the fine fibres become affected; sandpapering the wood lengthwise or with the grain will loosen these, but will not break them off. The application of the filler will force them down into the pores, the filler making them adhere perfectly tight for some time ; but the changing of the temperature expands and contracts the wood, thus causing the fibres to loosen and work out, making their ap¬ pearance in fine cracks and impairing the finish. This fault most frequently occurs in open-grained wood especially when employed in the common class of cabinet-work which is transferred to the finishing-room directly upon leaving the machinery where it has been sandpapered lengthwise by a set of cylinders under heavy pressure, and should be guarded against with great care. “This sandpapering,” finishers will generally say, “ is a matter for the cabinet maker or the carpenter ; daub it over and let it go.” It is immaterial to them how the finish holds out after leaving their hands; but I find it is well fora finisher to do his duty by at least insisting upon having the work lightly cross-sandpapered with paper with No. i. or No. i y 2 paper. This process will loosen the fibres at both ends; conse¬ quently, they will fall off, or, if they do not do so, they should be dusted off previous to filling. There is one more source of injury which should be guarded against with great care, and that is finishing over wet timber; nor should steam, water or dampness in any form be allowed to come in contact with the smooth dry surface, as it will raise the grain, making redressing by the joiner a necessity. In their natural state all woods are more or less porous consist¬ ing of bundles of hard fibres, with interstices filled with a softer 28 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. substance. These constitute the grain, and as the hard or soft parts predominate, the wood is said to be hard, fine, or close- grained, or soft and open-grained. To fill these softer parts, or pores, and give to the whole an even, uniform surface, hard, and capable of a brilliant polish, is the object of the finishers’ art. This hard, firm surface was formerly gained by the successive ap¬ plication of several coats of varnish, at least three preliminary coats being required to fill the pores; the inequalities were then reduced by fine sand or glass-paper, and several additional coats laid on, the last, after becoming thoroughly hard being polished if desired. In this operation, however, a great quantity of var¬ nish is absorbed by the open pores of the wood, and it is conse¬ quently so expensive that it is now seldom used. Recourse ia therefore had to various plans to render the wood non-absorbent before applying varnishes, and certain compounds called fillers are largely used for this purpose. These I will endeavor to de¬ scribe, and give the methods of application in the following section. WOOD-FILLERS AND WOOD-FILLING. In woods employed for house and cabinet work there are two distinct natures, therefore different treatment is required in finish¬ ing. First, there is the coarse or open-grained wood, having its surface perforated with innumerable pores or cells. In order to obtain a smooth and even finish, these pores should be filled up to a level with the hard grain, or, as the grainer would term them, the “lights” of the wood. Next we have the fine or close- grained wood, which, like the preceding, also contains these pores, but they are of a very fine character, and simply sealing them up with a liquid filler will enable one to produce a fin#* smooth finish, which we shall consider farther on. I will now return to the open or wide-grained wood which re¬ quires more attention and care than the closer-grained wood, if same results are expected. There are many things that will serve the purpose of fillers and make pretty fair work ; among these may THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 29 be mentioned, china clay, silver white and corn starch; the best of which is probably the last named. This is well adapted to the work being equally useful with light, or when colored with dark wood ; one fault with it, is that it never hardens. China clay— the English is the best—makes an exceedingly good filler; it is light in color, very fine and dries as hard as cement. There are an hundred ways of preparing fillers for use, and nearly as many different materials for making them ; I would recommend however, that wherever it is possible, that Wheeler’s patent quartz filler be used ; though I am aware, that in many cases, it may not be advisable to use it, and to meet these rare conditions the following mixtures may be substituted. A filler should be so mixed that the greater portion of the vehicle will penetrate into the wood, leaving the pigment on the surface to be rubbed into the pores and still retain enough combining property to form a hard and impenetrable surface. This de¬ pends entirely upon the proportions of the vehicles employed, and. as different pigments require different quantities of vehicle, I sel¬ dom mix filler by actual measurement unless it be in large amounts. I proceed with the mixing by filling my pot two-thirds full of the dry pigment, then add boiled linseed oil, producing the consistency of putty, then dilute with about one part japan and two parts turpentine. Should it be required to keep the wood as light as possible, replace the boiled oil with raw, using a smaller quantity, but a little more japan. For all light wood the light japan should be preferred, although there are many who never use anything but the common brown. Naptha can also be employed in place of the turpentine, somewhat reducing the expense ; but, as naptha evaporates much faster, it prevents the operator from covering an extended surface without running the risk of having it dry hard. This causes difficulty at “rubbing it in” and wiping off the sur¬ plus, although “wiping off’’should not proceed until the filler has flatted—or, at least, “ set.” This to a certain extent the operator can accelerate or retard by omitting or adding a THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 30 small quantity of oil, keeping in view the fact that the smaller the quantity of oil used, the lighter colored, but the less durable, will be the finish. Oil is sometimes used as a filler, but its use is not recom¬ mended ; applied directly to the wood, its effect is to swell the fibres, or “ raise the grain,” which remains in that condition un¬ til the oil becomes entirely dry or disappears. During this time the fibres are gradually shrinking, and consequently moving or checking the varnish. The qualities essential to a good filler are that it shall readily enter the porous portion of the wood, and shall very soon harden and render the wood impervious to the varnish, which should lie smoothly upon the surface, giving brilliancy and effect to the natural beauty of the wood ; and that it shall not raise the grain cf the wood ; and that it shall not change the color of the wood. These conditions are satisfactorily fulfilled by few of the home-made fillers ordinarily used in shops, and while I give a number of receipts, my readers are advised that they will obtain better satisfaction, at less cost by purchasing some of the patent fillers now coming into general use. In these fillers very little oil is used and a large amount of dryers, so that the wood becomes perfectly dry and hard in a few hours prevent¬ ing any swelling or shrinking of the fibres of the wood after the varnish is applied. The following fillers should be allowed to dry until quite hard. A period of about eight hours is usually suffi¬ cient, but it is better to let the work stand for twenty-four hours before touching it with glass-paper. In applying a filler it should always be borne in mind that the substance of wood con¬ sists of a multitude of small tubes lying side by side. These tubes or cells are not continuous from top to bottom of the tree, but are comparatively short and taper out to points so that they are thickest in the middle. Most of the common woods have the walls of these tubes so thin that liquid is readily absorbed by them and carried into the substance for some distance. Different kinds of' wood differ much in the shape and arrangement of these cells. In filling the pores the first step is taken in providing an abso- THE- HARDWOOD FINISHER. 31 lutely smooth surface. We trust mainly to mechanical force in rubbing in, aided by the absorptive powers of the wood. Formerly successive varnishings and rubbings and scrapings took much time and when they were done, the final finish had still to be applied, but the whole process has now been simplified, by using fillers. The careful workman will not leave “great daubs” of super¬ fluous filler here and there on the work, but will see that all cor¬ ners and heads and quirks of mouldings are well cleaned off be¬ fore it gets too hard to remove easily, and should there be any nail holes—which there ought not to be—he will have them filled with properly colored putty or cement and nicely smoothed down before he makes any attempt to put on his finishing coats. Among the many homemade fillers I have endeavored to select the best. Walnut Filler. —For Medium and Cheap Work.—-io lbs. bolted English whiting, 3 lbs. dry burnt umber, 4 lbs. Vandyke brown, 3 lbs. calcined plaster, y 2 lb. Venetian red, r gal. boiled linseed oil, y 2 gal. spirits turpentine, 1 quart black japan. Mix well and ap¬ ply with brush; rub well with excelsior or tow, clean off with rags. Walnut Filler. —For Imitation Wax-Finish.—5 lbs. bolted whit¬ ing, 1 lb. calcined plaster, 6 oz. calcined magnesia, 1 oz. dry burnt umber, 1 oz. French yellow, 1 quart raw linseed oil, 1 quart benzine spirits, y 2 pint very thin white shellac. Mix well and apply with a brush. Rub well in and clean off with rags. Before using the above filling give the work one coat of white shellac. When dry, sand-paper down and apply the filler. Walnut Filler. —For First-Class Work.-—3 lbs. burnt umber, ground in oil, 1 lb. burnt sienna, ground in oil, 1 quart spirits of turpentine, 1 pint brown japan. Mix well and apply with a brush : sand-paper well; clean off with tow and rags. This gives a beautiful chocolate color to the wood. Filler for Light Woods.— 5 lbs - bolted English whiting, 3 lbs. calcined plaster, i lb. corn starch, 3 oz. calcined magnesia, y 2 gallon raw linseed oil, 1 quart spirits of turpentine, 1 quart brown 2 32 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. japan, and sufficient French yellow to tinge the white. Mix well and apply with a brush, rub in with excelsior or tow, and clean off with rags. Filler for Cherr 5 lbs. bolted English whiting, 2 lbs. cal¬ cined plaster, 1^4 oz. dry burnt sienna, 1 oz. Venetian red, 1 quart boiled linseed oil, 1 pint spirits of turpentine, 1 pint brown japan. Mix well, rub in with excelsior or tow and clean off with rags. . Filler for Oak.— 5 lbs. bolted English whiting, 2 lbs. calcined plaster, 1 oz. dry burnt sienna, y 2 oz. dry French yellow, i quart raw linseed oil, 1 pint benzine spirits, )/ 2 pint white shellac. Mix well, apply with brush, rub in with excelsior or tow, and clean off with rags. Filler for Rosewood. — 6 lbs. bolted English whiting, 2 lbs. cal¬ cined plaster, 1 lb. rose pink, 2 oz. Venetian red, y 2 lb. Vandyke brown, y 2 lb. brandon red, 1 gallon boiled linseed oil, y 2 gallon spirits of turpentine, 1 quart black japan. Mix well, apply with brush, rub in with excelsior or tow, and clean off with rags. Another. —Stir boiled oil and corn-starch into a very thick paste; add a little japan, and reduce with turpentine, but add no color for light ash. For dark ash and chestnut use a little raw sienna; for walnut, burnt umber, add a small quantity of Vene¬ tian red ; for bay wood, burnt sienna. In no case use more color than is required to overcome the white appearance of the starch, unless it is wished to stain the wood. The filler is worked with brush and rags in the usual manner. Let it dry forty-eight hours, or until it is in condition to rub down with No. o sand¬ paper without much gumming up, and if an extra fine finish is desired, fill again with the same materials, using lessoil, butmos of japan and turpentine. Another. —Take three papers corn-starch, one quart boiled linseed oil, two quarts turpentine, one-quarter pint japan; cut in half the turpentine before mixing; it will not cut perfectly other¬ wise. For dark woods add burnt umber to color. When nearly dry rub off with cloths. The above mixture must be used fresh. THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 88 as it is of no value after it is four or five days old. The cloths used in rubbing as above mentioned should be destroyed imme¬ diately after use, as spontaneous combustion is likely to ensue from the ingredients employed. Preparation of Wood for Staining,— Asa filler of wood to be stained, apply French plaster of Paris, mixed as a creamy paste with water, and after rubbing in, clean any surplus off; or use whiting finely powdered, or white lead slacked with painters’ dry¬ ing oil, and used as a filler. Another process is that of oiling, then rubbing crosswise to the grain with a sponge dipped in thin polish composed of melted beeswax, resin, and shellac, and smoothing the surface, when dry, with pumice-stone, or fine glass paper. Embody the work a second time with thicker polish, or a mixture of polish and varnish. The rubbers will work easily with half the quantity of oil which is ordinarily used. This second body should be rubbed very smooth with moist putty. In the use of any filler, care must be taken in the selection of color, for the employment of a light colored filler on dark wood or vice versa would result in gross defacement, as the lighter color would show at the pores of the wood in the one case, and the darker in the other. Therefore, to avoid this the filler should be as near as possible the color of the wood to be filled. As a general thing, paint manufacturers who do not make fillers a specialty use opaque colors to stain their filler, as it requires a less quantity. This will do sometimes, but not always. But those which give to the wood a clear and bright appearance, and therefore produce the best results, are stained with transparent colors; those chiefly employed are burnt umber and sienna, Venetian red, Vandyke brown and charcoal black, the charcoal being ground fine in oil, while the others can be used dry and according to the following recipes with good results : In mixing any or all dark fillers the same pigments used for the light (previously described) should be kept for a basis, with suffi¬ cient'coloring to stain it to the desired depth of shade. Filler for Walnut is very often stained with burnt umber; this 34 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. is reddish in hue and gives to the wood a pleasing effect. vAhers use Venetian red darkened somewhat with lamp black ; this is rather opaque, and tends to deaden the color of the wood. There is another article—namely, Vandyke brown—which gives fair re¬ sults. In order to obtain a rich effect, the filler should be made considerably darker than the wood when new. Fillers for mahogany, cherry, California redwood, and other woods of similar shade, should be stained with burnt sienna, as they should be finished very clear. It is well to know that char¬ coal black, and Venetian red will give the desired shade for any dark-colored wood in common use or for all colors in antique, but it does not show up quite as clear as some other combinations. For rosewood, charcoal as a stain will suffice, and for vanilla or Brazil-wood the use of rose-pink will give good results. The methods of mixing these fillers are quite numerous. It is impossible to give the proportions definitely, owing to the strength of the colors or the transparency of the chief ingredient, but one cannot go astray by following the preceding rules. Mix the light pigment to a paste with boiled oil, which must be well stirred up. Then in another pot mix a quantity of the colored pigment with turpentine or naphtha; and when thor¬ oughly “cut,” or dissolved, add sufficient of it to the light to give the shade required. After this is obtained, dilute with tur¬ pentine or naphtha and japan, as directed in mixing light filler. This applies to all colors except black, which is seldom obtained finely ground unless in oil, and properly thinned down. There are many finishers and firms who exclusively use manu¬ factured fillers, and in consequence meet with many difficulties as to the shade they require, as different manufacturers use differ¬ ent colors to stain their filler. But this difficulty can be over¬ come by a few experiments with the above-named stains. As the foregoing gives pretty nearly all the fillers in general use with the exception of some of the manufactured mineral prepara¬ tions of which I will have more to say further on, I will now pro¬ ceed to describe the method of application, and for the greater THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 35 portion of this description, and other matters in this work, I am indebted to Mr. R. A. A. Bahre’s papers on the subject contrib¬ uted to House-Paintmg and Decorating , a monthly magazine published in the city of New York. The secret of this is to do the work well, quickly and econom¬ ically. These points are dealt with in the following: Have your filler mixed to the consistency of ordinary lead paint; then apply to the prepared surface of the wood with a pound brush, or, what is still better, a 3-0 or 4-0 oval chisel var¬ nish brush. In applying the filler it is not necessary to cover all th ? small beads and carvings; and if the filler be light better aloid coating them at all, and if dark or antique stain them with a little of the filler, much reduced with spirits of turpentine. For this purpose have at hand a small pot with a small fitch or sash tool. By not filling the beads and carvings, the varnish is not so liable to run down in them, although sufficient remains to produce a finish equal to the balance of the^surface. After enough surface has been covered with the filler, so that what has been first applied begins to flatten, the process of wip¬ ing should immediately begin, using for that purpose either a rag or a handful of waste or Excelsior. If the wood is very open grained, waste is preferable. With a piece of this that has pre¬ viously been used and is pretty well supplied with filler, rub cross¬ wise of the grain, rather rubbing it into the grain than wiping it off. After the whole surface has been gone over in this way, take a clean piece of waste or rag (never use Excelsior for wiping clean) and wipe the surface perfectly clean and free from filler, using a wooden pick the point of which has been covered with a rag or waste to clean out the corners, beads, etc. It is well to give these picks some attention, as a person once accustomed to certain tools can accomplish more and better work than with tools that feel strange in his hands; therefore, each finisher should furnish his own pick. As to their construction, these are best made from second-growth hickory, which can be procured 36 THE HARDWOOB FINISHER. at any carriage repair shop, such as old spokes, broken felloes, etc. They are made eight inches in length, half inch oval at one end and tapering down to the point at the other. Sharpen the oval end like a cold chisel, then smooth with sandpaper, which should also be used to sharpen the tool when the same becomes worn dull. This picking out of the filler from beads, etc., can be acceler¬ ated by the use of a picking brush manufactured especially for that purpose, but it is not advisable to use this on very coarsely grained wood, as it scrubs the filler out of the pores. There are several fillers used which do not require this picking and scrubing. One is a liquid filler used chiefly for carriage fin¬ ishing ; but it can be used successfully on butternut, bird’s-eye maple, curly maple, satinwood, hickory, etc. It is made from gum and oil. Another is a filler made from finely-ground pumice stone, mixed as other fillers. It is applied with a brush, and must be left to dry at least twenty-four hours; it is then sand¬ papered smooth, when an oil varnish is applied, rendering it com¬ pletely transparent. This last can be used only upon light wood. The workman, as a matter of course, will understand that dif¬ ferent woods, require slightly different treatment, and the finer- grained woods, among which are the pines, maples, cedars and poplars, of different varieties, and birch, cherry, beech, syca¬ more, white box, satinwood, etc., require no filling, not that a filling would prove detrimental to the finish—except upon stained work or white holly, which in order to maintain a clear color should never be filled—but, from the condition of all fine wood, it is superfluous, and only causes unnecessary labor and expense. At this point it will be convenient to pause to consider the sub¬ ject of mineral or prepared wood-fillers. I think I have prepared the mind of the reader to receive the fact, that of all the several manufactured preparations in the market I think that Wheeler’s patent filler made by the Bridgeport Wood-Finishing Company, is decidedly the best and the most THE HAEDWOOD FINISHER. 37 economical to use, for many reasons, the chief one being its cer¬ tainty of action. A great deal of time and money have been wasted in attempting to make good fillers, to no purpose, and a great variety, as I have shown—of substances as chalk, plaster of Paris, corn starch, etc., etc., have been mixed with various vehicles and rubbed into the wood with but indifferent success. Most of these compounds labor under the disadvantages of forming chem¬ ical compounds with the oil and consequently they shrink very much on drying, so that though the surface may appear smooth when they are first put on, waves and hollows make their appear¬ ance as they dry. These waves having round edges, are difficult lo fill, the second coat building up as much or more upon the level spaces as in the hollows. It sometimes seems almost im¬ possible with these fillers in the latter coats to make the hollows bold any substance, the filler clinging chiefly to the surfaces. I have thought it necessary to show how the ordinary or home¬ made fillers act, and fail in order to show by contrast how much easier it is to work efficiently with the mineral fillers. The min¬ eral quartz, when mixed with oil, probably shrinks less in drying than any other similar known mixture. If a surface of wood be covered with this and then rubbed, the sharp and angular parti¬ cles of the silica imbed themselves in the pores of the wood, clos¬ ing them up, while the oil cements them fast. This is the foun¬ dation of Wheeler’s wood filler, and which we recommend for use by all wood finishers. When the pores have been filled with the silica, and are cemented fast by the proper mixture of gums and oils, the difficult part of the work is done. After a good surface has been made upon the article it is ready for the filler, which is to be selected according to the color de¬ sired. In putting the filler on it is thinned with turpentine until about like flowing varnish, and is applied with a brush. Only so much of the surface is covered as can be cleaned off before it hardens. When it has set so that the gloss has left the surface, it is at once rubbed off with “ excelsior ” or shavings, going across 38 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. the grain with the strokes. If the filler dries too fast or too light a little raw linseed oil may be used in it. For a nicer job the filler is rubbed in with a rubber, made by gluing a piece of sole or belt leather on the face of a block of wood and trimming the edges flush with the block. The rubbing is done after the filler has set and before it is cleaned off. If it dries off too light, a little white japan may be added on nice work. The light-colored filler should be used on all work where light and dark woods are used together. The filling, it must be understood, is done by the silica, which will often be found in the shape of a sediment in the bottom of the mixture. Eight hours is generally considered a sufficient time for the filler to dry. When the work with the filler is done the surface of the wood ought to be like so much ground glass. Such portions of the wood as show a solid grain need very little filler. On Georgia pine, after the filler is dry, a little rubbing in the direction of the grain with very fine sand-paper is an advantage. If the filler has been properly used the desired results will be obtained with little labor. The wood is now in a condition to receive the final coat¬ ings. Whether the work is to be polished or “ dead finished,” do not employ shellac or “ French polish.” If a “dead” sur¬ face is wanted, wax finish is easily put on, and as easily rubbed to a good surface. F. W. Devoe & Co. prepare a wax finish, which is a convenient preparation of wax and gums, and can be applied with a brush and then rubbed down with a woolen cloth, tied up to make a hard rubber, until a fine lusterless surface is ob¬ tained. With mahogany and similiar woods this greatly im¬ proves the color of the wood. When this has dried, which will be in the course of a few hours, the work is ready for use. The wax finish, like many of the furniture creams, has the advantage that it can be put on in a few minutes at any time to brighten up work when it has become dull. A piece of work prepared in this way, after THE HA3DWOOD FINISHER. 