PRELIMINARY. (continued 2)

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 beautiful cross-grained figure so much in fashion now that it has become somewhat 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 processes or methods are not available. With regard to giving oak an antique appearance, many opinions exist. Formerly—and probably the first—imitations of antique oak were produced by exposing 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 results 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 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 making 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 wiping 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 previously been used and is pretty well supplied with filler, rub crosswise 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 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 accelerated 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 sandpapered smooth, when an oil varnish is applied, rendering it completely 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 atmosphere it will turn a gray with a blue tinge and eventually become 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 Mechanic 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 880°, 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 (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. Remember 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 experimentally, 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 results. 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 atmosphere 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 secure a fine effect. Sandpaper this and clean off. Then prepare a priming made of 1 part japan, 1 part raw linseed oil and 1 part rubbing varnish. Drop into ½ gallon of the liquid 1 pound of commercial corn starch, such as is used for culinary purposes. Next take some good, dry, burnt Turkish umber, and add about ¼ 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 possible 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 ½ pound of starch to each gallon of varnish. This coat should be flowed on freely as a medium coat of rubbing varnish, but be careful not to have runs of sags. This ought to completely fill the wood, after which proceed to varnish, rub and finish the job in the usual manner. To produce a natural oak finish, follow precisely the same course as above described, 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 effected by simply spreading on the surface of the material a concentrated 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 vegetable fibre with the precipitation of brown peroxide of manganese, 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 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, stirred 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 excellent for ship-building; but its capability for taking a fine polish is its chief recommendation. Mahagoni Haiti, Mahagoni Jamaika, 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 “Baywood,” or “Bay Mahogany,” from the vicinity of the Bay of 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 original 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 became 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 olden 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 attention 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, 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 somewhat 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 newness 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 mahogany. 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 of 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 process is repeated with very little alteration, and in a short interval the wood possesses all the external appearance of mahogany.

For other 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 a 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 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 required 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 crimson 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 permanganate of potash, which is left on for a longer or shorter time, according to the shade required; in most cases, five minutes will be enough. The wood is then carefully washed, dried and polished in the ordinary way.

The reader will understand that the mahogany stains mentioned are mostly intended for staining inferior woods to imitate mahogany, for as mentioned before only in isolated cases, will the genuine wood require to be stained—“good wine needeth no bush.”—

Cherry.—(Prunus cerasus.)—This is a fine grained wood, tough and light, is capable of taking the very finest finish. Is harder than Baywood, 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 nitro acid, which prepares it for the materials subsequently applied. Afterwards to a filtered mixture of one ounce and a half of dragon’s-blood dissolved 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 repeated 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 mahogany. 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 until it is past bearing and is decayed, this source of supply is precarious. The facility with which cherry can be worked makes it a favorite with the cabinet-maker and the house joiner; and it also possesses the quality of “staying 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 ¼ 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.

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 antique oak and in one instance I know of an architect who specified oak, and who “passed” a mixture of white and black ash, as oak, either knowingly or otherwise. I am not sure that the owners in either case lost anything, for good sound Canadian ash, is decidedly 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 similar results. Ingenious stainers and finishes can make ash resemble oak wainscot, in vein and color so correctly that it is almost impossible 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 carefully throughout the entire process with the veined portions. Others stain and embody, i. 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 finished has a fine quiet refined look that commands itself to all lovers of domestic woods. So popular has the use of black birch become 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 consequently 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 manufacture of furniture, and inside finishings.

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 directions given under that head will apply here also.

Pine.—(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 varnish, bleached shellac in alcohol, applied with a brush while warm. Several coats are given, the last coat being rubbed with pumice and rotten-stone, moistened with water, not oil. A finish of a flowing coat of copal varnish completes the preparation. 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. 1.—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.

2. 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 yellow 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 transparent, and allows the grain of the wood to show through.

6. Boil 1½ ounces washing soda, and ¼ ounce bichromate of potash, in 1 quart of water; add 2½ ounces Vandyke brown. This stain may be used either hot or cold.

7. With a brush apply a thin solution of permanganate of potassa in water, until the desired color is produced, allowing each coat to dry before another is applied.

For Mahogany or Cherry No. 1. 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, 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.

3. Take 1 quart alcohol, 2 ozs. of dragon’s-blood; pulverize the latter along with ¼ 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 ¼ lb. of extract of logwood, 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 vinegar, 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, ¼ 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.

2. Boil 1 lb. of logwood in 1 gallon of water, add a double handful of walnut shell, boil the whole again, strain the liquor and add to it 1 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, 1 pint; metallic tin, 1 oz.; sal-ammoniac, 1 oz. Mix and set aside to dissolve, occasionally shaking. If carefully executed it will give the appearance 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 pulverized, 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 (Pinus 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 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 balsamifera.)

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 ferruginea.) This is one of the unnoticed woods of former years but is now gradually gaining in favor as a decorative 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 appreciated. 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 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 selecting 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 results 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 affected by moisture, it is being used for cisterns, hogsheads, and sugar, molasses and honey barrels. The red cypress is the favorite, and some of it is so heavy that it will sink upon being placed in water. The white variety is 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 birch with good results. They look well when left their natural color and finished “dead finish.”

