Chapter IV: Introduction (3)

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.