39 four operations, will present as fine an appearance as the best cabinet work found in the furniture stores. The materials which have been described, it will be noticed, are both manufactured articles. The prepared filler is indispens¬ able ; the wax finish can be made by the mixing together, by the aid of heat, white wax and spirits of turpentine until they are of the consistency of thick paste. Another wax finish is made of beeswax, spirits of turpentine and linseed oil in equal parts The addition of two drams of Alkanet root to every twenty ounces of turpentine darkens and enriches the color. The root is to be put into a little bag and allowed to stand in the turpentine until it is sufficiently colored. An altogether more durable surface can be made by a little change in the treatment. When the wood is filled instead of apply¬ ing the wax, take some hard oil finish, a preparation manufactured by Messrs. Berry Bros., of Detroit, Mich., and put it on with a brush precisely like varnish. The coat should not be too heavy, espe¬ cially on vertical surfaces, and the brush used ought to be a good one. This material gives a most brilliant polish. By rubbing it down with a woolen cloth and pumice stone powder it can also be made dull. Hard-oil finish does not spot with hot or cold water, is slightly elastic and is not injured by pretty severe soaking in water. It gets hard in twelve hours or less in warm weather and over night in winter time. It is one of the best surfaces which can be used, and has the advantage of working very well in the hands of one who is not an expert in the art of finishing wood or hand¬ ling varnish. It will make a very fair surface applied direct to the unfilled wood, in which case it is a good substitute for shellac. Wax finish has the advantage that scratches can be easily re¬ paired without sending to the cabinet maker or the painter. Here a word of advice to the carpenter who does any work of this character may save him some trouble and make way for the fur¬ ther use of the same kind of finish. When the woodwork of a house is treated in this way, be sure and leave a little bottle of the wax polish with the housekeeper, with directions as to the method 40 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. of using it. In sending out a “what-not,” book-case, or any other article of similar kind, put up a little bottle of the polish and show the owner, or, preferably the lady of the house, how to repair any little scratch and make the work look “ as good as new.” The fresh appearance of the work will be a good advertisement, while it will prevent complaints and dissatisfaction that often follow the use of work which, when injured, cannot be restored. It may be said that either of the methods of finishing involves a great deal of labor. This is true ; but the amount is not much greater than is needed for three coats of paint, and the cost of the paint would probably be more than the cost of the finish. The labor in one case can be of a cheap character, and in the other an experienced painter must be employed. The profit upon the “ dead finish ” can go into the pocket of the carpenter, while that of the painting must in any event be divided between the carpenter and painter, or belong to the latter altogether who is, after all the proper person to do the work. I have now said about all that is necessary in the matter of “ fillers ” and “filling,” but, as sometimes happens, the old system of “sizing,” has to be resorted to for certain kinds of work, I give herewith a formula for its construction and use : Size of different kinds is sometimes applied to the surface of wood to prevent absorption of the varnish. The kind of material used for the size is not important, the object being only to prevent absorption by a very thin coat of some substance not soluble in the varnish. For dark-colored wood, thin size, made by reducing ordinary glue with water, is generally used ; but for lighter- colored surfaces a white size is used, which is prepared by boil¬ ing white kid or other leather or parchment-cuttings, in water for a few hours, or until it forms a thin jelly like substance, which is reduced with water to a thin consistency, and used in a tepid state. Sometimes solutions of isinglass or tragacanth are employed in like manner. Unlike the best fillers, sizes of any kind do not improve the finish, and are sometimes a positive detriment to it. They are used solely as an economy to reduce THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 41 the quantity of the varnish needed ; and their use is not recom¬ mended for the best work. STAINING, FINISHING, VARNISHING AND POLISHING. The following will apply to nearly all stained work with the ex¬ ception that the coloring materials must be chosen to suit tie results desired; directions for mixing and preparing will be found under the head of woods. Staining, or dyeing, though not very modern, has grown in popularity of late. This is due not so much to the natural imitation of valuable wood as to the beautiful colors in which it may be produced—for example, the deep red, generally represented as mahogany, which forms a handsome and lively contrast with nearly any color or style of finishing. In house interiors, however, it has not been so extensively used as it has on furniture, owing to the preference for the light wood for house finishing. But, despite jts handsome color, at the present time it is obliged to yield to the more artistic and substan¬ tial old oak, which, it is generally anticipated, will continue in vogue a greater length of time than did the stained work. An ob¬ jection to stained work is that after it has been in service a com¬ paratively short time the finish and stain wear off from those por¬ tions most exposed to severe usage. The appearance is thereby destroyed, and it cannot be restored by refinishing. Another objection to stains is that they fade, a fault to which all these bright colors are subject. Whether this style of work is la mode or not, it will always remain in greater or less demand. A few details of staining will, therefore, be due. Now, if the object of staining is to imitate natural wood, it would be found desirable to procure specimens of the woods to be imitated. Excellent and most convenient specimens can be obtained at any scroll-saw supply house at a trifling expense. Commence by oiling and varnishing the speci¬ men to bring out the color, or apply a darkener if an antique 42 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. color is required. As a darkener for cherry, apply with a brush aqua-ammonia diluted with water according to the depth of color required. This is probably the best mixture for all red woods, as it develops the colors to their utmost intensity. Lime- water and lye (potash solution) are also frequently used, although lye should be used cautiously; for if applied too strong, it destroys the red color after developing it. Iron fillings or shavings boiled in vinegar produce a darkener for oak, and are frequently employed in producing the “darks” or shades in sixteenth century finish. After darkening with a water solution the specimens should not be oiled, but after having thoroughly dried should receive a coat of shellac, and, when dry, a coat of varnish. Having the colors well brought out, they will be found of great utility inpre. paring a stain of accurate shade. Now, the secret in preparing a good stain is that it should be perfectly transparent, which may be produced in either oil or water colors. The latter, however, with a few exceptions, will be found to give the best results, for several reasons. In the first place, it penetrates deeper into the wood, thus producing a more substantial finish. Next, the wood employed is generally hard and fine, and by an application of water stain the grain is raised, whereby the “lights ” or veins are more prominently brought out, imparting to the finish a mor< vivid appearance, which cannot be so effectually produced in oil colors. Still another advantage in water stain is the saving s) time in its application ; for when properly prepared, it can be usRl for dipping, which is the method practised in our cabinet shops for staining much furniture. It can also be applied with a brush, although good results by this method are accomplished only when skill and practice are exercised. In applying it a four or-five-inch flat bristle brush would be found the right size, ena¬ bling the operator to cover over any one part or section before the stain penetrates the wood. It will be found less difficult to apply oil stain uniformly with a brush, and it is, therefore, generally em¬ ployed in staining soft-wood and especially the different specids THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 48 of pine, all of which absorb water stain in spots, giving it a daubed appearance. The first thing to be considered is the receptacle or vessel in which the water or acid stains are to be prepared. This should be formed of a material which is unaffected by the corrosive ac¬ tion of acid. Porcelain-lined iron or glazed earthenware in the way of kettles or common stew crockery are commonly used. As the latter are often cracked by the heat required in boiling, it is safer and cheaper in the end to use porcelain-lined kettles. I need not say that care and cleanliness are two very necessary qualities in the preparation and application of stains, for a good workman is always a careful and a clean workman. In finishing “rubbing” may be considered one of the most es¬ sential qualities, since it gives to the varnish when laid upon the wood a degree of smoothness not otherwise attainable ; for by the use of the brush alone minute furrows and ridges are left upon the plastic surface of the varnish, and although good varnish posses¬ ses in itself a high gloss, the gloss is not nearly so agreeable to the eye as the brilliant polish of which rubbing is the prelimin¬ ary. The reduction of these ridges and furrows is accomplished by means of finely-powdered pumice-stone moistened with raw linseed oil, applied with a piece of haircloth or other coarse and fibrous material. For rubbing large flat surfaces the haircloth is sometimes folded over a block of convenient size, but this is not practicable for articles of small size or irregular shape. In rub¬ bing, considerable force must be used, but the stroke must be steady, and as long as possible, and great care should be taken to rub the surface uniformly, as in case it is rubbed unevenly the varnish is liable to be worn away quite to the wood in some places, and the perfect smoothness that is the beauty of a good finish will thus be impossible. The edges especially are liable to be rubbed bare, and should be carefully treated. The crevices and hollows of carvings are rubbed by means of hard-pointed sticks of various convenient sizes. The rubbing should be con¬ tinued until the entire surface appears perfectly smooth and free 44 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. from marks of any kind. The surplus pumice-stone and oil should all be carefully removed from the surface by means of rags, and the work may then be cleaned up with a little sweet oil well rubbed in, and retouched with a cloth slightly dampened in alcohol, which serves to remove any remaining oil from the sur¬ face. If the article has veneered panels they are now ready for the final processes of “polishing,” or “flowing,” processes, whatever the kind of “ finishing,” the workman should make it a point where possible, to have a suitable temperature. No good finishing can be done under 6o°, and it is hard to get the tem¬ perature too high for this work. The wood should be warm and perfectly dry, and visitors, flies, dirt, dust and dampness should rigorously be excluded from the room while the work is in prog¬ ress. The word “shellacking” has become of late very common with finishers and is often applied to first coating or “ sizing,” whether shellac be used or not. This, doubtless, arises from the fact of the general employment of shellac for first coating and up to the present time has proved the most suitable medium discov¬ ered for the purpose. I again quote from R. A. Bahre’s papers on this subject. Before proceeding with the application of shellac, it will be necessary to investigate the condition of the surface of the wood, taking care that no successive application is made before the pre¬ ceding one is perfectly dry. The dry condition of water-stained work may easily be deter¬ mined by the uniformily dead appearance it presents, especially in the corners and angles. A surface treated with oil stain, when dry, will impart no color to the finger if brought in contact, and is effected in twelve or fifteen hours according to the amount of japan used. The condition of a filled surface cannot be so readily observed, for in wiping off the filler from the surface, the moisture is like¬ wise wiped off, and the surface is dry to the touch. But let us examine the pores, which have become small receptacles filled to THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 45 the brim with a fatty substance. We find that the bulk of the suDstance in these pores does not dry so fast as were it spread out in a thin layer upon an extended surface. When regard is not oaid to this condition and the surface is prematurely coated, it will be but a matter of a short time before the effects will become manifest by the cracking of the varnish, caused by the varnish becoming dry before the filler. We shall have something more to say on this subject later. The safest way to ascertain whether a filler has become per¬ fectly dry is to drop, while filling, a few drops upon a board and let them remain until they become hard enough to resist the pres¬ sure of the finger nail. The length of time required will depend upon the amount of oil contained in the filler. Upon acquiring this degree of hardness the filler in the work may be considered dry, and ready to receive the first coating. This coating, which should be employed on all first-class work, is an alcoholic solution of gum shellac. Among the advantages of this solution are, first, that it dries very rapidly, thus preventing it penetrating and sinking into the pores. Besides levelling the surface, it forms a close impene¬ trable body for receiving the varnish. By reason of this property it is also used for sealing up the pores of fine grained wood by applying two coats. On account of its best solvent (alcohol), it is indispensable for developing, certain stains, especially the ani¬ line and other water stains which do not contain lye or glue. Alcohol does not affect the stains nor the glue ; for this reason an alkali stain should first receive a light coat of oil, while the glue stains require a strong glue size for their development. The second advantage of shellac solution is its exceedingly hard drying qualities; as it dries in five or six hours sufficiently hard to sandpaper, and in eight or ten hours becomes so hard that the finger nail can make no impression upon it, the surface is then ready for the second coat. In addition to this, its quality of hardness makes it indispensable for the first coating of all resinous woods, especially the pines, of which it not only seals 46 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. up the pores but prevents the exudation of the resin while it sand¬ papers as fine as satin. In preparing shellac for general use, dissolve in a gallon of alcohol (ethylic alcohol, spirits of wine) four pounds of the orange or five pounds of the white shellac, using the white upon light wood if a clean or clear job is required, and the orange if the color is immaterial or is required to be darkened, as the cost of the orange gum is about forty per. cent. less. The clearness of the orange gum depends much upon its freshness, and it is there¬ fore undesirable to prepare it until it is wanted for use, when the dissolving of the gum can be accelerated by warming and con¬ tinually agitating the mixture. Wood spirit (methylic alcohol) also dissolves this gum and is frequently substituted for pure alcohol, its cost being about one-third; but on account of dis¬ agreeable odor and deleterious effect it is rejected for first-class work. The application of shellac is to an experienced finisher the most agreeable and least difficult part of finishing; but to a be¬ ginner it is often most aggravating and discouraging, it being very difficult to prevent lapping or doubling up. Especially is this the case when the lac is darker than the wood, as, for in¬ stance, in shellacking pine shutters with orange shellac, when the attempt of the beginner usually results in a total botch. An ex¬ perienced hand will produce a clear and even effect by proceed¬ ing in the following manner: Having in view the fact that the wood is very soft, he will dilute his lac somewhat with the spirits, to make it work free. Then, with a double-thick flat-chiselled bristle brush about two inches wide he will apply a very free coat to the closed slats, on the bar side, including the small ogee edge of the frame, taking care to daub none on the flat surface. Then, quickly turning to the other side and opening the slats, he will finish and lay off the sides, and, again closing the slats, proceed by coating them upon the plain (non-bar) sides, including the other edge of the frame. He will then return to the bar side, open, lay off and finish ; then, running the brush up and down THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 47 the bar, complete that portion of the work. It may be laid down as a rule that one section should be completed before another is started. When one portion is coated, proceed with the frame by coating the outside edges and then the centre rail, cutting the joints clean. Then begin at one end of the style and follow around until the starting-point is reached, being always careful to complete as you go on. It is sometimes required to finish shutters in a hanging condi¬ tion, but, on account of the speed required in applying the shel¬ lac, there is much danger of spattering the walls or windows. If, therefore, they are hung with loose joint butts, it will be found economical to remove them and finish them in a separate room. We have thus far referred to the shellacking of pine shutters with orange shellac. If one has acquired proficiency in this point, all the remainder will come very easy to him, especially when using white shellac (transparent), which does not show the laps after varnishing. The whole secret of shellacking may be con¬ densed in adherence to the following simple rules : First, to keep a wet edge to work to; second, always to work to a joint before stopping; and third, never to repeat with the brush after becom¬ ing partly set, thereby causing it to “ double up.” There are several substitutes for shellac, but the operator should temember they are only “ substitutes,” and cannot compare with the “ real thing ” and only the man who takes his work at starva¬ tion prices, will use the “ subs,” unless such be specified. Oil shellac, which is used to a great extent, is generally sup¬ posed to be gum shellac dissolved in a volatile oil, and in quality virtually equal to alcohol shellac. This supposition is wrong however, for the gums employed are of an inferior sort, being chiefly taken from our pines and dissolved in turpentine or naph¬ tha, and having a little linseed oil and chemical dryer thrown in. When dry it is very brittle, easily spoils and will not resist the action of water on the grain, and is utterly useless as a substan¬ tial finish. This so-called shellac, is applied in the same manner as varnish. 8 48 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. Glue size proves most effectual in holding out varnish, and while the work is new, it is not easily marred. In the course of two or three years, however, the glue decays, when the slightest bruise causes the varnish, size and all to give. For developing water-stains containing alkali it is quite effective. “Hard oil finish” so-called, is simply an application of a quick-drying brittle varnish, that will polish with rubbing; for inside work it contains very little “ oil” while that prepared for outside purposes, contains more “ oil,” is more expensive, dries slower and is more durable. It matters but little whether we employ shellac or a substitute, or even varnish for first coating. It should be allowed to dry and then receive a rubbing to take off all the grit or roughness which may have been caused by a little filler remaining on the surface or dust settled upon it before dry. Whatever it may be, it should be smoothed before applying a coat of varnish. For this purpose No. o sandpaper will be found the best adapted, but, as the ordi¬ nary sandpaper is very heavy, and therefore stiff, we are liable to cut through the edge in using it. Neither does it conform easily to mouldings and corners. It is therefore advisable to employ the thin paper especially prepared for the purpose ; but if it cannot be obtained, the heavy should be split—that is, by detaching one or two layers of the back paper. This can be accomplished in the following manner: Hold one corner of the sheet between the thumb and forefinger ; rub that corner briskly with a moistened finger of the other hand, and the layers will then become de¬ tached and can easily be separated by running the finger down the edge between the two layers. Then, holding the paper down upon a flat surface, the layers can be drawn asunder across the whole width of the sheet. By tearing the sheet once lengthwise and twice crosswise, we have pieces of a convenient size for use. As new paper scratches more or less, it will be advisable to rub the grit off upon another piece ; then by moistening the back we are able conveniently to get into the corners without scouring the edges through. Should the sandpaper still scratch (which it fre- THE HARDWOOD PIKISHER. 