Sycamore, or Buttonwood, as it is sometimes called (acer pseudo platanus) when quarter sawed and properly finished makes a good appearance, and in many cases is superseding cherry owing to its beauty and cheapness. Heretofore its natural beauty has been destroyed in many cases by staining the wood, and thus preventing 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 finishing 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 pink tint of the most delicate kind which improves and mellows 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 rosewood. 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 cutting the sharp points of the hairs and making the edge irregular; 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 hypermagnate of potassa is decomposed by the vegetable fibre with the precipitation of brown peroxide of manganese, which the influence 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 neighboring 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 to say concerning them. 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 may be classed among the softer woods and requires treating about the same as chestnut, butternut and the cedars. The following 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 Turpentine.

Add one pound Corn Starch.

Add ¼ “ 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 sandpapering 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.—Ebonizing.—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 tablespoonful 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 and allow it to dry thoroughly; then take some 00 or 000 sandpaper 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.—1. 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 sulphate 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 solution of acetate of iron of 40 deg. Baume. Repeat till a deep black is produced. 5. Put 2 oz. of logwood chips with 1¼ 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, sandpaper 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 a light coat of quick drying varnish, then rub with finely pulverized pumice-stone and linseed oil until very smooth. 6. Boil ½ pound of chip logwood in two quarts of water, and add ½ oz. of verdigris and ½ oz. of copperas, strain, and put in ½ 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 chlorhydrate 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, ½ pound of green copperas, ¼ 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, without 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 preparations, are used for darkening the wood; the last three are specially recommended. The solution is applied by dissolving 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 applied 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 advantageous. 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 incorporated 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.

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 appearance 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 solution 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 1 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, according 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 bichromate of potash and thirty parts water. By a little difference in the mode of treatment, and by varying the strength of the solutions, several shades of color may be given.

For a Black Dye.—Put 6 lbs. of chip logwood into the copper, with as many veneers as it will conveniently hold, without pressing 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 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.—Any of the stains named (except the surface stains) will be rendered much more brilliant by an application of the following: 1 oz. nitric acid, ½ teaspoonful muriatic acid, ¼ 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 practicable, 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 wood-work, 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° F. From this bath the wood passes to another of hydrosulphate 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° to 122° F., and, lastly, for from 30 to 50 hours the wood is immersed in a solution of acetate of lead at the same temperature. The timber, thus pickled, is allowed 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 burnisher. Treated in this way the wood may assume the appearance 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 generally 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 100, 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 walnut 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 hardness equal to only about 40 per cent., 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 justify a classification, and the trade will continue to construe hardwood 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 desired color to the article after it has been manufactured. In the one case, the color should penetrate throughout, while in the latter 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 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 copper. 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 hours, they are taken out, dried in the air, and again immersed in the coloring copper. Always dry veneers in the open air, for fire invariably injures the colors.

Fine Black Dye.—Put 6 lbs. of chip logwood into the copper, with as many veneers as it will conveniently hold, without pressing 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 together; 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 penetrated 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 vitriol, 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 ferment); 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 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, previous 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 receipts 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 vinegar; put in the veneers, and gently boil till the color has penetrated sufficiently.

The hue of the green may be varied by altering the proportion of the ingredients; and it is advised, unless wanted for a particular 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.—To 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 finger can be borne in it, till the color has sufficiently penetrated.

The logwood chips should be picked from all foreign substances, with which it generally abounds, as bark, dirt, etc.; and it is always best when fresh cut, which may be known by its appearing of a bright-red color; for if stale, it will look brown, and not yield so much coloring matter.

Purple Dye.—To 2 lbs. of chip logwood and half a pound of Brazil dust, add 4 gallons of water, and after putting in the veneers, 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 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 hardwood (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 boiling 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 sufficiently 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. The processes of gilding and silvering being identical, the description 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 applied to a specially prepared foundation, the basis of which is whiting, mixed with various other ingredients suggested by experience or fancy. In either case, the gold leaf is caused to adhere to the work, by size specially prepared for the purpose, receipts 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 former principally for articles exposed to the weather, and for heightening the effect of incised carving or engraving, and the latter for picture-frames and articles having a specially prepared foundation, 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 covered 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 occasionally 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.

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 laying of the gold-leaf upon it; of this class is the oil-size commonly used in decorating furniture; water-sizes are those that are allowed to become dry and hard when applied, and are rendered 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-Gliding.—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 proportion 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 piece of tallow. When ready to use, reduce with parchment size until it will just flow from the brush.

Another.—Grind separately in water, 1 lb. Armenian bole, 2 ozs. red lead, a sufficient quantity of black lead; mix, and regrind 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 coating 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 a piece 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, and 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 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 sandpaper. 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 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 Woodwork.—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 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 explained 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. Proceed 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 burnishing; 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 vermilion or yellow ochre very fine, and mix a very small portion either with the parchment size or with the 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.—In 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 describes 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 substance that is somewhat tougher and more durable than the ordinary gilding foundation of whiting and size. The proper moulds being prepared they are thoroughly rubbed upon the inside with sweet oil, and 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 1 lb. of glue in 1 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 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 accomplished by spreading over the surface of the material to be ornamented 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 vehicle, such as gum-Arabic or 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 represent 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 processes, the ground-work being prepared in the manner described 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, dissolved in water, and gold-size reduced with parchment-size. There are a variety of colors in bronze-powders, and to produce 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.