49 quently does when inferior stock is used for coating), haircloth will do instead, using the hair side on the surface. This can be obtained at any furniture repair shop. A very important part of hardwood finishing is the varnishing. Simple as it looks, it is extremely difficult to properly lay on a coat of varnish, and experienced varnishers will tell us that this is so. Scarcely two varnishers work alike, and it takes time and patient experience with any particular varnish to learn its pecul¬ iarities. We cannot teach how the varnishing should be done, but we can give a few general directions that may prove helpful. In the first place, do not be afraid of your varnish ; do not get excited if it threatens to give trouble. I have seen a carriage- painter tremble so when applying a strange varnish that he ap¬ peared as though in an ague-fit, and it is needless to say that it was a bad job. Apply the varnish quickly and freely, and do not work it much; the less varnish is worked after being applied, the higher will be the lustre. Remember this, for it is true and very important to know. Flow it on freely with a flat brush of suitable width, and use a badger or fitch hair brush; a fine elas¬ tic or half-elastic chiselled bristle brush is very good. I mention the badger and the fitch more because they will outwear any bris¬ tle varnish brush and of course are cheaper. A pound or any other bristle brush will answer for varnishing grained or painted work, on which the varnish is generally scrub¬ bed, but in varnishing natural wood it should be laid on so as to level the surface, for which purpose fine-haired brushes are neces¬ sary. Having the surface of the wood filled and shellacked, we have a ground-work suitable for any class of work from piano polish to cheap one-coat work. In selecting the varnish for the latter— which is generally left in the gloss—use a finishing” varnish; that is, a varnish retaining a bright gloss when dry. However, the varnishes with the brightest gloss are generally not very durable. When successive coats are to be applied either in oil—-finishing— i. e., oil rubbing—or polishing, a varnish is 50 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. required that dries hard, but not brittle, the latter especially being characteristic of cheap gum varnish, such as colophony— common pitch or rosin—poor copal, etc. If the varnish con¬ tains much oil, it will render it elastic, making it difficult to rub; and therefore a good rubbing varnish should be made either of amber or of copal, the former being especially adapted to the manufacture of polishing varnish, as the gum is susceptible of a very fine polishr Varnishes to suit almost any purpose are generally obtainable at the dealers. We never can expect good results if we put a hard varnish over an elastic one or apply a coat before the previous one is dry. These are the main causes for varnishing cracking. The same trouble also arises when var¬ nish is applied too heavily, so that the coat forms an enamel on the surface, remaining soft underneath, and then drying very slowly. While drying, the surface enamel contracts, consequent¬ ly drawing the cracks open quite wide. It is impossible to lay down rules which by simply being read would make a practical varnisher of a person, as varnishing requires much judgment and practice, but a few “tips” may not go amiss; at any rate, they assist in completing the subject. We will now enter a room that has been sandpapered as described previously, having a temperature of about seventy degrees. We sprinkle with water, not flooding the floor, as a very damp atmosphere would prove injurious to the gloss of the varnish, then with a painter’s duster carefully dust off all the work. This generally ends the preparation, but in order to re¬ move all the dust it requires wiping off with a damp chamois skin ; and when all is clean and dry, we are ready for the varnish. For a bucket or pot use one of the clean tin pails known as “ two-quart-lunch pails.” Then, to prevent the varnish from running down the outside by scraping the brush over the edge, a bar should be soldered across the pail about ^ inch from the top and a little on one side from the centre. Manufac¬ turers claim that varnish should be used just as it is sold, and we find that nearly all good quality of varnishes work freely THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 61 without diluting, but how to obtain good results with some of their cheap stuff without diluting remains a mystery to finishers. If, therefore, the varnish is of a poor, thick quality, add turpen¬ tine until it spreads freely with your “ fitch brush,” which, if the work is very complicated, should be two inches in width ; and if the work be plain, a three-inch could be used to advantage. Varnish should be applied freely—or, rather, flowed on, and not rubbed out, or “ skinned” on, as finishers term it. In ap¬ plying the varnish, first run freely over a panel, then run over it crosswise. If there are projections rising with an angle, or any gicoves or depressions, as in mouldings, they will retain more varnish than the flat surface, and to prevent running down in tviem it requires drawing out. This is done by stabbing the brush into the angles and at the same time drawing it out toward the flat surface ; and when this is done, the whole length of the angle, we finish by laying off up and down. This should com¬ plete this portion of the work without being obliged to touch it sigain, and thus proceeding until a section of panels have been finished, when the frame should be gone over. In coating the panels the surface of the frame is very often daubed—in fact this is nearly inevitable—and to coat over this would form fat edges ; bo we shall again make it fluid by mixing it with the fresh var¬ nish, and this is done by “ pounding ” it up well—or, as a painter would call it, “ stabbing ” it—when it can be evenly laid off. The amount a surface will hold without running can be ascertained only by experience and judgment; although much de¬ pends upon the way it is laid off, as a greater quantity can be ap¬ plied if laid off up and down than horizontally, as the brush- marks give occasion for the varnish to “ sag.” But if such should take place after the varnish is partly set, it could be stopped by stabbing with the brush rubbed out dry, although this will leave the surface pitted, but, at any rate, much easier to rub out than a run. The brushes, when not in use, should be kept in varnish or washed out clean, which can be done by rubbing them out well 62 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. with kerosene and then washing them with soap and water until perfectly clean. Should it be desired after applying one coat of varnish, to proceed with the oil finish, that is “ oil rubbing or polishing,” we should first take into consideration the condition of our sur¬ face. Providing that one coat has filled the little depressions of the grain to a perfect level, we are prepared to proceed with the rubbing ; but this levelling is seldom effected with one coat, re¬ quiring, as a rule, at least two coats for fine wood and three or four coats for coarse-grained woods. The main object, however, is to form a coating sufficiently heavy to prevent rubbing it entirely off from the elevations in getting it down to that in the depressions. As to the best method of rubbing and polishing as much or more diversity of opinion exists than in any other branch of the trade. This is probably due to the scheming and experimenting of the so-called “ rushers,” who get nervous at seeing a man take sufficient time to rub down a surface, and thus devise some new plan for hustling out the work, and generally, when the gloss is removed, the job is completed regardless of appearance. But nevertheless in all of these snide finishes there is generally a point or two of importance for us. We have for instance, a dead finish produced by adding wax to varnish. This is made by scraping the wax fine, putting it into a dish and covering it with a good turpentine japan placed over a fire to dissolve, but with a moderate heat. When dissolved, add twice its amount of var¬ nish and apply with a fitch flowing brush. Although this does not produce a rubbed finish, it produces quite a clever imitation, and we can use it to advantage on the slats of shutters and on elaborately carved capitals, etc. It is not infrequently employed in floor finishing. There is a method practised which removes the gloss from the varnish by rubbing with a mixture of oil and pumice-stone ap¬ plied with a furniture scrub brush, or, for a large flat surface, a commercial stencil brush—No. 12 or 14 is frequently used—dip- THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 63 ping the brush into the mixture and scrubbing it on to the sur¬ face ; three or four scrubs are generally sufficient, depending par¬ ticularly upon the cleaning off with wadding completely to remove the grass. Unless the varnish has been very cleanly applied and is perfectly level, it does not amount to much, for it does not smooth the surface. Others, again, first sandpaper the surface with fine sandpaper, then rub it a trifle with oil and pumice, using a piece of burlap or old felt boot for a rubber. The only way yet discovered by which to level the surface is to rub it down with felt. For this operation we provide ourselves with a set of rubbers which may be made as follows : First take a piece of white Spanish felt one inch thick and about 3x5 in size ; split it in two, and keep one half for the large plain surfaces. Then again split the other half, obtaining two thin pieces, reserving one for mouldings, etc., to which it will easily conform. We now want some tools to get into small corners so we whittle sticks about six or eight inches long and in shape of a triangle, half round and oblong; then, cutting the ends square, glue a piece of thin felt upon it, allow¬ ing the glue to dry thoroughly before putting in oil. For getting around in the bottom of carvings, we whittle a stick of basswood bark, and, moistening it, stub the end to a pulp. A scrub brush will also be necessary to remove the gloss from the beads and around the edges of the panels, etc. The oil generally used for rubbing is golden oil, known as machine oil, although crude petroleum, raw linseed and cotton seed oils are often used, but none of the latter cut so rapidly or clean off so well as the golden. Pumice-stone No. o is generally used, although some prefer No. 00 or 000, but these are quite fine, and therefore do not cut very fast. In applying the oil and pumice, some prefer dipping the rubber first into the oil, then into the powder, and thus con¬ vey it to the surface, while others apply the oil with a piece of wadding, then sprinkle on the powder. To excel in rubbing, like all other branches of the trade, re- 54 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. quires practice, always remembering that if the rubber is allowed to lag over the edge while drawing back and forward it will rub the edge through. And, furthermore, the work should always be rubbed lengthwise the grain, so if it be necessary at the ends of panels next to the rails, where it is generally inclined to be rough, to rub crosswise, it should be rubbed down crosswise, but finished lengthwise, to take away the scratchy appearance. Before at¬ tempting to rub, the varnish should resist the impression of the finger-nail, or when rubbed before dry it will again flow, causing bright spots to reappear, generally known as “sweating,” and would require re-rubbing after becoming dry. An experienced hand could easily tell when his surface was sufficiently rubbed by raising the felt or edge and drawing a clean streak the length of the work, and if the surface has lost its pitted appearance the rub bing is complete and ready to be cleaned off. This is accom plished easier if done directly, not allowing the oil to soak and soften the varnish, which causes the surface to appear mottled and smeary. In cleaning use fine softwood sawdust, moistened a trifle to pre¬ vent scratching; and when the bulk of the oil is removed, the corners picked out and the work dusted it is again wiped off with wadding or waste, splitting the sheets of wadding to get the soft inside, then with the point of a pick and the wadding the beads and corners are carefully freed from all particles of oil and pum¬ ice. Should there be sags and runs or wrinkles which the ordi¬ nary rubbing did not remove, they should be rubbed out with pumice and strong soapsuds, then rubbed over a little with the oil again. It is often required, in finishing a job, to form a contrast by polishing the raise of the panels, thus producing a rich and ele¬ gant finish. In polishing as well as rubbing the hustlers have their schemes. One scheme commonly practised is, after the ordinary oil rub¬ bing, to rub the surface to be polished with a bunch of raw cot¬ ton moistened with about equal parts of sweet oil and alcohol, THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 55 the oil and spirits being put into a bottle and well shaken before moistening the cotton. Although this may be a hustler’s scheme, an experienced hand with it can produce elegant results. In hand polishing proceed somewhat differently. First complete the oil rubbing, omitting the parts to be polished, then proceed by rubbing those parts with pumice and water, using pumice for that purpose, levelling the surface as much as the coating will permit, then cleaning off with damp chamois frequently rinsed in clean water. We then apply a coat of polishing varnish, which, when dry, is again rubbed down with pumice flour and water, using a fine but soft piece of felt ; and when perfectly smooth, it is care¬ fully cleaned off, so that none of the pumice remains upon the surface, as this will scratch and destroy the polish. It is then rubbed again with rotten stone and a piece of chamois leather, using the lump of.rotten stone and changing the rubber by rub¬ bing it over the lump three or four times, then rubbing the sur¬ face quite briskly, for in this rubbing is where the polishing really is done. This powder then is allowed to dry upon the sur¬ face, and then with a short circular motion with the ball of the hand we proceed to rub • off the powder, frequently wiping the hand upon a rag free from all other dust or pumice-stone. Then, if the varnish was of a superior quality, the polish is complete; but should the varnish contain cheap gum or a too great amount of oil, it is nearly impossible to produce a bright polish, although in this case the method first mentioned would prove quite effect¬ ive—viz., that of using an old silk handkerchief to rub with in place of the cotton. In the finest sort of general work, get a good quality of car¬ riage varnish, and be sure and, do not mix either oil or tur¬ pentine with it, as it is prepared and put up for immediate use and specially prepared to meet special needs. Two coats of var¬ nish are usually sufficient when the filling has been complete. When the first coat is dry, rub it down with pulverized pumice- stone and water—in some cases simply with curled hair, which removes the gloss and makes a good finishing-coat possible. The 56 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. rubbing accomplished, wash and dust off well; then apply the finishing-coat of varnish. If a “polished ” surface be required, the last coat must be rubbed down as before with pumice-stone and brought to a mirror-like surface with rotten-stone and water. Clear up with a little sweet oil, and afterward with a cloth damp¬ ened with alcohol. A “dead finish ” is produced by rubbing the varnished surface with powdered pumice-stone and raw lin¬ seed oil, which gives a semi-lustrous finish of great beauty and durability. Another method of polishing hardwood is described as follows : Take a long piece of list or coarse flannel and roll it up in a wad like a roll of rope, and over this wrap a soft piece of linen several times doubled up; sew it on tightly and form a sort of handle by tying up a round wad. Then put into a saucer some shellac varnish, into which dip the flat side of the wad until it becomes saturated. Pouring a few drops of boiled linseed oil on the face of the wad, rub the work briskly and lightly in a circular direction, doing a small space at a time until the whole surface is gone over. Repeat the operation, allowing each successive ap¬ plication to dry well, or rubbing dry and not putting on too much polishing-liquid at a time. Observe cleanliness and care during these operations. Such parts as cannot well be reached with the wad polish with a bit of flannel. This will give a very durable polish, and the parts are readily brightened up at any time by means of flannel moistened with oil. Remember that in all these operations the utmost care and patience must be exercised if one would have a perfect job. Do not slight the work in the minutest particular. Take your time and do everything as it should be done, filling in well, rub¬ bing down smoothly and dusting off carefully. A term sometimes used by American workmen is somewhat misleading ; I refer to the word “ flowing,” as applied to varnish¬ ing. The term is given to the process of giving the work, after it has been properly prepared, a coat of varnish made expressly for that purpose, called “ flowing varnish.” The process as so named, as given herewith is quoted from an English authority: THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 57 Veneered panels are usually finished that way. Some finishers, when the body-work is to be dead-finish with flowed panels, coat the panels with the same varnish—shellac or other—used for the body, and rub them with pumice-stone and oil; in fact, up to the point of flowing make no difference whatever in the treatment of the body-work and the panels. Such treatment is not recom¬ mended ; whatever varnish is used for the body-work, the panels should be coated with two or three coats of the best rubbing var¬ nish ; oil should not be used for rubbing, as, if the surface is at all greasy, the subsequent coat of flowing varnish cannot be evenly laid, therefore water should be used with the pumice-ston*e for rubbing, in place of oil. After the rubbing is completed, wash off with a sponge, and dry with a chamois skin. Let it stand for a day, and after freeing the work from all pumice-stone and dust, taking it to the flowing-room, which should be clean, dry, and free from all draughts of air, apply the varnish with a fiat brush of suitable width, made of badger or fitch hair; lay the varnish on smoothly and evenly, leaving no marks of the brush. The quicker the varnish is put on, and the less it is worked, the better it will look. Let it stand in the room until it is hard enough to handle. Upholstered work should not be flowed until it comes from the hands of the upholsterer and is ready for the ware-rooms. Varnish polishing is used when it is desired to give to the work a bright lustre, differing from the natural gloss, and resulting from a perfectly smooth surface produced by rubbing. The pre¬ viously applied coats of rubbing varnish having been rubbed down with pumice-stone and water, one or more coats of polish¬ ing varnish are applied, rubbed down as before, and brought to a bright mirror-like surface with rotten-stone and water. Clean up with a little sweet oil, and afterward with a cloth damped in alcohol. There are many makes of varnish in the market at the present writing, that are especially adapted for natural wood finish and which may be obtained from any respectable dealer. The most 58 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. reliable manufacturers of varnish in the United States, whose preparations may be depended on to a dead certainty, do not number more than a half a dozen firms among which may be named Devoe & Co., of New York City, Murphy & Co., of New York, and Berry Bros., of Detroit, Mich. The Murphy Com¬ pany make a transparent varnish that is extensively used in the trade. It is used for either a high polish or dead surface. It is recom¬ mended especially for developing the grain of natural wood ; for durability in all temperatures, freedom from discoloration from soap, water or acids, a perfect adherence to the surfaces, prevent ing cracking, flaking or blistering, while acting as a good preserva¬ tive of the wood or metal, preventing either decay or rust. It is made in different qualities, adapted to interior finishing om walls, floors or ceilings in halls, bath-rooms or kitchens for dwel¬ lings, asylums and hospitals, and also for exterior work, such an front doors, vestibules, window castings, and protecting the wood from weather exposure. The Berry Bros, of Detroit, also make a white varnish that possesses all the requisites of a first-class finishing material. Thfi preparations of Devoe & Co. are so well known and so universally used, that only a bare reference to them is necessary. Doubtless there are other makes of varnish that answer equally with those named. I think I have now placed before the reader pretty nearlj’ at! that is worth saying on the subject of hardwood and natural wood finish, and have drawn largely from the best authorities extant; but it would not be wise to close this section, without giving as briefly as possible, a few rules on the now almost obsolete process of French polishing, as occasionally this method of finishing is employed for certain purposes : French polishing is a method of varnishing by rubbing the var¬ nish upon the surface of the wood instead of applying it with brushes. When varnish is applied simply with a brush, a com¬ paratively uneven surface results, rendering necessary the subse ¬ quent process of rubbing and polishing, but by the method of THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 59 French polishing, a smooth and continuous, surface hard and not easily scratched, is secured. All the polishes are applied very much in the same way, and a general description will therefore be sufficient. To obtain a good polish with lac varnish on wood, the quantity applied must be very small, and must be rubbed continuously until dry. If the work be porous or cross grained, it will be necessary to give it a coat of thin clear size previous to commencing with the polish ; when dry, the surface must be smoothed with fine glass or sand-paper. The size fills up the pores and saves the polish, and also saves considerable time in the operation. Make a wad of cotton-batting, covered with several folds of very new fine soft linen cloth ; put the wad or cushion to the mouth of the bottle containing the preparation (or polish) and shake it sufficiently to damp the cloth ; then proceed to lightly rub the work with circular motion ; as the rubber becomes drier, the pressure may be increased, but care should be taken not to press too heavily when the rubber contains much polish, as a streakiness will result. The circular motion should be continued until the rubber becomes quite dry, when more polish may be taken upon it and the rubbing renewed. It should be borne in mind that the rubber should never be raised directly from the work, but should be raised with a sweeping motion ; also that it should never for a moment remain quiet upon the surface ; and that its motion should be as even as possible ; neglect of these precautions will produce a rough surface wherever the rubber remains quiet or is improperly removed. The circular rubbing must be continued until the surface appears perfectly smooth and the pores are no longer visible. Be very particular to keep the cloth covering of of the wad clean and soft; it is desirable to use a clean por¬ tion each time it is dipped in the polish. It is quite likely that in about twelve hours after the above operation the surface of the work will be lustreless, and the grain plainly visible, in that case proceed over the work again until the grain is thoroughly filled. French polishing is a process requiring particular care and skill, 60 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. and considerable experience is necessary to produce good results. Beginners will find that they will be more successful with a flannel rubber, made in the shape of a ball. Most polishers use wadding, which is more pliable and better to get in the internal angles or small mouldings A bottle with a slit cork is the best to apply the polish to the rubber. In commencing, the rubber should not be rubbed quite dry, as you will never get any body on the work by so doing; but, as the shiny appearance advances, you must rub each rubber dry. Every time the rubber is wetted with polish it should be pressed in the palm of the left hand, which will equalize the polish. After the cover is put over, which should be some clean old cotton or print rags, the top of the finger should be dipped in linseed oil and applied to rubber- cover—just enough to keep it from sticking. As soon as the cover has a shiny appearance, it should be removed to a fresh place. As soon as the work has got a good body of polish on, it should be set away for at least ten hours, to allow for the polish to sink, which always takes place. Before commencing to polish again, the work should be very carefully rubbed over with the finest glass-paper obtainable, tak¬ ing care not to cut through the skin ; then proceed as before. Be sure never to let the rubber stop in one place for an instant, as it will surely take off the polish to the bare wood and spoil the job. After the work has sufficient polish on, it should be allowed to stand three or four hours before spiriting off. The same rubber will do; only use spirits. Just damp the rubber, and cover three or four times double with cover, and rub very lightly over the work; but care must be taken not to make the rubber too wet, or the work will be spoilt. The same process will answer for pine or deal, only no filling is required, but a coat of clean patent size, before applying the polish. The ingredients for the above kind of work are quite numerous, but shellac, dissolved in alcohol, is the basis of all French pol¬ ishes, and some finishers use thin shellac varnish without other THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 61 admixture, slightly moistening the rubber with linseed oil to pre¬ vent stickiness and make it work smoothly. There is a great variety of admixtures and diversity in the proportion of ingred¬ ients, but the differences are not material. I subjoin a number of receipts. First and Best, —To one pint of spirits of wine add a quarter of an ounce of gum-copal, a quarter of an ounce of gum-Arabic, and one ounce of shellac. Let the gums be well bruised, and sifted through a piece of muslin. Put the spirits and the gums together in a vessel that can be closely corked; place them near a warm stove, and frequently shake them. In two or three days they will be dissolved. Strain the mixture through a piece of muslin, and keep it tight corked for use. Next, —Take one ounce each of mastic, sandarac, seed lac, shellac, gumlac, and gum-Arabic : reduce them to powder ; and add a. quarter of an ounce of virgin wax; put the whole into a bottle, with one quart of rectified ^spirits of wine; let it stand twelve hours, and it will be fit for use. Another,--Put into a glass bottle one ounce of gumlac, two drachms of mastic in drops, four drachms of sandarac, three ounces of shellac, and half an ounce of gum dragon ; reduce the whole to powder; add to it a piece of camphor the size of a nut, and pour on it eight ounces of rectified spirits of wine. Stop the bottle close, but take care, when the gums are dissolving, that it is not more than half full. Place near a warm stove until dis¬ solved. Other French-Polish Receipts .— 1 pint naphtha, ounces orange shellac, ounce eliroa. Darken with red saunders wood. To one pint of spirits of wine, add half an ounce of gum shel¬ lac, half an ounce of seed lac, and a quarter of an ounce of gum sandarac : submit the whole to a gentle heat, frequently shaking it, till the various gums are dissolved, when it is fit for use. Shellac, 6 ounces; naptha, i quart; sandarac, i ounce; ben¬ zoin, y ounce. 62 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. Three ounces shellac, y 2 ounce of gum mastic pulverized, and one pint of methylated spirits of wine added. Let it stand till dissolved. Twelve ounces shellac, 2 ounces gum elima, 3 ounces gum co¬ pal, 1 gallon of spirits of wine ; dissolve. The following must be well mixed and dissolved :—Pale shel¬ lac, 2% pounds; 3 ounces mastic, 3 ounces sandarac, 1 gallon spirits of wine. After the above is dissolved, add 1 pint copal varnish, i% ounces shellac, y 2 ounce gum juniper, jounce ben¬ zoin, y 2 pint of methylated alcohol. A Good Polish. — r ° a pint of spirits of wine add, in fine pow¬ der, one ounce seed lac, two drachms of gum guaiacum, two drachms of dragon’s-blood, and two drachms of gum mastic ; ex¬ pose them, in a vessel stopped close, to a moderate heat for three hours, until you find the gums dissolved ; strain the whole into a bottle for use, with a quarter of a gill of the best linseed oil, to be shaken up well with it. This polish is more particularly intended for dark-colored woods—for it is apt to give a tinge to light ones, as satin-wood or air-wood, etc.—owing to the admixture of the dragon’s-blood, which gives it a red appearance. A Polish that Will Stand Water , —Take a pint of spirits of wine, two ounces of gum benzoin, a quarter of an ounce of gum sandarac, and a quarter of an ounce of gum anime; these must be put into a stopped bottle, and placed either in a sand-bath or in hot water till dissolved ; then strain the mixture, and, after adding about a quarter of a gill of the best clear poppy oil, shake it well up, and put it by for use. Prepared Spirits. — This preparation is useful for finishing after any of the foregoing receipts, as it adds to the lustre and durability, as well as removes every defect, of the other polishes ; and it gives the surface a most brilliant appearance. Half a pint of the very best rectified spirits of wine, two drachms of shellac, and two drachms of gum benzoin. Put these ingredients into a bottle, and keep it in a warm place till the gum THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 63 is all dissolved, shaking it frequently; when cold, add two tea¬ spoonfuls of the best clear white poppy oil; shake them well to¬ gether, and it is fit for use. This preparation is used in the same manner as the foregoing polishes; but, in order to remove all dull places, you may in¬ crease the pressure in rubbing. Polish for Turner’s Work.— Dissolve i ounce of sandarac in y 2 pint of spirits of wine ; shave i ounce of beeswax, and dis¬ solve it in a sufficient quantity of spirits of turpentine to make it into a paste, add the former mixture to it by degrees; then, with a woollen cloth, apply it to the work while it is in motion in the kthe, and polish it with a soft linen rag; it will appear as if \ ighly varnished. A French Polish Reviver.— Beat gum acacia and white of two eggs in a mortar until they amalgamate ; then add half a pint of raw linseed oil and best vinegar, eight ounces methylated spirits of wine, one ounce hydrochloric acid and two ounces muriate of antimony. They are to be rubbed on the surface of the furniture until dry, and will give a brilliant and lasting polish. It now remains to explain the several varieties of finishing in use; these are largely derived from the peculiar qualities of the different varnishes used. Polishing varnishes, which are very hard and durable, are so called because their surface can be brought to a high lustre by rubbing with the proper materials. Flowing or finishing-varnishes contain more oil than polishing- varnishes, dry more slowly, and are softer, but their peculiar qualities are brilliancy and durability, fitting them for work re¬ quiring a brilliant gloss, such as veneered panels. Rubbing-var¬ nishes are those that dry sufficiently hard to admit of being rub¬ bed to a smooth surface. Turpentine varnishes, being the cheap¬ est variety, are employed for cheap work, such as common chairs, bedsteads, &c. Dead Finish is a term applied to the finish produced by the reduction of any of the rubbing varnishes with powdered pumice- stone, and raw linseed oil, the surface thus produced being left in 4 64 THE HARDWOOD E1NISHER. the semi-lustrous state by omitting the polishing process. It 1# now more used than any other for body work, shellac varnish be¬ ing generally employed because of its adaptation to the require¬ ments of fine cabinet-work, and its properties of quick and hard drying. Copal, anime, and amber varnishes are also used, but are slower drying. The number of coats required depends some¬ what upon the quality of the filler, but usually three coats, and sometimes less, are amply sufficient. Varnish Finish.—For Cheap Work.— One coat of filler or stain followed by one coat of cheap turpentine varnish without rub¬ bing. In this class of work the brilliancy of the gloss and cover¬ ing qualities of the varnish are principally considered. The cheaper turpentine varnishes have a brilliant gloss, and dry very hard, but the gloss is not permanent, and after drying the gum is very brittle and easily cracked and broken. The gum is princi¬ pally common resin. Wax Finish. —Mix together, with heat, white wax, and spirits of turpentine to the consistency of thick paste ; when cold, apply it to the work with a rag; rub on heavily so as to fill the pores of the wood ; remove all wax from the surface with a wooden scraper made in the shape of a carpenter’s chisel; smooth off with a bunch of soft rags by rubbing hard and quick for a few minutes ; finish with a little French polish applied with a cotton pad. For table tops and all large fiat surfaces, allow the wax to remain on, and finish with a warm iron by passing it lightly anil quickly over the work until the wax is made smooth and the sur¬ face is sufficiently polished. This is not considered a desirable finish, as it is not durable, and water spots it very easily. The brushes required for varnishing are of many kinds and sizes and a description of even a portion of them, is out of the question in a small work of this kind ; however a few remarks concerning them may not be out of place. For spirit varnishes, camel’s-hair pencils and brushes are used, the sizes of which vary from one-quarter to three-quarters of an inch diameter, accord¬ ing to the size of the work. When the surfaces are very large, THE HARDWOOJJ FINISHER. 65 flat camel-hair brushes are used ; but from their comparative thinness they scarcely contain a sufficient quantity of varnish to preserve the brush uniformly charged in passing over a large sur¬ face. Turpentine and oil varnishes require less delicacy ; and fiat brushes, made of fine soft bristles, are generally used, or sometimes ordinary painting brushes are employed, but they are rather harsh, and, owing to the adhesion of the varnish, the hairs are apt to be loosened, and come out. Brushes should al¬ ways be kept perfectly soft and clean, and therefore should never be laid aside when through work, without cleaning. For this purpose turpentine is best ; the brushes can either be washed out quite clean in it, dried on a cloth, and laid aside, or the bristles can be partially immersed in turpentine and allowed to remain in it until wanted for use. Warm water and soap will also serve to clean the brushes. If, however, the brushes are laid aside with¬ out being thoroughly cleaned, they will certainly be ruined by the hardening of the varnish. Varnish pans can be procured at any varnish shop. They are constructed of tin, with a false bottom; the interval between the two bottoms is filled with sand, which being heated over the fire keeps the varnish fluid, and it flows more readily from the brush. There is a tin handle to them, and the false bottom slopes from one end to the other, which gives sufficient depth when the varnish is low. They should also have a wire fixed across the top to wipe the brush against. An ordinary preserve jar is frequently used for containing the varnish, and is sufficiently suitable ; but it also should have a wire or string stretched across the top, for reducing the quantity of varnish taken up by the brush. The quantity of varnish poured into the jar should be sufficient to nearly cover the hairs of the brush in order to keep it soft. Too small a quantity of varnish is liable to thicken rapidly by evapo¬ ration, which should at all times be prevented as far as possible, by keeping the vessel closely covered when not in actual use. The Various V'ccds, their Stains and Finish.—The foregoing rules and instructions apply, in a great measure to all woods that 66 The haedwood finisher. are to be finished in natural colors or stained, but under this head it is intended to take each wood separately, with regard to color¬ ing, and other matters not before mentioned, that may be con¬ sidered necessary to insure good work. It should not be forgotten, when speaking of hard-wood finish¬ ing, that some of the prettiest woods used, are not “ Hard ” but soft woods among which may be mentioned pine of various kinds, poplar, cedar, red-wood, hemlock and basswood. When some of these are finished in their natural state or stained to imitate harder woods their beauty is much enhanced and they become deserving of more than a passing notice. Pine when properly prepared, is in my opinion one of the most useful as well as one of the prettiest woods that Nature has given to this continent, and hemlock which is a much despised wood, when properly pre¬ pared and finished in the natural state, or slightly “ Mahogan- ized,” makes the richest of panels for doors, wainscot or other house finish. As oak and mahogany are rivals as to which is the better and handsomer woods for finish, I will commence this section with those woods, giving oak the preference. Oak. —We have in this country over forty kinds of oak nearly every one of which may be used for some special purpose, those most used for building finish and for furniture however are only few, among which are the white oak, (Querus rulia ), rock oak ( Querus primas murticola ) and black oak (Querus tindoris). All of the above named oaks are capable of being handsomely finished, the white and black oaks being the best and the red being next. What is known as quarter-oak is made by first sawing the log from end to end through the middle. Then each half is sawed from end to end through the middle, thus leaving four quarters. Each quarter has only three sides, one side the bulge part of the log, and the other two sides flat and coming to an edge. The boards are sawed off the sharp edge, and each sawing, therefore, throws off a board wider than one before it. Sawing the quarters of the log in this manner, lumber possesses that beatiful cross- THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 67 grained figure so much in fashion now that it has become some¬ what of a craze. This cross-grained material finds favor in the finest furniture and interior work. The wood is susceptible of the very finest polish, and the cross-grain produces an effect made by both nature and the saw, that is quite superior to the art of the most skillful grainer. To effect a good imitation of antique oak lamp black or Vandyke brown in oil is applied to the surface of the wood, darkening its natural hue, but this is not by any means best or the only way, but answers very well where other pro¬ cesses or methods are not available. With regard to giving oak an antique appearance, many opinions exist. Formerly—and prob¬ ably the first—imitations of antique oak were produced by ex¬ posing the bare dressed surface to the steam of boiling ammonia. This process, however, it was impossible to apply to casings of house interiors, thus leading to the application of the aqua ammonia with a brush, but, it is by repeated application that the desired re¬ sults are produced. It stains the wood gray. There are finishers who claim this to be the only process by which to imitate Nature, but another much faster, and one which gives the same results, is to use strong vinegar with iron filings or shavings added; by a little experimenting, this can be made to suffice with one coat, depending upon the amount of iron added. A very clever imitation of the general antique can be obtained by staining the filler with Vandyke brown and charcoal, equal parts, using about one part of the colored to four parts of the light. Then there is another antique which imitates certain oak from the sixteenth century ; the peculiarity of it consists in dark cloud streaks permeating the wood in every direction some of them crossing the panels in a V-shape, others straight near top and bottom. To give them an odd appearance, a pair of panels can be clouded by streaking one three or four times and the other once or twice. These stripes vary in width from three to five inches. The wider streaks look well across the top of a table three or four times, or even partly across, while the narrow ones would 68 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. do well around the legs and across the styles and rails of panelled work. In putting these on, they should be dark in the centre and blend out at the edges. This is done with an automatic paint burner, allowing the flames to scorch the wood nearly black; but care must be taken not to char it. After the work is all streaked the wood is filled with filler stained with burnt umber mixed as for black walnut. Care must be taken to have the filler stained to the proper tint, and in applying correctly. By following the rules given under the head “ Filling” the operator should have no trouble in mak¬ ing good work, and we here repeat the instruction. “ After enough surface has been covered with the filler, so that what has been first applied begins to flatten, the process of wip¬ ing should immediately begin, using for that purpose either a rag or a handful of waste or excelsior. If the oak is very open¬ grained, waste is preferable. With a piece of this that has pre¬ viously been used and is pretty well supplied with filler, rub crosswise of the grain, rather rubbing it into the grain than wip¬ ing it off. After the whole surface has been gone over in this way, take a clean piece of waste or rag (never use excelsior for wiping clean) and wipe the surface perfectly clean and free from filler, using a wooden pick, the point of which has been covered with a rag or waste to clean out the corners, beads, etc. It is well to give these picks some attention, as a person once accus¬ tomed to certain tools can accomplish more and better work than with tools that feel strange in his hands; therefore, each finisher should furnish his own pick. As to their construction, these are best made from second-growth hickory, which can be procured from any carriage repair shop, such as old spokes, broken felloes, etc. They are made eight inches in length, half inch oval at one end and tapering down to the point at the other. Sharpen the oval end like a coal chisel, then smooth with sandpaper, which should also be used to sharpen the tool when the same becomes worn dull. This picking out of the filler from beads, etc., can be acceler- THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 69 ated by the use of a picking brush manufactured especially for that purpose, but it is not advisable to use this on very coarse¬ grained oak, as it scrubs the filler out of the pores. There are several fillers used which do not require this picking and scrubbing. One is a liquid filler used chiefly for carriage finishing; but it can be used successfully on butternut, bird’s-eye maple, curly maple, satinwood, hickory, etc. It is made from gum and oil. Another is a filler made from finely-ground pumice stone, mixed as other fillers. It is applied with a brush, and must be left to dry at least twenty-four hours; it is then sand¬ papered smooth, when an oil varnish is applied, rendering it com¬ pletely transparent. This last can be used only upon light wood. It is a well-established fact that nearly all the oaks grow dark with age; many of them assume an entirely different shade from that which they have when new and first cut. For instance, light oak, when new, is of a sort of cream color; when aged in a dry atmosphere, it will assume a reddish brown, and in a damp at¬ mosphere it will turn a gray witlf a blue tinge and eventually be¬ come brown. Cherry will turn from a light salmon to a maroon, and the same with mahogany. It has not been so long since mahogany and cherry were antiquated by being colored dark with stains or other coloring material, while, at the same time, oak was finished light. At present this manner of finishing is entirely reversed. Cherry, mahogany and all dark woods are finished as light as possible, while oak and ash, especially black ash, are finished antique. Another method of rendering new oak wainscoting and other oak work dark, and give it an antique appearance is given. A correspondent in the English Mechcmic gives the following process of treatment, which he considers the best, after trying the various other processes used by builders and cabinet-makers to darken woods: ‘ ‘ Oak is fumigated by liquid ammonia, strength 88o°, which may be bought at any wholesale chemist’s at 5s. a gallon. The wood should be placed in a dark and air-tight room 70 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. (in a big packing case, if you like!), and half a pint or so of ammonia poured into a soup plate, and placed upon the ground in the center of the compartment. This done, shut the entrance, and secure any cracks, if any, by pasted slips of paper. Re¬ member that the ammonia does not touch the oak, but the gas that comes from it acts in a wondrous manner upon the tannic acid in that wood, and browns it so deeply that a shaving or two may actually be taken off without removing the color. The depth of shade will entirely depend upon the quantity of ammonia used and the time the wood is exposed. Try an odd bit first ex¬ perimentally, and then use your own judgment.” Short pieces of stuff may be so treated by using an air-tight box. The box ready, a flat dish or plate of strong ammonia should be placed in the bottom, so that the fumes will rise and surround the object. All that is now necessary is to place the article in the box, nailing up as close as possible and await re¬ sults. Ten hours exposure using strong ammonia, should give a good color; if not dark enough let it remain longer, bearing in mind, however, that the wood will present no noticeable change until oiled or brought in contact with a wet substance such as shellac. It is well, therefore, to note the progress by touching the wood with the wet finger when it will show at once the stage it has reached. There could be no better method devised to stain oak than this when practicable, and in adopting it we simply anticipate nature which in time through the action of the ammonia of the atmos¬ phere would present the same result. Mahogany may also be treated similarly with success. Here is another method of making antique oak, and I might add, that white, and black ash, and chestnut, similarly treated, will give a fair imitation of antique-oak: The job should be made of hard wood, with as full an open grain as possible to se¬ cure a fine effect. Sandpaper this and clean off. Then prepare a priming made of r part japan, x part raw linseed oil and i part rubbing varnish. Drop into ^ gallon of the liquid i pound of T HE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 71 commercial corn starch, such as is used for culinary purposes. Next take some good, dry, burnt Turkish umber, and add about % pound of this to the starch. Apply to the job a good flowing coat of this priming. Let stand until it is set and has soaked well into the grain, and then take a broad putty knife and stick it into the grain, working the knife crosswise of the grain. Again let stand a little while, and then wipe with rags; especially clean out all the corners, and get the job into as good condition as pos¬ sible as regards having the grain well filled. Upon the completion of the operation above described it will be found that the open grain has absorbed the starch and umber, and that these portions now show the dark shade suggestive of age, while all the rest of the surface is also slightly darkened. When again perfectly dry, give one coat of rubbing varnish, prepared by adding to it y pound of starch to each gallon of Tarnish. This coat should be flowed on freely as a medium coat of rubbing varnish, but be careful not to have runs of sags. This cught to completely fill the wood, after which proceed to var¬ nish, rub and finish the job in the usual manner. To produce a natural oak finish, follow precisely the same course as above de¬ scribed, with the single exception of omitting the umber. This will leave the wood in its natural color. Some of the most attractive work in this line, however, is ef¬ fected by simply spreading on the surface of the material a con¬ centrated solution of permanganate of potash, this being allowed to act until the desired shade is obtained. Five minutes suffice ordinarily to give a good color, a few trials indicating the proper proportions. The substance named is decomposed by the vege¬ table fibre with the precipitation of brown peroxide of man¬ ganese, which the influence of the potash, at the same time set free fixes in a durable manner on the fibres. When the action is terminated, the wood is carefully washed with water, dried, then oiled and polished in the usual manner. The effect produced by this process in several woods is really remarkable. On the cherry especially it develops a beautiful red color which well 72 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. resists the action of air and light, and on the other woods it has a very pleasing and natural effect. Along with the foregoing may be added the following stains for oak : add to a quart of water 2 ounces each of potash and pearl- ash. This is a very good stain, but it should be used carefully as it blisters the hands and softens brushes. The stain may be made lighter by adding more water. Other Oak Stains. —To darken the color of oak any of the following may be used : Liquid ammonia laid on evenly with a rag or brush will deepen the color immediately, and it will not fade, this being an artificial production of result produced naturally by age. Bichromate of potash, dissolved in cold water, and applied with a brush, will produce a similar result. A decoction of green walnut-shell will bring new oak to any shade or nearly black. Another. —To two quarts of boiled oil ; half a pound of ground umber, mixed in oil by colorman ; one pint of liquid driers, stir¬ red in ; one pint of turpentine; mix. After cleaning and planing your boards, lay this on with the grain of the wood. If required lighter add naphtha till the required shade is attained ; it darkens with age. Give it twelve hours to dry ; then varnish with wood varnish, or use only beeswax and turpentine. The result is good in time, but slower than varnish. Mahogany — {Svietened .)—The tree has a darkish-brown bark and a reddish-brown, coarsely fibred, streaky, hard wood. The tree grows to the height of 35 metres, and is pretty strong. The chief varieties are the common mahogany, with a very hard, very durable wood, which is never attacked by worms, and is excel¬ lent for ship-building ; but its capability for taking a fine polish is its chief recommendation. Mahagoni Haiti, Mahagoni Jam- aika, Mahagoni Havanna are the other chief kinds. Thirty-five years ago mahogany was commercially designated as “St. Domingo,” from the island of St. Domingo, and “Bay- wood,” or “Bay Mahogany,” from the vicinity of the Bay of THE HABDWOOD FINISHER. 73 Honduras, in Central America. The Central American wood was condemned as being too soft, of light weight, straight¬ grained and characterless. In recent years it has ceased coming to this market, but one cargo having arrived at the port of New York (the largest mahogany market in the world) in six years. St. Domingo mahogany likewise exists only in name, the orig¬ inal growth having long since been utilized ; only the small and stunted second growth being received here now. The individual logs of great size and best quality are so seldom found as to come within the category of “ rare specimens. ” The Central American wood having been debarred by reason of softness, and the St. Domingo being virtually extinct, it be¬ came a matter of discovery where else to find this wood. From the island of Cuba a considerable quantity of the smaller sizes,of good texture and hard, suitable for small work, is obtained; but it is from the vast forest of Mexico that the great markets of the world are now supplied, not alone with the bulk of the best mahogany, but much that is soft, though these soft grades are superior to the Baywood of oldeh times from Central America. With, perhaps the exception of our oaks, no wood possesses like advantages of combined soundness, large size, durability, beauty of color and richness of figure. So, when compared with other woods, mahogany costs no more to work and stands better than any other—the only point to weigh against this last great feature is the slight difference in the first cost of the wood in the rough . but if mahogany stands better and longer, and needs no atten¬ tion afterward, surely the sole advantage of less cost at first which any other wood may possess is overcome. But another merit, equal to any thus far mentioned, is the warmth in its color and the glory in the figure of this beautiful wood. The air of elegance, artistic effect and gentle breeding it imparts to all its surroundings, its joy and life—all these cannot be measured by a few cents a square foot. Its growing splendor with age that gives increasing satisfaction may safely be contrasted With the tameness of other woods, which, though pleasing at first. 74 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. deteriorate rather than improve. Does not mahogany add to the value of a private residence or public building ? I believe it does ; and it is this very fact that encourages so much imitation in housefinishing and in furniture. When the real wood is used, but little more is necessary than to fill and varnish or polish, as it cannot be much improved upon. Sometimes, however, it may be deemed proper to darken it some¬ what to take away the reddish hue that newly wrought mahogany presents, and this can best be done by darkening the filler, to suit the taste, trying the mixture first on a piece of the dressed stuff, until the desired shade is obtained, staining the varnish or polish with dragon’s-blood or other suitable dyes, will also accomplish the desired end. Staining by the fumes of ammonia will probably give the best results, as almost any tinge can be given the work from the new¬ ness of youth, to the mellowness of extreme age. This method is considered the best for imparting to mahogany the appearance of age, and for those wishing to avail themselves of an easy, clean and certain means of gaining the result, fumigating offers no serious obstacle to its accomplishment, the articles necessary being easy of acquirement, and at small expense. I give a number of receipts for making stains to imitate mahog¬ any. These stains may be applied to cherry, black birch, white wood, basswood, pine or sycamore, with pretty fair results. The best of these enumerated are cherry, birch and pine, as from these woods the best results are obtainable : A good imitation of and substitute for mahogany, useful in fine manufactures, is made by procuring any species of close grained wood, such as cherry, beech or birch, and properly preparing it smooth and clean. Then rub with diluted nitric acid, which prepares it for the materials subsequently to be applied. These consist of one and a half ounces of dragon’s-blood, dissolved in a pint of spirits of wine, and one-third cf that quantity of carbonate of soda, mixed together and filtered, the liquid in this state being rubbed, or rather, laid upon the wood with a soft brush. This THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 75 process is repeated with very little alteration, and in a short inter¬ val the wood possesses all the external appearance of mahogany. For other stains the following are given : Two ounces of drag¬ on’s blood dissolved in one quart of rectified spirits of wine, well shaken; or raw sienna in beer, with burnt sienna to give the re¬ quired tone; for darker stains boil a half-pound of madder and two ounces of log-wood chips in one gallon of water and brush the de¬ coction while hot over the wood. When dry paint with a solu¬ tion of two ounces of potash in one quart of water. A solution of permanganate' of potash forms a rapid and excellent brown stain. For the color of new mahogany, see Cherry Stains. A decoction of logwood chips, made by boiling in a closely- covered vessel one part of the chips in two parts water for two hours ; then strain through a muslin cloth. Should this be re¬ quired dark, as for antique mahogany, condense by a gentle heat. Another .—For the red generally called mahogany, add to a strong decoction of logwood chips a small quantity of chloride of tin. Or add to the decoction a trifle eosine. Apply two coats. Another .—Add to archil (orchil) sufficient eosine to produce a natural color. Another .—Dilute alizarin-paste to the proper consistency and color. Another .—To produce the red in oil, apply two coats of crim¬ son or rose-lake diluted with turps and japan. To darken mahogany, apply a weak solution of bichromate of potash in water. Apply successive coats, allowing each to dry, until the required shade is secured. Half a pound of madder, two ounces of logwood chips boiled in a gallon of water; brush over the wood while hot. When dry, go over the whole with pearl-ash solution, two drachms to a quart of water. Size and polish. If a redder shade be required, it can be produced by smearing the surface with a strong solution perman¬ ganate of potash, which is left on for a longer or shorter time, ac¬ cording to the shade required ; in most cases, five minutes will be THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 7 6 enough. The wood is then carefully washed, dried and pol¬ ished in the ordinary way. The reader will understand that the mahogany stains mentioned are mostly intended for staining inferior woods to imitate mahog¬ any, for as mentioned before only in isolated cases, will the genuine wood require to be stained—“good wine needeth no bush.”— Cherry- —(-Primus cerasus .)—This is a fine grained wood, tough and light, is capable of taking the very finest finish. Is harder than Bay wood, and is the nearest approach in color, grain and texture, to mahogany than any other native wood. One of the best methods for making cherry look like mahogany is to have the wood rubbed with diluted nitre acid, which pre¬ pares it for the materials subsequently applied. Afterwards to a filtered mixture of one ounce and a half of dragon’s blood dis¬ solved in a pint of spirits of wine is added one-third that quantity of carbonate of soda. The whole constituting a very thin liquid is brushed with a soft brush over the wood. This process is re¬ peated with very little alteration, and in a short interval of time the wood assumes the external appearance of mahogany. If the . composition has been properly made the surface will resemble an artificial mirror and should this brilliancy ever decline it may be restored by rubbing the surface with a little cold drawn linseed oil. When cherry is nicely filled and rubbed well down and not varnished, it has a soft glow not possessed by any other, and has none of those distortions of grain that are so unpleasant in ma¬ hogany. The timber is chosen from the wild cherry, which in New England and the North generally does not usually grow to a girth of more than 20 inches, but in some of the Western States and in the South frequently attains a diameter of 24 inches. The domestic fruit cherry gives some good specimens of small timber, but as the tree is rarely sacrificed unti) it is past bearing and is de¬ cayed, this source of supply is precarious. The facility with which cherry can be worked makes it a favorite with the cabinet-maker THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 77 and the house joiner; and it also possesses the quality of “ stay¬ ing where it is put,” and that is more than can be said of many of the hard woods. I give below several stains for making pine and other suitable woods to have an appearance of cherry. 1. To prepare this color in water stain, boil in a gallon of water one pound of Spanish annotto and one ounce of concentrated lye (potash). Should this not be deep enough, allow the water to evaporate by a gentle heat. The stain can also be darkened by adding gamboge previously dissolved in a weak potash solution. 2. Gamboge in oil, diluted with'turpentine, and a little japan added as a siccative. This produces the same color in oil as the former in water stain, and can be deepened with dragon’s blood in oil or finely-ground burnt sienna in oil. 3. Mix together, by stirring, 1 quart of spirits of turpentine, 1 pint of varnish, and 1 lb. of dry burnt sienna; apply with a brush and after it has been on about five minutes wipe it off with rags. This stain takes about 12 hours to dry. 4. Take 1 quart alcohol, 2 ozs. of dragon’s blood; pulverize the latter along with ^ oz. of alkanet root; mix and let stand in a warm place a couple of days. Shake frequently in the mean¬ time. Apply with a sponge or brush. Two or three coats may be required. This makes a fine stain. There are a number of other compounds, but it is considered that the above are ample for all ordinary purposes. When stains are wanted in large quantities it is much better to purchase them, as a number of excellent mixtures are now obtainable, among which may be mentioned those of the Chilton Mfg. Co., New York, who make fine ebony, mahogany and cherry stains. Aniline stain may be purchased at any color shop. Ash (Fraxinus excelsior.') This wood is now used very much by cabinet makers and house joiners in place of oak, and I have often seen furniture palmed off, to unsuspecting customers as an¬ tique oak and in one instance I know of an architect who speci¬ fied oak, and who “passed” a mixture of white and black ash, as 78 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. oak, either knowingly or otherwise. I am not sure that the owner? in either case lost anything, for good sound Canadian ash, is de cidedly better than dosey red oak. In finishing ash, either black or white, the same methods are adopted as for finishing oak and similar processes will give simi¬ lar results. Ingenious Stainers and finishes can make ash resemble oak wainscot, in vein and color so correctly that it is almost im¬ possible for the most experienced connoisseur to distinguish the genuine from the spurious. In order to do this some finishers make a commencement by sketching out, upon certain parts of the ash exterior, the requisite white veins, by means of a camel- hair pencil, with white stain; that done, they coat the veins with thin varnish, and then darken the general ground, dealing care¬ fully throughout the entire process with the veined portions. Others stain and embody, /. e. French polish—the ash with the ordinary preparation, after which they pursue an operative course termed “champing” ; that is, scratching fancifully, so as to form the veins, upon different parts of the coated surface, before it gets time to harden, with a saturated rag. The former process is, however, the most suitable of the two. Birch. {Betula Nigra.) or Canadian birch is superior to all other birches for constructive purposes and when properly fin¬ ished has a fine quiet refined look that commands itself to all lov¬ ers of domestic woods. So popular has the use of black birch be¬ come within the last ten years, that the price of good grades has advanced from $8 per M feet, in 1880 to $100 per M feet,in 1892. Black birch is a close-grained, handsome wood, and can be easily stained to resemble walnut exactly. It is just as easy to work, and is suitable for nearly, if not all, the purposes to which walnut is at present applied. Birch is much the same color as cherry, but the latter wood is now scarce, and conse¬ quently dear. When properly stained it is almost impossible to distinguish the difference between it and walnut, as it is susceptible of a beautiful polish, equal to any wood now used in the manu¬ facture of furniture, and inside finishings. THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 79 There is a species of bird’s-eye birch, but it is very scarce. An evidence of the weight and solidity of the wood is the fact that it will sink after being a few days on the water. It also possesses the quality of durability in a pre-eminent degree. Birch is generally finished the same as cherry, and direc* tions given under that head will apply here also. pjpg i —(Pinus Strobus ). If oak is the king of woods, pine is most assuredly “ president,” for it is at once the most useful and the most democratic of woods. It is found in the halls of the great and powerful, and in the cottage of the most humble among us. It is strong and vigorous, plain or ornamental and is not out of place either in the backwoodsman’s cabin or in the stately cathedral, and like a true man of the world, it adapts itself to every condition that circumstances may place it in. Pine can be made to look like any known wood, but is at its best when left natural and finished in clear shellac. There is no wood grows, that will convey so cheerful a feeling to the beholder as yellow or white pine finished in a natural state. Next to being finished in a natural state, is to imitate mahogany or light cherry which coloring it takes readily. Where the pine—of any kind—is to be either stained or left natural, it should be “ quarter sawed” as it will show a finer grain ; shrink less, and last longer. The softness of its texture and its susceptibility to injury may have had some influence in preventing its general use for ornamental purposes, but the wood can be “filled,” so that much of this objection is removed. Its pure white color—white as compared with other woods—recommends it for purposes for which holly has been heretofore used; and the size of the timber from which clear boards may be cut is greatly in its favor, boards of a width of sixteen, and even twenty inches being not uncommon, with no shade of distinction between sap wood and heart, and only the faintest perceptible grain. Some specimens lately examined show a greatly enhanced beauty by very simple treatment—the filling with warm shellac 5 80 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. varnish, bleached shellac in alcohol, applied with a brush while warm. Several coats are given, the last coat being rubbed with pumice and rotton stone, moistened with water, not oil. A finish of a flowing coat of copal varnish completes the prepara¬ tion. Thus treated, the wood is of a faint creamy tint, with an appearance of semi-transparency. Beautiful gradations of tone were obtained by panels of this prepared pine. Most of the stains given under previous heads, are applicable to pine, I add, however a few more, so that the workmen may have a number of recipes to draw from : For Walnut No. i.—Dissolve by boiling one part each of Epson salt and permanganate of potash in about twenty-five parts of water. This stain may be improved by adding a little eosine, and it works best when applied hot. а. Catechu broken into crumbs and boiled in about twice its bulk of water until dissolved. To darken to the required depth, add bichromate of potash previously dissolved in about eight times its equivalent of water. If the deep yellok shade peculiar to the Southern walnut be required, add yellow chromate of potash. For the reddish shade of the Northern wood, add more eosine. 3. For oil stain, use Vandyke brown toned up with the siennas, the colors being strictly pure and finely ground in oil, and diluted with turpentine and a small amount of japan. 4. Burnt Turkey umber mixed in the same way as the former. 5. Mix together, by stirring, 1 quart spirits of turpentine, 1 pint asphaltum varnish, 1 pint of japan, 1 lb. dry burnt umber, 1 lb. dry Venetian red ; apply with a brush. This stain is trans parent, and allows the grain of the wood to show through. б. Boil 1 y 2 ounces washing soda, and ^ ounce bichromate of potash, in 1 quart of water; add 2^ ounces Vandyke brown. This stain may be used either hot or cold. 7. With a brush apply a thin solution of permanganate of THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 81 potassa in water, until the desired color is produced, allowing each coat to dry before another is applied. For Mahogany or Cherry No. i. For mahogany, use a pint of turpentine and an ounce of color known as dragon’s blood. Dissolve and shake well before applying. For ebony, use hot liquor from logwood chips, and after dry apply a coat of tincture of steel. For walnut, use two ounces of washing soda, darkened with Vandyke brown in water. Add two ounces of bichromate of potash in pint and a half of water. 2. Mix together, by stirring, i quart of spirits of turpentine, i pint of varnish, and i lb. of dry burnt sienna ; apply with a brush, and after it has been on about five minutes wipe it off with rags. This stain takes about 12 hours to dry. 3. Take 1 quart alcohol, 2 ozs. of dragon’s-blood ; pulverize the latter along with oz. of alkanet root ; mix, and let stand in a warm place a couple of days. Shake frequently in the meantime. Apply with a sponge or brush. Two or three coats may be required. This makes a fine stain. For Rosewood No. 1. Mix in a bottle % lb. of extract of log¬ wood, 1 oz. salts of tartar, and 1 pint of water ; in another bottle, put 1 lb. of old iron in small pieces, and 1 pint of vine¬ gar, which, after standing twenty-four hours, will be ready for use ; make a hard stiff brush with a piece of rattan sharpened at one end in a wedge shape, pounding it so as to separate the fibre. Mix in 1 pint of varnish, ^ lb. of finely-powdered rose-pink. The materials are now ready, and the first thing in the process is to stain the wood with the logwood stain ; give two coats of this, allowing the first to become nearly dry before applying the second; then dip the rattan brush in the vinegar, and with it form the grain, after which give the work a coat of the varnish and rose pink. There can be no definite directions given for graining, except to study the natural wood and imitate it as near as possible. With the above materials skilfully applied, any common wood can be made to resemble rosewood so nearly that it will take a good judge to distinguish the difference. 82 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 2. Boil i lb. of logwood in i gallon of water, add a double handful of walnut shell, boil the whole again, strain the liquor and add to it i pint of the best vinegar. It is then ready for use. Apply it boiling hot, and when the wood is dry, form red veins in imitation of the grain of rosewood with a brush dipped in the following solution : Nitric acid, i pint ; metallic tin, i oz.; sal ammoniac, i oz. Mix and set aside to dissolve, occa¬ sionally shaking. If carefully executed it will give the appear¬ ance of dark rosewood. For surface stains the following are sometimes used : The colors are all to be mixed with very thin glue size, laid on warm with a soft woollen material, and the wood wiped dry after application. All the colors used is staining should be well pul¬ verized, and before use the liquid should be strained. Imitation Oak Stain. —Equal parts burnt umber and brown ochre. Imitation Mahogany Stain— One part Venetian red, and two parts yellow lead. Imitation Rosewood Stain. —Venetian red, darkened with lamp black to required shade. Imitation Walnut Stain. —Burnt umber and yellow ochre, mixed in proportions to give desired shade. Before leaving the subject of pine, it may be as well to say a few words regarding the long leaved, or Georgia pine ( Pinu i Pulustris .) as a great deal of it is used now in and about the city of New York, and other large centres. This wood is very fine, strong and lasting. Some of it is insusceptible of fine finish, but the best success with it, is when treated with shellac finish. In all other respects, when used as a finishing material, it may be treated the same as ordinary pine. Walnut. — {Juglans Nigra .')—As this wood is seldom or never stained it is unnecessary to say more about it other than it may be treated like oak cherry or birch. It looks well filled and finished in shellac. Birch stained and properly finished looks very much like walnut, and with a little care in getting a proper THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 83 tint in the stain, can scarcely be known from the real thing. “Filling,” in walnut finishing, is one of the most important processes, if the richness of the wood is desired to be shown as much depends on the “tint” as on the filling material. Poplar- —(Populus balsatnifera). Basswood.— (Tieia Americana.) Cedar. —White— {cupressus thuyoides) which is really a spruce, and all similar woods, should never be finished in a natural state. Deep stains or surface stains should always be employed on these woods if they are not to be painted. Beech- — (Fagus ferrugined) This is one of the unnoticed woods of former years but is now gradually gaining in favor as a decora¬ tive wood. It is cheap and also quite abundant, while the more popular hard woods are beginning to grow scarcer and higher in price. Beechwood has a fine grain, is quite durable, and can be used in the manufacture of furniture and for decorative purposes generally. The red variety has a handsome appearance and is especially suitable for use where a good imitation of cherry is desired. If “ quarter sawed ” it shows a fine grain and has a character distinctly its own which I think has never been properly appreci¬ ated. When quartered, properly finished, filled and polished, it looks something like dark leopard wood. It will assume a dark mahogany color if prepared like cherry or birch, or it may be made to appear like walnut if treated with walnut stains and finish. Elm- —(Ulmus Americana.) Chestnut. —(castanea vesca.) Butternut.— (Juglans cinerea.) These three woods are often used in inferior work, and are very soft and and easily dented. The best is perhaps the elm, which does very well for bath-room finish, panels for ash doors and similar work. All require a great deal of “ filling ” and this should be well rubbed in if a good job is required. All of these woods have a very coarse grain, but if care is taken in select- 84 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. ing the material, very odd and oftimes pleasing effects may be obtained. Any of the stains used on pine, will answer for these woods, dependent of course on the tints desired. The best re¬ sults with these woods is derived by giving the work one coat of shellac after filling and staining, then sandpaper well and apply your varnish or oil finish or whatever you purpose finishing in. Cypress. — ( Cupressus sempervierens.') The light the dark and the bald are good woods and are coming more and more in favor every day. This wood contains a very small amount of resin, and a very high polish can be given it; in fact, because of its not being af¬ fected by moisture, it is being used for cisterns, hogsheads,and sugar, molasses and honey barrels. The red cypress is the favor¬ ite, and some of it is so heavy that it will sink upon being placed in water. The white variety in much lighter, and will float after being deadened a short while before being cut, but it has not the firm grain of the red. The red cypress has a straight trunk with a small top, and the bark when cut has a reddish tint. These woods may be treated like cherry or brich with good results. They look well when left their natural color and finished! “ dead finish.” Sycamore. or Buttonwood, as it is sometimes called (acerpseudo platanus ) when quarter sawed and properly finished makes a good appearance, and in many cases is superceding cherry owing to its beauty and cheapness. Heretofore its natural beauty has been destroyed in many cases by staining the wood, and thus pre¬ venting the development of many chemical changes which take place and are thrown to the surface when properly treated. When quarter sawed, a light bodied and light colored shellac should be used, when by a natural chemical process a beautiful silver leaf is developed and the surface assumes a charming pink hue. Hemlock. —{Abies Canadensis.) This is rarely used for finish¬ ing owing to its brittleness and splintery nature. Clean boards, however, made into panels or other similar work and then finished in natural color, assumes a very handsome appearance. It has a THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 85 a pink tint of the most delicate kind which improves and mel¬ lows with age. It should be finished in the same manner as pine. Rosewood. —(Dalbergia Nigra.) It seldom falls to the lot of the ordinary finisher to have to “ try his hand ” on the genuine wood, but sometimes it does happen and it is just as well that he should be armed with the means to wrestle with the work if such is ever thrown in his way. To finish rosewood, requires about the same treatment as mahogany, though, as a matter of fact, many pieces of rosewood will be found to have a coarser grain than mahogany, and will require much care in filling. The main thing to be observed, is to see that the filling is a shade or two darker than the wood to be filled, before any varnish is laid on. For imitation of rosewood I give below a few recipes : Take half a pound of logwood, boil it with three pints of water till it is of a very dark red, to which add about half an ounce of salt of tartar. When boiling hot, stain your wood with two or three coats, taking care that it is nearly dry between each; then, with a stiff, flat brush, such as is used for graining, make streaks with a very deep black stain, which if carefully executed will be very near the appearance of dark rose¬ wood. The following is another method: Stain your wood all over with a black stain, and when dry, with a brush as above dipped in the bright liquid form real veins in imitation of the grain of rosewood, which will produce, when well managed, a beautiful effect. A handy brush for the purpose of graining may be made by taking a flat brush such as used for varnishing, and cuttting the sharp points of the hairs and making the edge ir¬ regular ; by cutting out a few hairs here and there the grain may be imitated with great accuracy. This is suitable to pine, cedar, Cyprus, whitewood, basswoods while the following should only be used in mahogany, cherry, or birch, spread on the surface of the material a concentrated solution of hypermagnate of potassa, to act until the desired shade is obtained. Five minutes suffice, ordinarily, to give a deep color, a few trials indicating the proper proportions. The hyper- 86 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. magnate of potassa is decomposed by the vegetable fibre with the precipitation of brown peroxide of maganese, which the influ¬ ence of the potassa, at the same time set free, fixes in a durable manner the fibres. When the action is terminated the wood is carefully washed with water, dried, and then oiled and polished in the usual manner. The effect produced by this process in several woods is really remarkable. It has been a mystery to many people why the dark wood so highly prized for furniture is called “ Rosewood.” Its color certainly does not look much like a rose, so we must look for some other reason. It is claimed by some that when the tree is first cut the wood possesses a very strong roselike fragrance, hence the name. This is the most probable reason for its name. There are about a half a dozen kinds of rosewood trees. The varieties are found in South America, and in the East Indies and neigh¬ boring islands. Sometimes the trees grow so large that boards or planks four feet broad and ten feet in length can be cut from them. The broad boards are used for the tops of piano fortes. When growing in the forests the tree is remarkable for its beauty, but such its value in manufacturing as an ornamental wood that some of the forests where it once grew abundantly now have scarcely a single specimen left. I have purposely left unmentioned a number of our finest woods such as our maples, and others, which, would it not increase the size of this volume, beyond reasonable dimensions. I should have more tosayconcerningthem. The workmen will know, from what has already been said, how these light woods may be treated, and I may add, that the various maples, though rather light in color for general purposes, make the most delicate of finish. Gum wood of late, has been used to some extent and is not hard to deal with when to be finished. It should be treated about as cherry and birch, and finished in a similar way, and when done nicely the work looks quite well. Redwood is getting to be a favorite wood with some builders, owing no doubt to its cheapness, and its easiness to work. It THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 87 may be classed among the softer woods and requires treating about the same as chestnut, butternut and the cedars. The fol¬ lowing formula and directions have been highly recommended as a finish, but for my own part, I prefer using Wheeler’s filler as I think better results are obtained. Here is the formula: Take one quart Spirits Tupentine. Add one pound Corn Starch. Add % “ Burnt Sienna. Add one tablespoonful Raw Linseed Oil. Add “ •' Brown Japan. Mix thoroughly, apply with a brush, let it stand say fifteen minutes; rub off all you can with fine shavings or a soft rag, then let it stand at least twenty-four hours that it may sink into and harden the fibres of the wood, afterward apply two coats of white shellac; rub down well with fine flint paper, then put on from two to five coats best polishing varnish ; after it is well dried rub with water and pumice stone ground very fine, stand a day to dry; after being washed clean with chamois, rub with water and rotten-stone; dry, wash as before clean, and rub with olive oil until dry. Some use cork for sand-papering and polishing, but a smooth block of hard wood like maple is better. When treated in this way redwood will be found the peer of any wood for real beauty and life as a house trim or finish. By proper attention, redwood may be made to appear like mahogany or cherry but its softness is very much against it. General Recipes. — Ebomzing .—Prepare some shellac varnish by dissolving half a pound of gum shellac in a quart of alcohol; put in a tightly corked bottle, set in a warm place, and shake frequently. When completely dissolved, add sufficient dry lamp or bone black. It will require only about a heaping tablespoon¬ ful to half a pint of varnish. Should it be too thick to flow easily from the brush, and spread evenly, add alcohol. Give the wood two or three coats of this, which can be done within two days. For fine work give three coats of the black varnish 88 THE HAKE WOOD FINISHER. and allow it to dry thoroughly ; then take some oo or ooo sand¬ paper and rub the work down lightly until the surface is smooth and even, being careful not to rub through to the wood. Then apply two or three coats more, and rub down again with the sandpaper; give two coats more and allow it to dry perfectly hard. Make some rubbers of felt, an old felt hat is good, by tacking the felt on blocks of soft wood of proper shape, which should be flat, concave or convex to fit the work. Apply a few drops of sewing machine oil to the felt and sprinkle on a pinch of pulverized pumice stone. Rub the work with this, keeping the rubber moist with oil and supplied with the pumice, until the wood shows a perfectly smooth surface, without any gloss. When it has all been gone over wipe off the surface and rub clean with dry flannel cloths. The result is fine imitation of ebony. If the shellac varnish is colored with aniline instead of lamp-black, the finished surface is smoother and finer. Others. —i. infuse gall-nut in vinegar, into which rusty nails have been soaked ; paint the wood with this, polish and burnish when dry. 2. Wash the wood repeatedly with a solution of sul¬ phate of iron, made by dissolving 2 oz. of sulphate in a pint of hot water. When dry, apply a hot decoction of logwood and nut-galls two or three times. When dry, clean with a wet sponge and then polish. 3. Brush the wood with a strong decoction of logwood chips several times. When dry, give it a coat of vinegar in which rusty iron has been placed. Dissolve beeswax in turpentine by setting in a warm place; apply warm with a brush, and rub it till it shines. 4. Wash with a concentrated aqueous solution of logwood several times, and then with a solu¬ tion of acetate of iron of 40 deg. Baume. Repeat till a deep black is produced. 5. Put 2 oz. of logwood chips with 1^ oz. of copperas in a quart of water, boil, and lay on hot. When dry, wet the surface again with 2 oz. of steel filings dissolved in half a pint of vinegar. When dry again, sand-paper smooth, then oil, then fill it with powdered drop-black mixed in the filler. Work to be ebonized should be smooth and free from holes. Give it THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 89 a light coat of quick drying varnish, then rub with finely pulver¬ ized pumice stone and linseed oil until very smooth. 6. Boil y 2 pound of chip logwood in two quarts of water, and add y 2 oz. of verdigris and y 2 oz. of copperas, strain, and put in y 2 pound of rusty steel filings. With this go over the work a second time. 7. A pound of logwood boiled in four quarts of water, add two handfuls of walnut shells or peel, boil up again, take out the chips, add a pint of vinegar, and apply boiling. Afterwards dissolve 1 oz. of green copperas in a quart of boiling water and apply hot. 8. First sponge the wood with a solution of chlorhy- drate of aniline in water, to which a small quantity of copper chloride is added. When dry, go over again with a solution of potassium bichromate. Repeat this twice or thrice. 9. One gallon of vinegar, y 2 pound of green copperas, y pound of China blue, 2 oz. nut-gall, 2 pounds extract of logwood. Boil all these over a slow fire, and add half a pint of iron-rust. Apply as usual. A good varnish for ebonized work is made by dissolving in alcohol some black wax. Stains. —Many excellent stains for pine may be obtained by using the ordinary graining colors, Vandyke brown, raw and burnt sienna, ultramarine blue, etc., applied with a brush, with¬ out previous preparation and then wiped off with a cloth—a- method that brings out clearly the grain or marks of the wood, which in pitch pine, now being extensively used for fittings, are often extremely beautiful. A better method for general work, French polish being ordinarily too expensive, is, where dark oak or mahogany stains are not wanted, light varnishes, of which two coats are to be applied. The glue size with which the work is first coated, in order to fill up the pores of the wood, should not be too thick, as in that case it is liable to crack. Logwood, lime, brown soft-soap, dyed oil, sulphate of iron, nitrate of silver exposed to the sun’s rays, carbonate of soda, bichromate and permanganate of potash, and other alkaline prep¬ arations, are used for darkening the wood ; the last three are specially recommended. The solution is applied by dissolving 90 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. one ounce of the alkali in two gills of boiling water, diluted to the required tone. The surface is saturated with a sponge or flannel, and immediately dried with soft rags. The carbonate is used for dark woods. Oil tinged with rose madder may be ap¬ plied to hard woods like birch, and a red oil is prepared from soaked alkanet root in linseed oil. The grain of yellow pine can be brought out by two or three coats of japan, much diluted with turpentine, and afterwards oiled and rubbed. To give mahogany the appearance of age, lime water used before oiling is a good plan. In staining wood, the best and most transparent effect is obtained by repeated light coats of the same. For oak stain a strong solution of oxalic acid is employed ; for mahogany, dilute nitric acid. A primary coat or a coat of wood fillers is advanta¬ geous. For mahogany stains, the following are given: two ounces of dragon’s-blood dissolved in one quart of rectified spirits of wine, well shaken, or raw sienna in beer, with burnt sienna to give the required tone ; for darker stains boil half pound of madder and two ounces of logwood chips in one gallon of water, and brush the decoction while hot over the wood ; when dry, paint with a solution of two ounces of potash in one quart of water. A solution of permangate of potash forms a rapid and excellent brown stain. Oak or ash may be stained brown by using linseed oil and benzine half and half, and burnt umber or Vandyke brown in¬ corporated with this. Maple can be stained green-gray by using copperas in water; oak will also be changed to a dark green blue through the same agency, the effect on ash being various shades of olive green. Ammonia applied to oak produces the bronze olive tint now used so much by architects. Wash any compact wood with a boiling decoction of logwood three or four times, allowing it to dry between each application. Then wash it with a solution of acetate of iron, which is made by dissolving iron fillings in vinegar. This stain is very black, and penetrates to a considerable depth into the wood, so that ordinary scratching or chipping does not show the original color. THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 91 A wash of one part of nitric acid in ten parts of water will, if well done, impart a stain resembling mahogany to pine wood which does not contain much resin. When the wood is thoroughly dry, shellac varnish will impart a fine finish to the surface. A glaze of carmine or lake will produce a rosewood finish. A turpentine extract of alkanet root produces a beautiful stain which admits of French polishing. Asphaltum, thinned with turpentine, makes an excellent mahogany color on new wood. A Method. —Of imparting to any plain white wood the ap¬ pearance of cedar wood is as follows:—Mix two parts of catechu, and one part of caustic soda, in a hundred parts of water (all by weight). The article to be stained should be boiled in this solu¬ tion for some hours, and is then rinsed in clear water and dried. If the desired depth of tone has not been obtained, a second boiling must be resorted to. This stain is said to sink so deep into the wood that even thick sheets of veneer thus treated will be colored right through ; while other wood articles thus stained may be safely manipulated without any fear of the original color of the wood showing through. For a Brown Stain. —Boil i lb. of the brown pigment called Terre de Cassel with 4 quarts of water, until it is reduced one- third. Mix two ounces (Troy) of white potash with sufficient water to dissolve it, and mix with the Terre de Cassel. This stain must be applied with a brush, two or even three times, ac¬ cording to the depth of the shade required. Another- —Paint the wood with a solution made by boiling one pot of catechu with thirty parts of water and a little soda ; when dry paint over with another solution made of one part bichro¬ mate of potash and thirty parts water. By a little difference in the mode of treatment, and by varying the strength of the solu¬ tions, several shades of color may be given. For a Black Dye.— P ut 6 lbs. of chip logwood into the copper, with as many veneers as it will conveniently hold, without press¬ ing too tight ; fill it with water, and let it boil slowly for about three hours ; then add half a pound of powdered verdigris, 92 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. half a pound of copperas, and four ounces of bruised nut-galls ; fill the copper up with vinegar as the water evaporates; let it boil gently two hours each day till the wood is dyed through. To Brighten Stains- —Aliy of the stains named (except the sur¬ face stains) will be rendered much more brilliant by an applica¬ tion of the following: i oz. nitric acid, teaspoonful muriatic acid, oz. grain tin, 2 ozs. rain water. Mix in a bottle, at least two days before using, and keep the bottle well corked. The above stains are probably the most important to a house finisher, and, as they have all been employed and found practi¬ cable,they can be relied upon. In performing a small job it will generally be found more convenient and economical to obtain the stain from some furniture shop where it is kept in bulk. The best way to preserve stain is to keep it in bottles or jugs. It is said that four or five drops of creosote added to a quart of stain will prevent it from becoming mouldy and stagnant. The Stainers at the furniture shops have contrived a scheme to prevent their hands from becoming deeply stained while at work, by dipping them into a quick-dry varnish or oil shellac, and then in cleansing them they rinse them first in water to remove the stain, and then submit them to a turpentine bath, thus removing the varnish. Miscellaneous- —Many processes have of late been applied to the finishing of woodwork, such as staining in various colors, fumigating and other methods. A new finish is now practised in the European market, and is known as the Rubenick process. It is used for giving a metallic surface to wood, and consists in first immersing the wood in a bath of caustic alkaline lye, in which it is allowed to remain for two or three days, according to the degree of permeability of the wood, at a temperature of 167° to 194 0 F. From this bath the wood passes to another of hydro¬ sulphate of calcium, to which is added, after 24 or 36 hours, a concentrated solution of sulphur. Here it remains for about 48 hours at a temperature of 95 0 to 122 0 F., and, lastly, for from 30 to 50 hours the wood is immersed in a solution of acetate of THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 93 lead at the same temperature. The timber, thus pickled, is al¬ lowed to dry, when it is said to be susceptible, after burnishing, of a high polish and even metallic luster, which is more brilliant if the surfaces of the wood have been previously rubbed with lead, tin or zinc plates, and then polished with a glass or porcelain bur¬ nisher. Treated in this way the wood may assume the appear¬ ance of a metallic mirror, being also hard and very strong. With the majority of lumbermen the term hardwood includes everything except white pine, and is accepted in that sense gen¬ erally by the trade, though in reality there are two or three woods, such as buckeye and Southern white lynn, that are softer than white pine. Some writer, we know not who, says : “The relative hardness of woods is calculated by the hickory, which is the toughest. Estimating this at ioo, we get for pignut hickory 96, white oak 84, white ash 77, dogwood 75, scrub oak 73, white hazel, 72, apple tree 70, red oak 79, white beech 65, black wal¬ nut 65, black birch 62, yellow and black oak, 60, hard maple 56, white elm 58, red cedar 56, cherry 55, yellow pine 54, chestnut 52, yellow poplar 51, butternut and white birch 43, and white pine 35. ” According to this formula, woods possessing a degree of hard¬ ness equal to only about 40 percent., or less than that of hickory, should not be classed as hardwoods. Such woods are, however, limited in quantity, and are not of sufficient importance to jus¬ tify a classification, and the trade will continue to construe hard¬ wood to mean everything except white pine. Dyeing wood is mostly applied for the purpose of veneers, while staining is more generally had recourse to give the de¬ sired color to the article after it has been manufactured. In the one case, the color should penetrate throughout, while in the lat¬ ter the surface is all that is essential. In dyeing, pear tree, holly and beech, take the best black ; but for most colors holly is preferable. It is also best to have wood as young and as newly cut as possible. After the veneers are cut, they should be allowed to lie in a trough of water for four or five 94 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. days before they are put into the copper ; as the water, acting as a purgative to the wood, brings out an abundance of slimy matter, which must be removed, or the wood will never be a good color. After this purificatory process, they should be dried in the open air for at least twelve hours. They are then ready for the cop¬ per. By these simple means the color will strike much quicker, and be of a brighter hue. It would also add to the improvement of the colors, if, after the veneers have boiled a few bours, they are taken out, dried in the air, and again immersed in the color¬ ing copper. Always dry veneers in the open air, for fire invari¬ ably injures the colors. Fine Black Dye.— P ut 6 lbs. of chip logwood into the copper, with as many veneers as it will conveniently hold, without press¬ ing too tight ; fill it with water, and let it boil slowly for about three hours ; then add half a pound of powdered verdigris, half a pound of copperas, and 4 ounces of bruised nut-galls ; fill the copper up with vinegar as the water evaporates ; let it boil gently two hours each day till the wood is dyed through. Another .—Procure some liquor from a tanner’s pit, or make a decoction of oak bark, and to every gallon of the liquor add a quarter of a pound of green copperas, and mix them well to¬ gether ; put the liquor into the copper, and make it quite hot, but not boil ; immerse the veneers in it, and let them remain for an hour ; take them out, and expose them to the air, till it has pene¬ trated its substance ; then add some logwood to the solution, place the veneers again in it, and let it simmer for two or three hours ; let the whole cool gradually, dry the veneers in the shade, and they will be a very fine black. Fine Blue Dye - —Into a clean glass bottle put 1 lb. of oil of vit¬ riol, and 4 ozs. of the best indigo pounded in a mortar (take care to set the bottle in a basin or earthen glazed pan, as it will fer¬ ment ); then put the veneers into a copper or stone trough; fill it rather more than one-third with water, and add as much of the vitriol and indigo (stirring it about) as will make a fine blue, which THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 95 may be known by trying it with a piece of white paper or wood. Let the veneers remain till the dye has struck through. The color will be much improved if the solution of indigo in vitriol be kept a few weeks before using it. The color will strike better if the veneers are boiled in plain water till completely soaked through, and then allowed for a few hours to dry partially, previ¬ ous to being immersed in the dye. Another —Throw pieces of quicklime into soft water; stir it well; when settled, strain or pour off the clear part; then to every gallon add ten or twelve ounces of the best turnsole; put the whole into the copper with the veneers, which should be of white holly, and prepared as usual by boiling in water; let them simmer gently till the color has sufficiently penetrated, but be careful not to let them boil in it, as it would injure the color. A Fine Yellow Dye- —Reduce 4 lbs. of the root of barberry, by sawing, to dust, which put in a copper or brass trough; add 4 ozs. of turmeric and 4 gallons of water, then put in as many white holly veneers as the liquor will cover ; boil them together for three hours, often turning them; when cool, add 2 ozs. of aquafortis and the dye will strike through much sooner. A Bright Yellow Dye- —To every gallon of water necessary to cover the veneers, add 1 lb. of French berries; boil the veneers till the color has penetrated through ; add to the infusion of the French berries, the liquid for brightening colors given on page 78, and let the veneers remain for two or three hours, and the color will be very bright. Bright Green Dye. —Proceed as in either of the previous re¬ ceipts to produce a yellow; but instead of adding aquafortis or the brightening liquid, add as much vitriolated indigo (see page 80) as will produce the desired color. Green Dye« —Dissolve 4 ozs. of the best verdigris, and of sap- green and indigo half an ounce each in 3 pints of the best vine¬ gar ; put in the veneers, and gently boil till the color has pene¬ trated sufficiently. The hue of the green may be varied by altering the proportion 6 90 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. of the ingredients; and it is advised, unless wanted for a particu¬ lar purpose, to leave out the sap-green, as it is a vegetable color very apt to change, or turn brown, when exposed to the air. Bright Red Dye.—' T ° 2 lbs. of genuine Brazil dust, add 4 gallons of water; put in as many veneers as the liquor will cover ; boil them for three hours; then add 2 ozs. of alum, and 2 ozs. of aquafortis, and keep it lukewarm until it has struck through. Red Dye. —To every pound of logwood chips, add 2 gallons of water; put in the veneers, and boil as in the last; then add a sufficient quantity of the brightening liquid (see page 78) till you see the color to your mind; keep the whole as warm as the fin¬ ger can be borne in it, till the color has sufficiently penetrated. The logwood chips should be picked from all foreign sub¬ stances, with which it generally abounds, as bark, dirt, etc.; and it is always best when fresh cut, which may be known by its appear¬ ing of a bright-red color ; for if stale, it will look brown, and not yield so much coloring matter. Purple Dve. —To 2 lbs. of chip logwood and half a pound of Brazil dust, add 4 gallons of water, and after putting in the ve¬ neers, boil them for at least three hours; then add 6 ozs. of pearl- ash and 2 ozs. of alum ; let them boil for two or three hours every day, till the color has struck through. The Brazil dust only contributes to make the purple of a more red cast; you may, therefore, omit it, if you require a deep bluish purple. Another .—Boil 2 lbs. of logwood, either in chips or powder, in 4 gallons of water, with the veneers; after boiling till the color is well struck in, add by degrees vitriolated indigo (see page 80) till the purple is of the shade required, which may be known by trying it with a piece of paper ; let it then boil for one hour, and keep the liquid in a milk-warm state till the color has penetrated the veneer. This method, when properly managed, will produce a brilliant purple, not so likely to fade as the foregoing. Liquid For Brightening and Setting Colors. -To every pint of strong aquafortis, add 1 oz. of grain tin, and a piece of THE HARDWOOD FINISHER 97 sal-ammoniac of the size of a walnut; set it by to dissolve, shake the bottle round with the cork out, from time to time; in the course of two or three days it will be fit for use. This will be found an admirable liquid to add to any color, as it not only brightens it, but renders it less likely to fade from exposure to the air. Orange Dye- —Let the veneers be dyed by either of the methods given in page 81, of a fine deep yellow, and while they are still wet and saturated with the dye, transfer them to the bright red dye as in page 82, till the color penetrates equally throughout. Silver Grey Dye- —Expose to the weather in a cast-iron pot of six or eight gallons, old iron nails, hoops, etc., till covered with rust; add 1 gallon of vinegar and 2 of water, boil all well for an hour; have the veneers ready, which must be hard-wood (not too dry,)put them in the copper used to dye black, and pour the iron liquor over them; add 1 lb. of chip logwood and 2 ozs. of bruised nut-galls; then boil up another pot of the iron liquor to supply the copper with, keeping the veneers covered, and boil¬ ing two hours a day, till the required color is obtained. Gray Dye--—Expose any quantity of old iron, or what is better, the borings of gun-barrels, etc., in any convenient vessel, and from time to time sprinkle them with spirits of salt (muriatic acid) diluted in four times its quantity of water, till they are very thickly covered with rust; then to every six pounds add a gallon of water, in which has been dissolved two ounces of salt of tartar; lay the veneers in the copper, and cover them with this liquid; let it boil for two or three hours till well soaked, then to every gallon of liquor add a quarter of a pound of green copperas, and keep the whole at a moderate temperature till the dye has suffi¬ ciently penetrated. Gilding, Silvering and Bronzing are processes of applying to previously prepared surfaces a thin layer of gold or silver leaf, or in bronzing, of a fine powder, prepared from various metals and intended to imitate the peculiar appearance of genuine bronze. 98 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. The processes of gilding and silvering being identical, the de¬ scription of one will suffice to explain the other. Gilding- —Gold leaf, applied to articles of furniture as a means of decoration, is used in two ways; it is applied over an ordinary varnish or other finish, in which case but little special preparation is necessary; or, as when used for picture frames, cornices, etc., it is appled to a specially prepared foundation, the basis of which is whiting, mixed with various other ingredients suggested by ex¬ perience or fancy. In either case, the gold leaf is caused to ad¬ here to the work, by size specially prepared for the purpose, re¬ ceipts for which follow herewith; the size being first applied to the work, and when it has become of the right consistency, the gold is laid upon it. Oil-Gilding and Burnish-Gilding are different methods used to obtain certain desired effects, the for¬ mer principally for articles exposed to the weather, and for height¬ ening the effect of incised carving or engraving, and the latter for picture-frames and articles having a specially prepared founda¬ tion, whose entire surface is to be gilded. It is intended that the gold shall adhere to the work only in the places to which the size has been applied, but the smallest portion of oil or even a slight dampness may cause the gold to partially adhere to the adjoining surface, resulting in slightly ragged edges; to prevent this, before applying the size to the desired design, the entire surface is cov¬ ered with a thin film of some substance perfectly free from moisture, and easily removable by water, after completion of the process. The Requisites- —First, a sufficient quantity of leaf-gold, which is of two sorts—the deep gold, as it is called, and the pale gold. The former is the best; the latter very useful, and may oc¬ casionally be introduced for variety or effect. Second, a gilder’s cushion: an oblong piece of wood, covered with rough calf-skin, stuffed with flannel several times doubled, with a border of parchment, about four inches deep, at one end, to prevent the air blowing the leaves about when placed on the cushion. THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 99 Thirdly, a gilding-knife, with a straight and very smooth edge, to cut the gold. Fourthly, several camel-hair pencils in sizes, and tips, made of a few long camel’s hairs put between two cards, in the same manner as hairs are put into tin cases for brushes, thus making a flat brush with a very few hairs. Lastly, a burnisher, which is a crooked piece of agate set in a long wooden handle. Sizes. —These are of two kinds: oil sizes are those which when applied, present an adhesive surface, requiring the immediate lay¬ ing of the gold-leaf upon it ; of this class is the oil-size com¬ monly used in decorating furniture ; water-sizes are those that are allowed to become dry and hard when applied, and are ren¬ dered adhesive when the gold is to be laid, by brushing over with water ; for burnish-gilding these are always employed, as oil-size does not dry sufficiently hard to permit of burnishing. Oil Size for Oil-Gilding. —Grind calcined red-ochre with the best and oldest drying-oil. When desired for use, add sufficient oil of turpentine to make it work freely. Parchment-Size.— For preparing Frames, etc.—To half a pound of parchment shavings, or cuttings of white leather, add three quarts of water, and boil it in a proper vessel till reduced to nearly half the quantity ; then take it off the fire, and strain it through a sieve. Be careful in the boiling to keep it well stirred, and do not let burn. Gold-Size for Burnish-Gilding. —Grind fine sal-ammoniac well with a muller and stone ; scrape into it a little beef suet, and grind all wet together ; after which, mix in with a pallet- knife a small proportion of parchment-size with a double propor¬ tion of water. When about to use, add parchment-size until it will just flow from the brush. Another .—Grind a lump of tobacco-pipe clay into a very stiff paste with thin size ; add a small quantity of ruddle and fine black lead, ground very fine, and temper the whole with a small 100 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. piece of tallow. When ready to use, reduce with parchment size until it will just flow from the brush. Another .—Grind separately in water, i lb. Armenian bole, 2 ozs. red lead, a sufficient quantity of black lead ; mix, and re¬ grind with a small quantity of olive oil. Reduce with parchment size to the proper consistency. To Prevent Gold Adhering,— Either one of the following methods will prevent gold-leaf or bronze from adhering to the surface beyond the outlines of the sizing laid on to receive it: 1. Whiting used dry, and applied by means of a pounce bag. 2. Whiting mixed in water, and applied with a soft brush. When the water has evaporated, dust off the superfluous whiting with an ordinary paint duster. By this method a very thin coat¬ ing of whiting remains, which is free from any grittiness. One advantage gained by the use of whiting thus applied is, it furnishes a whitish ground over which clear varnish or oil-size may be distinctly seen as the striping progresses. After the leaf or bronze has been applied, the work must be carefully washed, so as to insure the removal of the whiting. 3. White of egg reduced with water, and applied with apiece of sponge. 4. A thin wash of starch water, either brushed on with a flat camel-hair brush, or applied with a soft sponge. 5. Take ball liquorice and water, a weak solution, and apply with a soft brush. This may be kept in a bottle ready for use at any time. 6. Cut a new potato in two, amd rub over the part to be sized with the raw face exposed, allowing the juice to remain until dry. It will be observed that any substance which interposes a film over the varnish, itself being free from tackiness and readily removed by water, will answer the purpose. Oil Gilding. —Applying the Gold.—If the wood to be gilded is finished with varnish or otherwise, no additional foundation is necessary upon which to lay the gold-leaf; if the wood is not THE HAEDWOOD FINISHES. 101 finished, after it has been smoothed and dusted, give it one or two coats of parchment size, after it is perfectly dry and hard, again smoothing the surface with fine sand-paper. That the gold may not adhere to any part of the work except where the size is hard, powder the surface lightly with whiting from a pounce- bag, which is a small bag made of material sufficiently loose to permit the powdered whiting to sift through as fine dust ; if preferred, any of the preceding receipts for that purpose can be used instead. Remove the surplus whiting with the dusting¬ brush, and the work is then ready for the size. Apply this with a sable or fit brush of the proper size, carefully observing to make the outer lines of the design clear and sharp, that the work may not appear ragged. Let the size remain until it feels tacky, when the gold may be applied. This is the most difficult part of the operation, and experience is necessary before gold-leaf can be laid smoothly without a wrinkle or a break. Turn a leaf of gold out of the book upon the cushion ; breathe gently upon the centre of the leaf and it will lay flat on the cushion ; cut it to the proper size by bringing the knife perpendicularly over it, and sawing it gently until divided. Take your tip (a brush used for the purpose) and after drawing it lightly over your hair to remove any particles or dust that may be upon it, breathe upon it gently, which will dampen it sufficiently to cause the leaf of gold to adhere to it ; lay the tip upon the leaf of gold and carefully transfer it to the work ; blow upon it gently and it will straighten out and adhere. It may be rendered quite smooth by slightly dabbing it with a bit of cotton. In about an hour wash off the superfluous gold from the edges, with a sponge and water. If the article is to be exposed to the weather or much wear, the gilding may be varnished with copal varnish. Burnish-Gilding. —As previously stated, this process requires a specially prepared foundation upon which to lay the gold, and as the preparation of this foundation is a distinct trade, the furniture dealer or cabinet-maker seldom finds it necessary 102 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. to undertake it, the articles coming to his hand ready-prepared for gilding ; but as in repairing picture-frames, cornices, mirror frames, etc., it frequently becomes necessary to renew the foundation, a comprehensive description of the whole process is given. Preparing the Wood-work— After smoothing and dusting the work, coat the frames in every part with boiling-hot parchment- size, as previously described, then mix a sufficient quantity of whiting with size to the consistency of thick cream, and with it by means of a brush, coat every part of the frame several times, permitting each coat to become perfectly dry before proceeding with the next. The wood will thus be covered with a layer of hard whiting nearly or quite a sixteenth of an inch in thickness. The size must not be too thick, and when mixed with the whiting should not be so hot as the preliminary coat of size. Polishing, —When the preparations are quite dry, clean and polish them. To do this, wet a small piece at a time, and, with a smooth, fine piece of cloth, dipped in water, rub the part till all the bumps and inequalities are removed ; and for those parts where the fingers will not enter, as the mouldings, etc., wind the wet cloth round a piece of wood, and by this means make the surface all smooth and even alike. Where there is carved work, etc., it will sometimes be necessary to bring the mouldings to their original sharpness by means of chisels, gouges, etc., as the preparation will be apt to fill up all the finer parts of the work, which must be thus restored. It is sometimes the practice, after polishing, to go over the work once with fine yellow or Roman ochre ; but this is rarely necessary. Applying the Size, —Select the proper gold size from the receipts previously given ; add parchment size until it will just flow from the brush ; make it quite hot, and apply it to the wood with a very soft brush, taking care not to make the first coat too thick ; let it dry and give two or three successive coats, after THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 10S the last brushing it with a stiff brush to remove any inequalities. The work is then ready for the gold. Laying the gold. The manipulation of the gold leaf has been described under the heading Oil Gilding. In the paint now being described, size used (being water-size, which previously ex¬ plained is permitted to become hard and dry after being applied) must be moistened to cause the gold-leaf to adhere to it. For this purpose, with a long-haired camel-hair pencil, dipped in water, go over as much of the work as you intend the piece of gold to cover; then lay the gold upon it in the manner previously explained. Be sure that the part to which the gold is applied is sufficiently wet; indeed it must be floating, or the gold will be apt to crack. Pro¬ ceed in this manner a little at a time, and do not attempt to cover too much at once, until by experience you are going to handle the gold with freedom. Burnishing. —-When the work is covered with gold, set it by to dry; there is a particular state or degree of dryness, known only by experience in which the moulding is in a fit state for bur- ishing; it will probably be ready to burnish in about eight or ten hours, but it will depend on the warmth of the room or state of the air. When it is ready, those parts intended to be burnished must be dusted with a soft brush ; then wiping the burnisher with a piece of soft wash-leather (quite dry) begin to burnish about an inch or two in length at a time, taking care not to bear too hard, but with a gentle and quick motion, applying the tool until all the parts of the surface are equally bright. Matting or Dead Gold. —Certain portions only of the work are burnished, according to the fancy, and the facility with which the burnishing tool can be applied ; the remaining parts are now to be deprived of their metallic lustre, to make a more effective contrast with the burnishing. The parts thus treated are said to be matted or dead-gold. The process is as follows : Grind some vermillion or yellow ochre very fine, and mix a very small portion either with the parchment size or with the 104 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. white of an egg, and with a very soft brush lay it evenly on the parts to be dulled; if well done, it will add greatly to the beauty of the work. Previous to matting, the work must be well cleared of superfluous gold, by means of a soft brush. Finishing. —I n elaborate works it is frequently impossible to lay gold -leaf into all the intricacies of an elaborate design, and the parts thus left bare must be finished by touching up with a small brush charged with shell-gold, or gold-powder, mixed with gum-Arabic to the proper consistency. The following receipt de¬ scribes the preparation of shell-gold : Shelled Gold. —Take any quantity of leaf-gold and grind it with a small portion of honey, to a fine powder, add a little gum- Arabic and sugar-candy, with a little water, and mix it well together ; let it dry. Silver Size. —Grind pipe-clay fine with a little black-lead and good soap, and add parchment-size as directed for gold-size. Composition for Frame Ornaments.— The ornaments for gilded mirror-frames, etc., are usually moulded from some plastic sub¬ stance that is somewhat tougher and more durable than the ordi¬ nary gilding foundation of whiting and size. The proper moulds being prepared they are thoroughly rubbed upon the inside with sweet oil, aud the composition firmly pressed in ; after removing the mould the cast may be dried by a gentle heat, or while still plastic it can be applied in its proper place and bent into any position. Following are receipts for composition : Dissolve i lb. of glue in i gallon of water. In another kettle boil together 2 lbs. of resin, 1 gill of Venice turpentine, and 1 pint of linseed oil ; mix altogether in one kettle, and boil and stir till the water has evaporated. Turn the whole into a tub of finely-rolled whiting, and work till it is the consistency of dough. Boil 7 lbs. of best glue in 7 half-pints of water. Melt 3 lbs. of white resin in 3 pints of raw linseed oil. When the above has been well-boiled put them into a large vessel and simmer them for half an hour, stirring the mixture and taking care that it does not boil over. The whole must then be turned into a box of THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. 106 whiting rolled and sifted, and mixed till it is of the consistency of dough. To Manipulate Gold Leaf.— Get a piece of paper, thin enough to show shadow of gold-leaf through, slightly wax it, lay it on gold- leaf, the latter will then adhere, and can be easily worked and will come off clean. The paper should be slightly larger than the gold-leaf, and the fingers passed over the paper to make the gold- leaf adhere. Bronzing.—This is a process for imitating on metal, plaster wood, or other material, the peculiar appearance produced by chemical action upon the surface of bronze metal. It is accom¬ plished by spreading over the surface of the material to be orna¬ mented a very thin coating of bronze-powder, which is caused to adhere either by applying it directly upon a coating of any of the sizes mentioned in the foregoing pages, or by mixing with a ve¬ hicle, such as gum-Arabic 01 transparent varnish. The latter is most desirable, as in the other case, being subject to the direct action of the atmosphere, the bronze-powder soon tarnishes. In ornamenting furniture, bronzing is generally employed to repre¬ sent gilding, a variety of bronze called gold-bronze being used, which affords an excellent imitation but is not very lasting. It is usually applied after the completion of the other finishing proc¬ esses, the ground-work being prepared in the manner de¬ scribed under Oil-Gilding, and the size likewise applied as there described. A small wad of cotton batting is then dipped in the bronze and passed gently over the sized portions, causing the bronze to adhere. In the other method—that of applying the bronze by means of a vehicle—the preliminaries of whiting the ground and sizing are not necessary, a small quantity of bronze being simply mixed with the vehicle employed to such a degree of fluidity that it will flow easily, and in that condition applied with a fine brush. Many preparations are used as vehicles such as transparent varnish thinned with turpentine, gum-Arabic, dis¬ solved in water, and gold-size reduced with parchment-size. There are a variety of colors in bronze-powders, and to produce 106 THE HARDWOOD FINISHER. the best effect the size or vehicle should be of a color similar to that of the bronze used ; in gold-size the coloring pigment is ochre, and in its place, for green-bronze, or blue-bronze, may be employed respectively verditer, vermillion or Prussian blue, a very small quantity being sufficient. In bronzing on painted work the ground should be as nearly as possible the color of the bronze to be applied. THE END. INDEX ANTIQUE oak Ash. BASSWOOD . Beech. Berry Bros, hard oil finish Birch. Black dye .... Black dye .... Blind nailing .... Blue dye .... Brightening colors, liquid for Brightening stains Bronzing . . . . Brown stain Brushes for varnishing . Burnish gilding . Burnishing .... Butternut .... CARRIAGE varnish Cedar . Cedarwood, imitation Chamois skin Cherry. Cherry, filler for . ' Chestnut . . . . Chip nailing Colors, liquid for brightening and setting .... Composition for frame orna¬ ments . Cotton wads for polishing . Cypress. DEAD gold .... Dead finish .... Devoe & Co.’s wax finishing Dye, blue . . . . Dye, black .... Dye, black .... Dye, green .... Dye, grey .... 97 Dye, orange .... 97 Dye, purple . . . .96 Dye, red .... 96 Dye, silver grey . . .97 Dye, yellow .... 95 Dyeing wood . . . .93 ELM.83 FILLER for cherry . . 32 Filler for light woods . 31 Filler for mahogany . . 34 Filler for oak ... 32 Filler for redwood . . .34 Filler for rosewood . . 32 Fillers.28 Filling, another method for 32 Finish, dead ... 63 Finish for cheap wprk . . 64 Finish, hard oil . . . 39 Finish, wax . . .64 Finishing .... 104 Finishing and polishing 41 Finishing and rubbing . 43 Flowing.56 Frame ornaments, composition for.104 Frames, preparing wood-work of.102 French polish ... 61 French polish recipes . . 61 French polish reviver . 63 French polishing . . .44 GENERAL recipes . . 87 Gilding .... 97 Gilding.98 Gilding, burnish . . . 101 Gilding, polishing surface before .... 102 ( 107 ) 67 77 83 83 39 78 91 94 24 94 96 92 97 91 49 101 103 83 55 83 91 55 76 32 83 24 96 104 59 84 103 63 38 94 91 94 95 108 INDEX. Gilding, preparing wood-work for.102 Gilding, requisites for . 98 Glue size . . , .48 Gold adhering, to prevent . 100 Gold, dead .... 103 Gold leaf, to manipulate . 105 Gold, shelled .... 104 Gold size for burnish gilding 99 Green dye . . . .95 Grey dye .... 97 Grey, silver, dye . . .97 HARD oil finish ... 39 Hardwood finishing . . 9 Hemlock .... 84 Hints on preparing woodwork 13 IMITATION mahogany stain 82 Imitation oak stain . . 82 Imitation rosewood stain . 82 Imitation walnut stain . . 82 MAHOGANY ... 72 Mahogany, filler for . . 34 Mahogany stain, imitation . 82 Matting, or dead gold . . 103 Miscellaneous ... 92 Murphy’s transparent varnish 58 NAILING, blind or sliver . 24 OAK.66 Oak, antique ... 67 Oak, filler for . . . .32 Oak stains .... 72 Oak stain, imitation . . 82 Oil finish, hard ... 39 Oil gilding .... 100 Oil shellac .... 47 Oil size for oil gilding . . 99 Orange dye .... 97 Ornaments, composition for frame.104 PARCHMENT size . . 99 Pine . . . • .79 Polish, a good ... 62 Polish for turner’s work . 63 Polish, French ... 61 Polish, French, reviver . . 63 Polish, French, recipes . 61 Polish that will resist water . 62 Polishing .... 41 Polishing and finishing . . 41 Polishing, cleanliness in . 56 Polishing, cotton wads for . 59 Polishing, rubber for . . 54 Poplar . . . . .83 Preparation of wood for stain¬ ing ..... 33 Prepared spirits . . .62 Preparing shellac . . 46 Preparing wood-work for the finisher . . . .13 Preparing wood-work for gild¬ ing ..... 102 Pumice stone . . . .53 Purple dye . . . . 96 RECIPES, general . . .87 Red dye .... 96 Redwood, filler for . . .34 Rosewood .... 85 Rosewood, filler for . . 32 Rosewood stain, imitation . 82 Rubber for polishing . . 50 Rubbing and finishing . 43 SAG in varnish . . .51 Sandpapering ... 50 Scraper, how to make the . 17 Scraper, how to sharpen the 18 Scraper, re-sharpening the . 23 Scrapers .... 14 Scraping . . . . .14 Setting colors, liquid for . 96 Shellac, oil . . .47 Shellac, preparing . . 46 Shellacing . . . .46 Shelled gold . . . 104 Silver grey dye . . .97 Silver size .... 104 Silvering.97 Size and Sizing ... 40 Size, applying.... 102 Size for oil gilding . . 99 Size, glue . . . .48 Size, gold, for burnish gilding 99 Size, parchment ... 99 Size, silver . • - • 104 INDEX. 109 Sizes ..... 99 Varnish, sweating 54 Sliver nailing . ' 24 Varnish, transparent 58 Smooth surface on wood '14 Varnishing .... 41 Spirits, prepared 62 Varnishing, brushes for . 49 Stain, brown 91 Varnishing hardwood . 49 Staining ..... 41 Veneered panels 57 Stains . 89 Stains, to brighten . 92 WALNUT . 82 Sweating varnish 54 Walnut filler for wax finish . 31 Sycamore .... 84 Walnut filler, medium 31 Walnut stain, imitation . 82 TRANSPARENT varnish . 58 Wax finish .... 64 Wheeler’s wood filler 36 VARNISH brushes . 49 Wood fillers and wood filling 28 Varnish, carriage 55 . Woods, various, and their stains and finish 65 Varnish finish for cheap work 64 Varnish pans .... 65 Varnish polishing Varnish, “sag” in . 57 YELLOW dye, a bright . 95 51 Yellow dye, a fin© 96 (n* ia. . - f _ ' U ■ / •/ -^ . W . J 1. /^/ 7 L How to Mix Paints A Simple Treatise Prepared to Meet the Wants of the Practical Painter BY C. GODFREY 12mo., CLOTH, ILLUSTRATED PRICE, FIFTY CENTS This book is intended for those who have not had the bene¬ fit of a long training and experience in mixing colors. Simple and clear directions are given so that by a little practice the reader may be able to mix the various tints and shades of reds, blues, yellows, browns, greens, grays and colors made from blacks, japans, etc. Besides the directions for mixing paints, notes are given about tints and shades, use and care of brushes, hints on dis¬ playing colors to show customers, color harmony, etc. This book will be found an exceedingly handy companion for both amateur and practical painters. The information given in this book will save in time and material more than its cost the first day a painter has it in use. It is practical, simple, reliable and handy, as a very complete index enables one instantly to find the directions for mixing any tint or shade, or to know if the color can be had in dry powder form without the necessity for mixing. The Industrial Publication Co. p. o. Box 1852 16 Thomas Street, New York [ovebJ BOOKS FOR. PAINTERS jt Jt Full descriptions of these books will be found in our Catalogue, a copy of which will be sent to any address on request. Hints for Painters, Decorators and] Paper Hangers. By An Old Hand. Paper - - - $ .25 The Painter, Gilder and Varnisher’s Companion. By Wm. T. Brannt. Cloth - - - - 1.50 The Painters’ Encyclopaedia. By F. R. Gardner. Cloth J. 50 Everybody’s Paint Book. Cloth - - - 1. 00 Painters’ Manual. Paper ----- .50 Complete Guide for Coach Painters. Cloth - - I 25 Sign Writing and Glass Embossing. Paper - - .75 Practical Manual of House Painting, Marbling and Sign Writing. By Ellis A. Davidson. Cloth- - 2 00 Wood Finishing. By P. Hasluck. Cloth - - - .50 Hardwood Finisher. Cloth .... 1.00 Practical Varnish and Polish Maker. By H. C. Standage. Cloth.2 50 Complete Carriage and Wagon Painter - - - 1.00 Hints and Practical Information for Cabinet Makers, Upholsterers and Furniture Men Generally. Cloth 100 How to Write Signs, Tickets and Posters. By P. Has¬ luck. Cloth ------ .50 Album of Fancy Alphabets. Paper - - - .75 Standard Scroll Book. Paper - - - - l 00 Book of Alphabets - - - - - -50 Standard Sign Writer. Boards - - - - 2 00 The Modern Sign Writer and Art Ornamenter. Boards 2 50 Gilders’Manual. Paper - - - - - -50 Scene Painting and Painting in Distemper. By F. Lloyds. Paper - - - - - - - 100 Sign, Carriage and Decorative Painting. Paper - .50 Wall Papers and Wall Coverings. By Arthur S. Jennings. Cloth - - - - - - 2 00 Any of the above books will be sent postpaid on receipt of price. ^t jt INDUSTRIAL PUBLICATION CO. 16 THOMAS STREET 5 3 NEW YORK PRACTICAL 50 c. BOORS ANY BOOK SENT POSTPAID ON RECEIPT OF PRICE ARCHITECTURAL PERSPECTIVE By I. P. HICKS, 36 pages, fully illustrated. Directions are given in this book so that one can draw the correct perspective views from the floor-plans and elevations of houses. BARN PLANS By WM. A. RADFORD, 160 large pages, 350 illustrations. This book describes and illustrates a large number of barns, sheds, cribs, and other buildings used on the farm, together with a number of valuable little hints in making useful articles. PRACTICAL CONCRETE-BLOCK MAKING By CHARLES PALLISER, 15 pages, fully illustrated. This new practical book is written by a well-known auth¬ ority who gives reliable information in simple language, so that the workman thoroughly understands every step necessary to make good blocks. MODERN CEMENT SIDEWALK CONSTRUCTION By CHARLES PALLISER, 64 pages, fully illustrated. The construction of cement sidewalks, curbs, and gutters is thoroughly explained in this book. PLASTER AND PLASTERING By F. T. HODGSON, 1U8 pages, fully illustrated. A complete guide for the plasterer in the preparation and application of all kinds of plaster, stucco, Portland, hydraulic, and other cements, together with rules for measuring and valuing plaster and stucco work. THE PRACTICAL STONE CUTTER By F. T. HODGSON, 54 pages, 100 illustrations, paper cover. A collection of every-day examples showing arches, retain¬ ing walls, buttresses, skew arches, vaults, domes and semi¬ domes, quoins, groins, etc. ; with explanations of the most ap- proved and economical methods. HOW TO MIX PAINTS By C. GODFREY, 64 pages, fully illustrated. A simple treatise prepared for the wants of the practical painter, telling him now to mix his paints so as to get the various tints and shades of reds, blues, yellows, greens, browns, grays, etc. THE HARDWOOD FINISHER By C. GODFREY, 112 pages, fully illustrated. This book gives, in the simplest language, rules and direc¬ tions for finishing in natural colors, and in antique, mahogany, cherry, birch, walnut, oak, ash, redwood, sycamore, pine and all other domestic woods. Finishing, filling, staining, dyeing, varnishing, and polishing. THE WORKSHOP COMPANION By JOHN PHIN, 164 closely printed pages This book forms a dictionary of practical information for mechanics, amateurs, housekeepers, farmers—everybody. It is not a mere collection of newspaper clippings, but a series of original treatises on various subjects, such as alloys, cements, inks, steel, signal lights, polishing materials, and the art of pol¬ ishing wood, metals, etc.; varnishes, gilding, silvering, bronz¬ ing, lacquering, and the working Of brass, ivory, iron, steel, etc. INDUSTRIAL BOOK CO. 178 FULTON STREET NEW YORK PRACTICAL 50 c. BOORS ANY BOOK SENT POSTPAID ON RECEIPT OF PRI CE THE WORKSHOP COMPANION. Part II. By JOHN PHIN, 128 closely printed pages. This is an extension of the first part and contains subjects which have not been discussed in the earlier volume. These * two volumes form a reliable dictionary of mechanical recipes, containing a fund of practical information that no mechanic can aftord to be without. MECHANICAL, DRAWING By T. P. PEMBERTON, 112 pages, 67 illustrations. A series of practical instruction for machinists and students by a draftsman of twenty-five years’ experience. It is intended for beginners and self-taught students. ELEMENTARY PKINCTPL.ES OF MACHINE DESIGN By J. G. A. MEYER, 96 pages, 41 illustrations. A simple and accurate introduction to the designing of machinery, showing and explaining step by step how to get the proportions of connecting rods, cotter joints, screw wrenches,etc. HINTS FOR CABINET-MAKERS By PRACTICAL MEN, 130 closely printed pages. This booh gives hints and practical information for cabinet¬ makers, upholsterers and furniture men generally, together with a description of all kinds of finishing and full directions therefor; varnishes, polishes, stains for wood,dyes for wood,gilding, silver¬ ing, receipts for the factory, lacquers, metals, marbles, etc.; pictures, engravings, etc. WATER CLOSETS By GLENN BROWN, 156 pages, 252 illustrations. A historical, mechanical and sanitary treatise. THE ART AND SCIENCE OF STAIR BUILDING By L. D. GOULD, 72 pages, 36 illustrations. Explaining simple and complicated examples in hand railing. A CENTURY OF INVENTIONS By MARQUIS OF WORCESTER, 108 pages. An exact reprint of this famous book first published in 1663 with notes and a life of the author. HINTS FOR BEGINNERS WITH THE MICROSCOPE By JOHN PHIN, 125 pages,48 illustrations. A simple book for the young microscopist, showing how to manage the instrument and prepare objects. THE MARVELS OF POND LIFE By HENRY J. SLACK, 144 pages, finely illustrated. A simple book for the young microscopist, telling where to look and how to identify objects to be found in ponds and ditches. DICTIONARY OF PRACTICAL BEE KEEPING By JOHN PHIN, 80 pages, fully illustrated. Discusses nearly 500 subjects, with notes and practical hints. COMMON SENSE IN THE POULTRY’ YARD By J. P. HAIG, 192 pages fully illustrated. A full account, of 1000 hens and what they did with a complete description of the houses, coops, fences, runs, method of feeding, breeding, marketing, etc. INDUSTRIAL BOOK CO. 178 FULTON STREET NEW YORK Practical soc Books THE books described below are up-to-date man- * uals written by practical men who know how to state difficult matters in the simplest language, so that the books can be successfully used for home study. These books are nearly all nmo in size, well printed on good paper, and artistically bound in cloth, and are finely illustrated wherever the subject needs it. Any book sent postpaid on receipt of price. SHORT CUTS IN CARPENTRY By ALBERT FAIR. 90 pages, 75 illustrations. The book contains remarks about the carpenter and his work, a large-folding plate showing the interior of a house with each part named, the use of geometry, mitering, bending mouldings around circles, rake mouldings, kerfing, brackets for coves, use of the steel square, use of 2-foot rule, use of glue, working hardwood, hanging and fitting doors and windows, laying floors, dished floors^ roof framing simply explained, braces, hoppers, etc. PRACTICAL HOUSE FRAMING By ALBERT FAIR, 100 pages, 100 illustrations. Explains how to lay out and erect balloon and braced frames, sizes of joists, trussing, partitions, floors, bay windows, towers, bracing, together with remarks on fire-stops, sheathing, clap-boarding, etc. All explained in the simplest language, finely illustrated, including a large folding-plate giving the names of the various sills, studs, plates, rafters, etc. HINTS FOR CARPENTERS By ALBERT FAIR, 90 pages, 100 illustrations. This book brings together some of the best schemes on making special tools, such as the carpenter needs for doing his work. Describes various kinds of scaffolding, tool-boxes, door- holders, besides many other little hints that will lessen work both in laying out and erecting. STEEL, SQUARE AS A CALCULATING MACHINE By ALBERT FAIR, 80 pages, 25 illustrations. This book gives simple directions for using the common steel square for the solution of many complicated calculations that occur in the every-day work of Carpenters, Builders, Plumbers, Engineers, and other Mechanics. A NEW SYSTEM OF HAND RAILING By an Old Stair Builder, 64 pages, fully illustrated. Tells howto cut hand-railing for circular and other stairs, square from the plank, without the aid of a falling mold. STAIR BUILDING MADE EASY By DAVID MAYER, 128 pages 111, illustrations. Gives a full and clear description of the art of building the bodies, carriages, and cases for all kinds of stairs and steps. STEEL SQUARE POCKET BOOK By D. L. bTODDARD, 159 pages, 150 illustrations. The size of this book enables it to be carried in the pocket; hence the carpenter can always refer to it for the method of finding the different cuts used in roof framing, stair work, hoppers, towers, bicycle tracks, etc. INDUSTRIAL BOOK CO. 178 FULTON STREET NEW YORK framing Describing Douse, Barn $ Roof framing By WM, A. RADFORD 3:38 Pages (6x9 inches.) / 82 Illustrations PRICE SI.00 Sent Prepaid on Receipt of Price “ FRAM ING ” is the largest, the most complete and the most instructive building book ever written. It deals with the subject of “ Framing” in its multitude of forms and designs in a most thorough manner. Nothing is omitted that will help and guide on the construction of houses, barns, roofs, etc., while particular care has been taken to exclude any and every method of framing that has not been given a thorough and con¬ vincing test by experienced builders. Practical information is the keynote of" FRAMING ’’ By practical, we mean information that can be successfully applied to the every day work of the average carpenter, builder and contractor, as well as the more intricate" forms of framing that come less often but about which it is necessary to be fully posted. The book presents problems as they have been worked out by well-known architects and the man on the job. " FRAM I NG ” is illustrated with over 100 pages of detail drawings, diagrams, detail plates, etc., including many pages of full-page plates never before published, reproducing architects’ original drawings, and also details of buildings in all stages of construction. “FRAMING ” is the largest book on this subject that has ever been published. No book attempting to treat this im¬ portant part of construction has ever before so successfully covered the ground. Every phase, part and detail of framing a house, a roof, a barn or other structure is given and treated fully and exhaustively, with complete detailsshowing each successive step to be taken. “ FRAMING ” is practical in that it shows the easiest and most common-sense way to do the work. It does not con¬ fine its descriptions to one person’s ways or views, but shows many examples of each kind of framing, all of which have been fully tested by experienced workmen and can be relied upon to be absolutely correct. INDUSTRIAL BOOK CO. 178 FULTON STREET NEW YORK ^ss cement ^ flita Row Co Use Tt f\ practical (Hai^ual FOR THE ...Qefnei^t U/or^r... By WM. A. RADFORD 369 Pages, (6x9 inches) 153 ILLUSTRATIONS PRICE SI-00 Sent Prepaid on Receipt of Price A BRAND new book that tells in simple language, without the use of engineering formula, all about the history of cement and concrete, development of the cement industry, explanation of terms, different kinds of cement, water for concrete, proportioning of concrete ingredients, determination of voids, amount of cement to use, testing of cement, specifi¬ cation for cement, the mixing of concrete, by hand and machinery, depositing of concrete, working in freezing weather, cracking of cement work, strength of concrete, water proofing, tools and machinery for concrete work, foundation work, stucco work, cement blocks, cement shingles, sidewalks, forms for con¬ crete work, cisterns, silos, sewers, drain tile, fence posts, reinforced concrete, beams, colums, walls, floors, roofs, partitions, piles, etc., with may useful rules, tables and data; together a complete index so so that any subject on cement construction can be in¬ stantly referred to. INDUSTRIAL BOOK CO. 178 FULTON STREET NEW YORK And Bow Co Build them. The Best and Largest Book of Its Kind Ever Published 176 Pages (8 x 11 inches.) ]£laboratelv Ifllustratefc Hrtisticall^ JSounD PRICE SI.00 SENT POST PAID ON RECEIPT OF PRICE T^HIS large book contains illustrated details of * cement construction—standard specifications for cement—standard specifications for concrete blocks —general information concerning waterproofing, coloring, aggregates, mixtures, paving, reinforcing, foundations, walls, steps, sewer pipes, tile, chimneys, floors, porches, use of concrete on the farm, etc., together with PERSPECTIVE VIEWS and FLOOR PLANS of 87 CEMENT PLASTER AND CONCRETE BLOCK HOUSES All houses illustrated with half-tone cuts, printed on fine enameled paper. The illustrations show the houses exactly as they will look when built and give a very clear idea oftheir appearance. All the floor plans are shown, giving the location and dimensions of all rooms, closets, porches, etc., with detailed information as to both interior and exterior. The houses illustrated range from the small to the medium large in size, such as will appeal to the aver¬ age man or woman who intends to build a home. INDUSTRIAL BOOK CO. 178 FULTON STREET NEW YORK Roof framing gy A PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF -t- MODERN METHODS -f- By Owen B. Maginnis 164 Pages, (6x8 inches) 100 Illustrations PRICE, SI.00 Sent Prepaid on Receipt of Price T HE carpenter or builder who will study the methods de¬ scribed in this book will realize the constructive value of every piece of timber which enters into a framed roof and will understand how to lay out every piece of timber used with¬ out wasting valuable time and material cutting and trying. The language used is that of a practical workman—scientific phrases and confusing terms have been advoided where possible —and everything has been made so plain that any one who will faithfully study this book will understand it from beginning to end. Any intelligent mechanic will be able to save at least ten times the cost of this book in time and material during the first few weeks that he has it in use. The following synopsis will give a faint idea of the charac¬ ter and scope of this book : The Principle of the Roof; Laying Out and Framing a Simple Roof; Hip and Valley Roofs; Roofs of Irregular Plan; Square Pyramidal Roofs; Pentagonal Roof; Hexagonal Pyramidal Roofs; Conical Roofs; Conical Roofs Intersected by a Pitched Roof; Octagonal Roofs; Circular Dome; High-Pitched Roof; Mansard Roof; Hemispherical Domes; Elliptic Dome; Circular Molded Roof; Gothic Square Roof of 4 Centre Section; Trussed Roof of Moderate Span on the Balloon Principle; to Frame a Roof of Unequal Heights of Pitches and Plates; Hip and Valley Roof of Unequal Pitch; To Frame a Roof of Unequal Lengths of Rafters; Roof with Pitched Ridges ; Round-House Roof; Fram¬ ing Cantilever Ro fs; Roof with an Elliptic Plan and Straight Ridge; Church Roof Construction; Bow Truss; Studio Roofs; How to Build a Circular Framed Tower with a Molded Roof; Miscellaneous Details and Suggestions. INDUSTRIAL BOOK CO. 178 FULTON STREET NEW YORK ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Artistic fiomes The Largest Took of Designs of Cottages e'ber published 280 Pages ( 8 x 11 inches.) Elaborately Illustrated Artistically Bound PRICE SI.00 Sent Post Paid on Receipt of Price npHIS book illustrates the newest and most up-to- * date houses. A large variety of designs are given so as to meet the taste of the majority of home builders. There are artistic houses for people of moderate means and others for the more wealthy, but in every case the design is made with reference to comfort and economy. PERSPECTIVE VIEWS and FLOOR PLANS of 250 ARTISTIC HOMES are given, showing the arrangement and dimensions of all rooms. Every design shown has been made by the best architects in the world, who have made a study of home architecture and that alone. This volume has received the benefit of the most careful attention. In a word, the designs are the best that could be secured, Every design shown has been made with reference to comfort, convenience and economy in materials. Every house is planned from the inside and not from the outside; that is to say, the convenience of arrangement has been the first consideration. INDUSTRIAL BOOK CO. 178 FULTON STREET NEW YORK Practical Barn Plans OUT BUILDINGS, STOCK SHEDS, POULTRY HOUSES, ETC. 150 Pages (8x11 inches) ELABORATELY 4* 4* 4* 4* ILLUSTRATED ARTISTICALLY 4- 4- 4- 4- 4- 4* BOUND PRICE, $1.00 Sent Postpaid on Receipt of Price. B ETTER farm methods require better buildings, not necessarily expensive ones, but buildings that are well planned and properly adapted to the work for which they are intended. This book de¬ scribes and illustrates a large number of dairy barns, general farm barns, horse barns, cattle sheds, poultry houses, silos, ice houses, granaries, corn cribs, wagon sheds, tank houses, smoke houses, hog houses, etc. Not only one plan of each, but many of each are shown, with all the latest inventions and contrivances for saving time, money and labor. ELEVATIONS, PERSPECTIVES and PLANS of 150 PRACTICAL BARN BUILDINGS are reproduced on a large scale sufficient to guide any carpenter and builder in the construction of same. It is a book which should be in every farm home. Each and every plan in Practical Barn Plans is accompanied by a lengthy written description, ex¬ plaining and giving the details of the drawings, and so worded and arranged, numbered and indexed, that it can be readily understood by anyone who reads it. INDUSTRIAL BOOK CO. 178 FULTON STREET NEW YORK Cr^ Ideal Bomes S IZE of Book 8 x 11 inches, bound in English cloth, cover embossed and print¬ ed in two colors. All houses illustrated with half tone cuts on the very finest enamel paper. The illustrations show the houses exactly as they will appear when' built, and no liberties have been taken to make them appear otherwise. All the floor plans are show’n, giving the size and location of all rooms, closets, porches, etc., so that ideas are given as to both the inti rior and exterior of these 100 homes. PRIC E $1.00 POST PAID Combined Bouse and Barn Plans T WO massive books bound in one and illustrated with over twelve hundred Copper Half Tone Plates and Zinc Etch¬ ings which were drawn especially for this work. It con¬ tains over 300 houses, barns and farm buildings, designed and drawn by the best architects and selected for their popularity with the Building Classes. The houses illustrated were selected for their excellence, practical designs and economical arrange¬ ment. Perspective Views and Floor Plans being shown com¬ plete, together with estimates of cost. The farm buildings in this book are illustrated by large drawings of floors, sides, ends and frame work, together with perspective views sufficient to guide the contractor or builder in the construction of any of the buildings described. PRICE $1.00 POSTPAID & & American Bomes ^ & C ONTAINING 100 designs of low and medium priced houses, never before illus¬ trated, and has met with pheno¬ menal success. The designs are all original, practical and up- to-date, and have been drawn by- licensed architects. It is beauti¬ fully bound in English cloth, embossed in three colors, 256 pages, size 6^x8 inches. The houses illustrated are medium in price, and such as 80 to 90 per cent, of the people of the United States wish to build to-day. PRICE $1.00 POSTPAID INDUSTRIAL BOOK CO. 178 FULTON STREET NEW YORK Stores $i flat Buildings H Brand new Book 3«$t off the Press 82 Pages (8 x 11 inches.) ELABORATELY ILLUSTRATED ARTISTICALLY BOUND .-. PRICE $1.00 Sent Post Paid on Receipt of Price A BSOLUTELY the first and only book of its kind ever published. No more valuable book could possibly be imagined for the use of any one contem¬ plating to build for their own use or as a safe and profitable investment. The latest ideas in Two, Four, Six, and Nine Family Flat Buildings, Stores, Lodge Hall, Bank Buildings, Double Houses, etc., containing PERSPECTIVE VIEWS and FLOOR PLANS of 57 STORES and FLATS Bank Buildings and Double Houses in different con¬ structions ; cement plaster, concrete block, brick, stone and frame. Every building illustrated was de¬ signed by a licensed architect standing at the head of his profession who has made a study of economy of construction. Perspective views and floor plans of each and every design are shown, giving a picture of the completed building and detail drawings of the interior arrangement. Included in this collection of designs are a large number of stores and bank build¬ ings suitable for the small town or village as well as the large city. INDUSTRIAL BOOK CO. 178 FULTON STREET NEW YORK Garages And Row to Build them mmow's GARAGES AND HOW TO BUILD THEM THE ONLY BOOK OF ITS KIND JUST PUBLISHED 158 Pages (8 x 11 inches) Elaborately Illustrated (Artistically Bound PRICE Si.00 Sent Postpaid on Receipt of Price E VERY Auto owner is vitally interested in the subject of where to keep his machine. The most convenient place is on your own property in a private garage the archi¬ tecture of which is in keeping with your house. This book is the only one of its kind and shows a standard collection of New, Original and Artistic Designs for Up-to-date Private and Public Garages adapted to Frame, Brick, Stone Cement, Stucco, or Concrete Construction together with Esti¬ mates of Cost. 55 DESIGNS OF GARAGES 55 are shown by perspective views and floor plans giving dimensions, etc. Also remarks on GARAGE CONSTRUCTION ex¬ plaining the advantages of each form of construction and giving details about the manner of erection, selection of materials, hints on supervision, etc., etc. There is also an extensive chapter on GARAGE EQUIPMENT and ACCESSORIES in which is described the construction and operation of turn tables; gasoline storage and pumping; oil cabinets; constructing a repair bench and tool cabinet; lockers; rules to prevent freezing of water in cylinders, radiators, etc.; washing apparatus; lighting apparatus; etc. etc. It is just the book to give you important points and ideas if you are about to build a garage. Its information will save you money. INDUSTRIAL BOOK CO. 178 FULTON STREET NEW YORK / 'V GETTY CENTER LIBRARY u rAn vf \ ivjC~